Bhubaneswar, Oct. 3: A team of 15 adventure-lovers recently scaled Mount Rudugaira (19,100ft) in Uttarakhand as a part of Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition.

The expedition was flagged-off from Bhubaneswar by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on September 12 and it reached the summit on September 21 after an arduous trek of more than a week.

The team completed the journey along with expert mountaineers such as Premlata Agarwal, Bachendri Pal, Jogabyasa Bhoi and others.

'The route was covered with thick layers of ice, moraines and was prone to avalanches. However, the participants were given proper training so that they could get over these hurdles,' Bhoi said.

The expedition was initially named Himsikhar, but was changed later keeping in mind the birth centenary year of Biju Patnaik.

'I always wanted to go on an expedition and my dream has come true. I am confident that now I can scale higher altitudes,' said Priyanka Mishra, a participant.

In all 157 applicants had applied to undertake the trek. However, 84 youths were screened to undergo fitness test at Tata Steel Adventure Foundation in Jamshedpur. Later, after the second phase screening at Uttarkashi, 15 youths were selected for the expedition.

The expedition is an initiative launched by the state sports and youth services department last year to give young trekking enthusiasts an opportunity to scale mountains.

Last year, a similar expedition was flagged-off from Bhubaneswar on September 16. The team had reached Uttarakhand on September 20 and trekked to the base camp and reached the summit on September 28.

In the past few years, Odisha has produced a number of mountaineers who have been successful in scaling some of the highest peaks in the world.

Nrusingha Charan Sahu, a young mountaineer from the state, climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe last week. The 33-year-old scaled the west summit, which is 18,510 ft high.

Sahu, along with other mountaineers from across the world, began the expedition from Moscow on September 23 and reached the summit on September 29.

'The feeling of hoisting the national flag at the peak was exhilarating. The conditions were tough and temperature was below -35 degrees Celsius but we were determined,' said Sahu, a resident of Nischitapur village of Khurda district.

Sahu has earlier scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain peak in South Africa and Mount Stok Kangri (20,187 ft) in Leh.