The killing of a Tibetan nun has overshadowed Beijing's Olympic plans for Everest

Carrying the Olympic flame to the summit of Everest live on television is, even by Chinese standards, a demanding challenge.

This week mountaineering authorities in Lhasa announced they wanted to limit the number of foreign climbers on the Tibetan side of the 8,850 metre (29,035ft) peak in spring 2007 to allow a trial run to assess the technology and manpower needed to start the Beijing Olympics from the summit of the world.

But the propaganda value has been severely compromised by video footage taken by a western mountaineer of a 17-year-old Tibetan nun being shot in the back by Chinese border guards as they tried to stop a group of 73 refugees crossing the Nangpa La, a 5,800 metre pass 15 miles west of Everest, to Nepal.

The nun was Kelsang Namtso from Nagchu prefecture, the only daughter in a family of six. Like many Tibetans, she had no access to education and planned to study at the Dolma Ling nunnery in India. Travelling with her childhood friend Dolma Palkyi, she endured high winds and deep snow. The two young women ran out of food as they approached the difficult pass.

The trail to the Nangpa La pass is overlooked by the base camp of the 8,200 metre mountain Cho Oyu, often used as a training peak by climbers gaining experience for an attempt on Everest. Footage of People's Armed Police (PAP) taking aim at refugees and of bodies hitting the snow was taken by Romanian mountaineer Sergiu Matei and broadcast around the world....