NEW DELHI: China has shut the highest mountains of Tibet — including Cho Oyu (8,188m), Shishapangma (8,027m) and the north side of Mt Everest (8,849m) — to foreign climbers for this year, forcing Nepal-based expedition operators to cancel autumn bookings and leaving mountaineers chasing all 14 of the world’s 8,000m-plus peaks facing at least another season of delay. The continued closure followed investigations triggered by a 52-second high-altitude fireworks spectacle near Shigatse, Tibet, earlier and a probe into alleged corruption in issuing permits to foreign expeditions.
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