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Olympic flame reaches top of the world May 8: A team of 19 Chinese and Tibetan climbers reached the summit of Mt. Everest with the Olympic torch. |
KATMANDU, Nepal - Nepal allowed the climbing season on Mount Everest to resume Friday after blocking access to hundreds of climbers so a Chinese team carrying the Olympic flame could ascend without the threat of protests.
Tourism Ministry official Dinesh Adhikari said climbers who had been waiting at the Mount Everest base camp could now depart for higher ground, lifting a nine-day ban on ascents on the world’s tallest mountain.
Chinese climbers took the Olympic torch to the 29,035-foot summit Thursday from the Tibetan side of the mountain. Though they were climbing from the north side, Nepal also had banned climbing on the mountain’s southern side to prevent any anti-China protests during the torch ascent.
Hundreds of climbers were boxed in at the base camp since May 1, waiting for the Chinese to complete their torch relay on the mountain.
Adhikari said although the climbers could leave the base camp at 17,400 feet on Friday it would take a few days of altitude acclimatization before they could make their attempt on the summit.
The Nepalese government has given permission to 290 climbers from 32 expedition teams to climb Mount Everest during the popular spring season, which ends in a few weeks.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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