Ice capper

Location: Vinson Massif, Antarctica (popularly known as Mt. Vinson)

Explorer: Wally Berg, owner of Berg Adventures International, who has reached the summit of Mt. Everest four times

Expedition: Climbing Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica, 16,067 feet

Context: Only 400 people have stood atop isolated Vinson Massif, one of the hardest peaks to access, 600 miles from the South Pole -- and one of the coldest. Mean temperature in the Antarctic interior: minus 71 Fahrenheit

Website: MountEverest.net

Dispatch excerpt: From Berg atop Vinson Massif, Dec. 16.

“We stepped on to the summit just before 9 p.m. local time.... I’m honestly at a loss for words right now. The view is inspiring, and it really commands and demands only silence. But I should report to you that there’s not a breath of wind up here. And we have the beauty of the frozen continent here before us, we have the warmth of being together. We also have the grandeur of the Ellsworth Mountains. I’m looking at Gardner, Tyree, Shear and the other giants with just the three of us alone here.”