High winds prevent Everest push before weekend

By Nick Mulvenney

EVEREST BASE CAMP, China (Reuters) - The Beijing Olympic torch will not reach the summit of Mount Everest for at least four days because of high winds on the world's highest peak, organizers said on Wednesday.

Organizers have not disclosed details of when the climbers and the torch will set off from Base Camp, if they have not done so already, but strong winds mean an attempt to take the flame to the summit will not take place before the weekend.

"It would be very difficult to take the flame to the peak of the summit today," Yan Xingguo, director of the meteorological centre, told reporters on their first visit to base camp proper.

"It's certainly not going to be possible in the next three days because the wind speed is above 30 meters per second. According to our experience, we can scale the summit when the wind speed is 20 meters per second."

After huge disruption to the international leg of the torch relay by anti-China protests over Tibet and other issues, organizers are taking no chances of any demonstrations for this high-profile splinter leg.

On their way up to base camp, the media passed through a checkpoint and then a large border police encampment outside which stood more than 20 uniformed men armed with AK-47 assault rifles.

"OUT OF BOUNDS"

Security is also behind the secrecy surrounding the departure date of the climbing team, and large areas of base camp were ruled "out of bounds" to the media on Wednesday and cordoned off by police tape.