Seven intrepid adventurers from the Northern Ireland Prison Service left this week to climb the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere.

The group, which represents all sections of the Prison Service, flew out to Argentina for an expedition to reach the summit of Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains.

Before they set off, Team Leader Dave Bowden, an instructor at the Prison Service College in Millisle, said the group had prepared thoroughly for the arduous 19 day trip.

“The summit of Aconcagua is only 4,000 feet less than the top of Everest so it will be quite a challenge. It is the highest trekking peak in the world.

“There is a strong possibility of getting altitude sickness so we have preparing for more than a year, doing altitude training in the Cairngorms and the Alps to help acclimatise to the conditions,” he said.

The team of six men and one woman has been raising money for a project, which helps provide shelter for street children in Argentina.

The Red Box Project, run by SAMS Ireland (South American Mission Society), a church-based charity which sends volunteers out to set up programmes to help deprived communities throughout the continent.

The NIPS group has hired a satellite phone and they are planning to speak from the Andes to SAMS Ireland volunteers who are holding their annual celebration event in Craigavon Civic Centre on February 6.

It is not the first time that NIPS climbers have taken part in treks to some of the highest mountains on the planet.

In February 2004, a Prison Service expedition team successfully reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

Note to Editors

For a photograph of the group setting off from Hydebank Wood contact the NIPS Press Office on 02890 525061.

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