photo via: Reuters

The Olympic Flame is winding it’s way up Mount Everest this week. Journalists are firmly encamped at Rongo Monastery (5010m) where the media center is located. They’re following the Olympic Torch and providing reports on the progress. Oddly most of the news is not about the flame but about the extreme reporting restrictions and the allowed use of deadly force by the Nepalese government. This report from The Independent sums up the environment surrounding the Everest Torch run:

As Chinese climbers seek to reach Everest’s summit carrying a replica of the Olympic torch, the Nepalese government has closed down the upper areas of the mountain within its own borders and ordered everyone to stay away from the summit. It has even told the dozens of security personnel dispatched to the mountain they can shoot protesters seeking to disrupt the Chinese ascent.

Link: Everest Torch Silence Breeds Frustration
Link: A New Torch Controversy: the battle for Everest