Mountaineering guides complete building route to summit Mt. Qomolangma

MOUNT QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP - Chinese mountaineering guides have completed building a route to the summit of Mt. Qomolangma for survey group members who plan to remeasure the height of the world's tallest peak.

The six mountaineering guides reached the summit and finished installing facilities at around 4:35 pm Tuesday, becoming the first group to scale the peak this year. The Chinese survey team will climb to the top of the mountain on Wednesday.

The guides used climbing gear such as pitons, ice tools and carabiners to fix ropes on the way to the peak to make it easier for the other climbers who can follow the route along the ropes with the help of their own equipment.

"The road builders, known as pioneers, had to face more risks themselves as there were no existing ropes to protect them," said Tsering Samdrup, leader of a support team.

The team failed in its earlier five attempts to build a route to the summit due to heavy snow and strong winds.

The guide team has left the summit and the eight-member group of surveyors will start for the peak in the early hours of Wednesday, if the weather holds.

China initiated a new round of measurements to determine the height of Mount Qomolangma on April 30, but bad weather twice delayed plans to reach the summit.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chinese surveyors have conducted six rounds of scaled measurements and scientific research on Mount Qomolangma and released the height of the peak twice in 1975 and 2005, which was 8,848.13 meters and 8,844.43 meters, respectively.