奥运火炬将登上世界最高峰

CNN Student News

May 6, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- May 6, 2008 An Epic Journey - Learn about an attempt to carry the Olympic torch to Mount Everest's peak. Shoutout GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! In what mountain range will you find Mount Everest? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it in the: A) Pyrenees, B) Appalachians, C) Alps or D) Himalayas? Three seconds on the clock -- GO! Mount Everest is located in the Himalayas. With a summit at more than 29,000 feet, it's the tallest mountain in the world. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! An Epic Journey LLOYD: Everest was also part of the package when China made a bid for this year's Olympic Games. The country promised that the Olympic flame would reach that superlative summit during its trip around the world. Organizers spent nearly two years preparing the Everest leg of the relay. But as Carl Azuz tells us, the torch's climb is currently in a holding pattern. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: It may seem like a cool idea: Carry the Olympic torch, a symbol of international competition, to the top of the world's highest mountain. Easier said than done. The torch-toting team of 50 climbers, including a Chinese camera crew, needs between four and six days to reach Mount Everest's summit from the advance base camp and get back down. The weather doesn't care. SHAO SHIWEI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, BOCOG MEDIA DEPARTMENT: At the moment, we are still researching and cannot give you a direct, effective and satisfactory weather forecast. AZUZ: That's because the climate here is harsh. Recent wind gusts have hit 140 miles per hour. Storms can blow in and blow away in a matter of hours. And the region's rainy season begins late this month, so there's a deadline. That doesn't deter the climbers, though. THOMAS ETZLER, CNN REPORTER: This organizing committee of the Olympic torch picked up the best of the best of Chinese mountaineers. They are used to this. I'm sure that this expedition, you know, they have experienced leaders; they did not expect that everything would go smoothly. AZUZ: They also have more security than climbers normally get. You've seen people from around the world protesting the Olympic torch; guards ring this mountain to ensure that demonstrators stay away from base camp. And if you're wondering how you get a flame up to a mountaintop, especially one blasted by wind and snow, the torch's lantern is designed to protect it from the elements and the lack of oxygen. So it will burn on, regardless of whether it burns from the top of the world. Carl Azuz, CNN Student News. (END VIDEO CLIP)

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