Climb Mt. Vinson with Berg Adventures International – Itinerary:
Day 1 – 2 - International flights to Punta Arenas, Chile. You will be met by representatives of BAI and transported to hotel in Punta. Team meeting in the evening.
Day 3 - Briefing for flight to Antarctica. We will be joined by an amazing array of adventurous people. Perhaps explorers and scientist going to do research somewhere on the continent, perhaps other climbers, maybe a transpolar expedition or support team for a polar crossing. Perhaps some of our group will be bound for the South Pole. We will have time to wonder the streets of Punta Arenas as well. It is lovely little port city at the tip of a continent. One feels secure in the commercial and cultural surroundings here. But looking out on the Straits of Magellan you feel your toes are curled around the tip of the high diving board to adventure.
Day 4 - Our scheduled day for deployment. We will have known since our arrival whether we are on the "short leash" to be called to the airport on a moments notice, or whether we are in a "holding pattern" waiting for flying conditions or weather on the ice to improve. If we have to wait, the pilots and crew offer full briefings as to the reports we are getting from the meteorologist at Union Glacier and other stations on the ice. We are packed and ready to deploy. A hike to the top of the lifts at the world's southernmost ski area, or a visit to one of the local penguin colonies are possible when we get tired of weather forecasts via short wave radio.
No one can be so jaded to air travel that they will not be awed by this trip. Flying over the wildest waters of the Earth's oceans. Small icebergs may be indistinguishable from the large whitecaps of these turbulent waters. Hours after the flight begins, you will be told to look for signs of "landfall" as we approach the Antarctic coast. Further inland we approach Union Glacier and the Blue Ice Runway. Landing in a wheeled aircraft on this 6 kilometer long feature is unforgettable experience. A few moments later you step on to the bright stillness of the Antarctic ice.
Day 5 - 16 (approx) - The support staff at Union Glacier will welcome us to the comforts of their station. We will be eager to hear from our pilot stationed at Union Glacier about flyable weather on to our objective, Vinson Base. 
Once there we will build our Base Camp. We move to Camp 1 the second day. At Camp 2 we take an extra night and carry a load through the "icefall" towards Camp 3. If weather is good we move to Camp 3 on the 4th day above base camp and go onto the summit, returning to Camp 3 on the 5th day above Base. Other good schedules will be possible if weather or our acclimatization dictate.
Day 17 - We sometimes get in the air leaving Vinson base at the same time the big plane leaves Chile to come pick us up. Other times we may return early to Union Glacier, put our tents up there and wait for the flights back to Chile. In any event, every day spent living on the ice is a unique one and the adventure continues in this fascinating land.
Day 18 - International Flights returning home.
Day 19 - Arrive home.