We appeal to the International Olympic Committee to prevent the government of China from constructing a road to the base camp of Mount Everest, of which the only perceivable purpose is to carry the Olympic torch up and down Mount Everest for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games. This 108 km road will be disastrous for the ecology and the fragile glacial ecosystem of the Himalayas and it will precipitate the already significant damage caused to the environs of Mount Everest to a point of no return. The cost of such thoughtless showmanship will be borne by the people of Nepal, India and China and the blame for that will rest fairly and squarely on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its negligence and lack of control on the process for organizing the 2008 Olympic Games. We petition the IOC to instruct its Chinese organizing committee NOT to permit the construction of this road, and make a clear statement that it will not carry the Olympic torch along this road even if it is constructed by the government of China.