Nineteen Chinese mountaineers have started to carry the Beijing Olympic flame to the top of Mount Qomolangma Thursday evening. The climbers will take the north ridge route and are expected to reach the peak the next morning.

Yu Liangpu, the former general secretary of the China Mountaineering Association said that there were three major barriers that mountain climbers need to overcome.

The first barrier also called the North Col is a steep moraine at an altitude between 6500 meters and 7028 meters, with an average angle of 50 degrees.

The second difficulty lies at an altitude between 7400 meters and 7500 meters. The mountain climbers call this section the "big wind gap". It's blowing very hard at this altitude, with a normal wind scale of force level six.

The third challenge mountain climbers must face on this route is the second step. It is at an altitude of 8680 meters and 8720 meters above sea level. It is a very steep naked rock wall, consisting of traverses. And the higher part, which is about 4 to 5 meters' long is a nearly-90-degree cliff without good grips or footholds, is the most difficult part of the route.

Yu Liangpu says in 1975 the Chinese mountain climbers built a ladder there.

"In 1975 when we climbed Mt Qomolangma for the second time, we brought the 4 ladders with us. Each ladder is 1.1 meters long. When we installed these four ladders, it was still half a meter short. But this already helps a lot. This ladder will be kept for now. Foreign mountaineers call it the Chinese ladder. Without this Chinese ladder, the second step is a mission impossible."

Beijing promised in its bidding reports seven years ago that the sacred flame of the Olympics would reach the snow-covered peak. It will be the first time for the Olympic torch relay to be held on the 8844-meter mountain.

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