Everest – just the place for hot objects

People have climbed up it, skied down it – so why not now hand over Olympic torches on it? The summit of Everest – aka Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the Earth – has been pointed out by Chinese officials as a likely location for a handover of the Olympic torch if the country´s bid for the 2008 games succeeds, reports the Guardian. (We can´t however find the link on its website.) The plan, apparently, would be for a Tibetan climber to hand the flame to a Chinese “partner” (hmm). The biggest problem Chinese officials see is how to stop the flame going out. In which case, we aren´t going to tell them about the weather, which might hold things up. Nor our secret desire that if this pantomime were to be set up, the Tibetan climber would chuck the flame down the eastern slopes and plant a “Free Tibet” flag. We can hope, anyway.

QuelleUKClimbing