Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest, will lead a ten-member women's team to Mount Island Peak, Nepal, to commemorate the birth centenary of J R D Tata as well as the 20th anniversary of the first ascent to the tallest peak in the world by Indian women. Before embarking on the month-long expedition, the mountaineers will seek the blessings of President A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday. The team is slated to leave for Kathmandu on Tuesday. "This expedition is a tribute to J R D Tata's spirit of adventure," said Pal at a press conference held here on Sunday.

Pal said the decision to field an all-woman team was taken "since women have lesser opportunities when it comes to adventure". She added that her teammates were all seasoned mountaineers. Apart from Bachendri Pal, the other members of the expedition to Mount Island Peak, which is 20,400 ft above sea level, are Vasumati Sreeni-vasan, Chetana Sahoo, Chaula Jagirdar, Premlata Agarwal, L Annapurna, Seema Tolia, Sushma Bissa, Anita Sarkar and G Anita Devi.