*A Note from the Co-producer*

The Nepalese government announced yesterday that military personnel now based at Everest Base Camp would be actively discouraging anti-Chinese activities in the area and were authorized to use force if necessary. Anyone found with anti-Chinese paraphernalia will have their permit revoked and be removed from the mountain.

Today, China announced that the Chinese and international journalists scheduled to report on the torch relay will now be held in Beijing until the torch itself leaves the base camp on the North Side of Mount Everest. The original plan was for reporters to leave Beijing today to travel to Lhasa and then on to base camp in time to cover the torch leaving base camp on its multi-day journey up to the summit. Instead, reporters will remain in Beijing until the torch leaves, then will make the trip to Base Camp in only three days in order to be present when the torch arrives back the planned summit. Chinese officials cite safety and reporters’ comfort for the reporters as reasons for the change, but news reports suggest that the move has been made to keep reporters from having free time in Lhasa, which has been closed to foreigners since riots broke out there on March 14. Compressing the trip from Beijing (roughly 177 feet above sea level) to the North Side base camp (16,400 feet) into three days could potentially cause altitude sickness for the reporters themselves. In comparison, our blogger’s team took nine days from Kathmandu (roughly 4,500 feet) to the base of Everest on the South Side (17, 575 feet.)

Callie Taintor Wiser
Co-producer, Storm Over Everest