The team that will be carrying the Olympic flame to the top of Mount Qomolangma has been announced. There are 3 women and 24 ethnic Tibetans in the 36-member squad.

The process to select the 36 mountaineers as the torchbearers lasted for two years. Among them, there are 24 ethnic Tibetans, 10 Han Chinese, one Tu minority and one ethnic Tujia. The oldest is 46-year-old Luo Ze, he is one of three Chinese who have climbed all the world's 14 peaks with an altitude of more than 8,000 meters.

The team that will be carrying the Olympic flame to the top of Mount Qomolangma has been announced.

The team consists of both experienced mountaineers and some university students.

Zhang Zhijian, China Mountaineering Team Spokesman said "All the team members love the sport of mountaineering. Every one of them has had at least one experience climbing up mountains with an altitude of over 6,000 meters."

The head of the team is Wang Yongfeng. He has climbed all the highest peaks on the world's seven continents.

The heavy snow over the weekend had destroyed the trails and some tents.

Zhang Zhijian said "The torch climbers are taking advantage of the good weather this week to fix those damaged facilities."

The flame arrived the Base Camp of Mount Qomolangma in late April. It will be the first time the Olympic torch has reached the world's highest peak.

(CCTV May 7, 2008)