Colombian mountain climbers are planning to plant their country’s flag on the highest peak of Antarctica.
The seven men on Friday visited President Juan Manuel Santos who handed the climbers a flag, while commending the bravery of the “heroes.”
“We admire what you do, what you have done over the years,” Santos said at a meeting in the presidential palace in Bogota preceding the sportsmen’s trip to Antarctica where they plan to climb the 16,000-feet Vinson Massif..
The president particularly stressed the partaking of climber Nelson Cardona who will join the missing despite having lost a leg in a traffic accident six years ago.
“This survival spirit that you have taught us Colombians is something that, if we all internalize it, can bring this country to the heights you have taken our flag,” Santos told Cardona.
The climbers’ mission is expected to leave for Antarctica on January 8.
