The National Cadet Corps (NCC), India, has launched its first-ever Boys and Girls Mt Everest Expedition 2025. The expedition is being managed by Seven Summit Treks Pvt. Ltd. Koshi Province launches Udaya Guarantee Fund and Udaya Challenge Fund to boost SME financing Men's March: Calls for an End to Violence Against Women and Girls The expedition attempts to introduce young cadets of India to high altitude mountaineering with the objective of snow-ice skillset enhancement, according to the press released issued on Sunday. The team consists of 19 climbing members, including 10 selected cadets-five boys and five girls-aged between 16.5 and 19 years, and six Base Camp members from the Indian Army. The expedition is led by Indian Army Colonel Amit Bisht, a seasoned mountaineer who previously summited Everest in 2021. The base camp team will coordinate with the team and to their respective reporting authorities. Renowned mountaineer Mingma Sherpa, Chairman of Seven Summit Treks and the first South Asian to summit all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, will oversee coordination and emergency response of the expedition. The climbing team is supported by IFMGA/UIAGM Mountain Guide Chhiring Sonam Sherpa as expedition Sirdar, and Aspirant Guide Jenjen Lama as Deputy Sirdar. The team is supported by a professional logistics setup provided by Seven Summit Treks Pvt. Ltd., which includes experienced Sherpas, guides, and medical and safety personnel along with the entirety of management and operation of the expedition. The expedition follows a multi-phase itinerary, integrating acclimatization, technical climbing, and altitude gain protocols, in line with international mountaineering standards. The team arrived in Kathmandu on April 5 and is currently undergoingofficial briefings and procedures with the expedition agency and local authorities. They will fly to Lukla via Ramechhap on April 9, from where they will trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). As part of their acclimatization process, the climbers will scale Lobuche East (6,119 metres) before returning to EBC for further technical training and climbing rotations, learn mountaineering skills, the usage of gears and equipment, ropework and oxygen and most importantly surviving and tackling through the hardship of mountain weather. The team will follow the standard South Col/South East Ridge route to the summit, with the summit push scheduled for mid-May. The expedition is expected to last 45 to 50 days, with the team returning to India post-summit and debriefing. Supported by the Ministry of Defence and advised by Indian military mountaineering experts, the expedition was ceremonially flagged off on April 3 by Indian Defence minister Rajnath Singh.