The first of the three pre-Everest expeditions will be undertaken ahead of the first Everest expedition from the northeast in 2011. It will be undertaken by the North East Adventure Foundation.

Nesim Akhtar, an experienced mountaineer and member of the Governing Council of the Indian Mountaineering Federation for the past 10 years, will lead the Everest expedition.

Noted mountaineer Colonel Neeraj Rana and senior journalist and experienced mountaineer Pranay Bordoloi will be the deputy leaders.

As part of the first pre-Everest expedition, a 30-member team from the region will attempt to scale the Kolahai peak in Kashmir after undergoing a training session at the Indian Army-run Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering in Pahalgam.

The final team of 15 members for the main expedition to scale Everest would be chosen from the participants at the three pre-Everest summits of which two would be undertaken this year and the third one in 2010.

Of the 25 participants for the three pre-Everest expeditions, 13 are from Assam and 12 are from other northeastern States.The team includes 14 young women from the region.