No ban on climbing Himalayas incl. Everest:

There has been some news articals on internet falsely stating that Nepal has effectively closed Mount Everest to climbers until after May 10 to allow the Olympic flame to be carried to the top without being troubled by Tibetan protesters. In response The Government of Nepal has put out following press release:

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation(MoCTCA) issuing a press statement on March 18, 2008 denied the claim that it has suspended the mountaineering expedition to Mt. Everest saying that the dissemination of false information quoting the ministry in this issue has drawn the attention of MoCTCA. MoCTCA in its press statement said that the Ministry has not banned climbing expedition on Mt. Everest and other Himalayan peaks and the policy related to mountaineering expeditions has remained same as previous. Issuing the press statement, Spokesperson of MoCTCA, Joint Secretary Mr. Prem Kumar Rai has requested all media to contact spokesperson of the ministry for the fact before disseminating the information concerning with the Ministry.