Hello MountainZoners, this is Vern Tejas at the bottom of the world, on the side of Mount Vinson. Well, today we were greeted by a nice breeze coming off the plateau, and we could see streamers in the sky, blowing over our head. Obviously, the wind is coming in hard from the East and we have decided that, discretion being the better part of valor, we are going to stay in camp today, and call it a storm/rest day.

Maybe (we'll) give it a shot tomorrow, but we want to see what this storm is going to progress to. So, here we are, camped out and having a great time. We certainly are enjoying the Martin guitar and all the food that we brought up. But other, than that, it's a long day, we're discovering all about each other's childhood adventures, and just basically geetting to know one another.

Generally, I'm guiding this mountain, but Alpine Ascents decided that, in their good graces, they'd let me have some time off so I could do science for the Omega Foundation. So I have been treated to the fact that I get guided on this trip, and our guide, a fine Austrian guide that he is, Christoph Hoedenreich, has been sharing his experiences with us and it's been really fun, to have him cooking for us and sharing his stories. So here's his thoughts for the day, and I'm going to leave you with this.

"For me, climbing Vinson Massif is more than scaling the highest mountain on the coldest, windiest, driest, most remote continent on our planet. Antarctica is also the most peaceful and silent continent, which offers me time to breathe and space to dream. Yes, the most impressive summits of my life I do not climb with my feet, I only reach with my heart."

Thanks for tuning in, cybernauts. We'll catch you next time. Ciao for now, Vern Tejas, reporting from the bottom of the world, cheers.

— Vern Tejas, expedition leader and MountainZone.com correspondent