China yesterday denied reports that it had issued a ban on Everest expeditions via Tibet in early May, when the Olympic torch is scheduled to scale the world's highest peak.
"We never published such an announcement and we will accept all expeditions, whether Chinese or foreign," an official from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association said.
"Expeditions will face no problem as long as they conform to the laws and regulations," the official said.
PHOTO: AFP
But a mountaineering source in Nepal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told a slightly different story.
"A couple of days ago [the China Tibet Mountaineering Association] sent an e-mail that said we could only get permits after May 10," said the source, who is involved in organizing expeditions on the northern approach to Everest through Chinese-controlled Tibet.
The Chinese association told expedition organizers that overcrowding and environmental pressures meant they had to ask all commercial expeditions to stay off the mountain, the source said.
The specialist US-based Internet site www.mounteverest.net said earlier China had decided to ban expeditions from its side of Everest until May 10. May and September are the most popular months for expeditions on Everest.
The Olympic torch is to scale the peak in May as part of the domestic leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which runs from the beginning of the month until Aug. 8, when the opening ceremony of the Games is held in Beijing.
Last September, the Nepal Mountaineering Association said that China had imposed stricter regulations for access to Everest through Tibet in the lead-up to the torch relay ascent.
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