PUNE: A team of 20 mountaineers of the Giripremi mountaineering club will embark on the Pune Everest 2012 expedition to scale the world's highest peak on March 16. It is the fifth civilian expedition from the country and the first wherein 20 mountaineers from the same city are participating in an expedition to Everest, claimed team members on Tuesday.

While addressing a press conference, leader of the expedition Umesh Zirpe said, "The team members, who have undergone various sessions in the last 15 months to increase their physical and mental strength, will start from Pune on Friday. President Pratibha Patil will hand over the national flag to the team at Delhi, after which they will proceed to Kathmandu."

He added, "The team will install a statue of Shivaji Maharaja at the Everest base camp site. Thereafter, the climbers will undertake an expedition to the Island peak, one of the main climbing peaks of the Everest area, to get acclimatised."

He said the main expedition to the Everest peak will start around April 12. The last stage climbing on the peak will be taken up between May 12 and 25, depending upon the weather. Of the 20 members, about 10 climbers will undertake the actual climb to the peak, while the remaining 10 will act as a supporting team. The entire team is expected to return to Pune in June.

Zirpe said, "The total cost of the expedition is estimated at Rs 3.15 crore, of which over 90% has already been collected. The fund collection began last year and received an overwhelming response from across the country. As many as 23,000 donors have contributed for the expedition. A major part of fund has come from individual donors apart from the funds from business and corporate houses". Zirpe said the funds were falling short by Rs 25 lakh, but they hoped they would be able to raise the money.

Meanwhile, two attempts of civilian expeditions were made earlier from the state in 1992 and 1998.

City mountaineer Surendra Chavan was part of the 1998 expedition that successfully scaled Everest.

Zirpe also said the team will undertake a social project in the area around the Everest base camp, which will include distribution of solar lanterns among villagers at the foothills of the mountain in Solukhumbu district of Nepal.