MUMBAI: Five amateur mountaineers have been shortlisted from over 350 enthusiasts who turned up for the elimination rounds of the National Geographic's Everest Se Takkar in Mumbai over the weekend.

Culled after a rigorous evaluation exercise, which included running, obstacle races, river rafting as well as a written interview and a gruelling psychological grilling, the five will join 15 others, selected from three other cities, in Delhi on 1 March and proceed to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, before embarking on the rigorous trek to the Everest base camp, 20,000 feet above sea level. 

The Rs 110 million initiative, being undertaken in coordination with the Indian Army, is the first time that is being captured on a TV camera from start to finish. The cameras were in attendance even during the initial eliminations, when participants were required to speak a few words on film, and when they ran their course through the physical tests at the naval base in Colaba in southern Mumbai on Sunday. 

The weekly telecasts of the Everest Se Takkar will begin from next week. The Everest initiative is the first time that National Geographic Channel will create local programming that is focused specifically on the Indian viewer. The channel will shoot the entire selection and training procedure and the final trudge to Everest.