The extreme medic: Waiting for Antarctica However, if it gets too windy we cannot land the plane. A catch-22. Therefore, half of the logistics team and I have been waiting in Punta hoping that the conditions become more favourable. A frustratingly stationary plane in Punta Arenas On my way out to Chile I flew past the highest mountain on the South American continent, Aconcagua, which rises out of the Argentinean Andes at 6961m (22837ft). You may wonder why this should be of interest to me, bar the adventure, as I would not confess to be a mountaineer. I can look after myself in the mountains, drag myself or a colleague out of a crevasse and climb to a moderate level, but the main reason is that my job involves supporting those heading to Antarctica for this coming summer season who want to climb the Vinson Massif, the so called "seventh summit" which sits on the Antarctic continent at 4892 m (16050ft). Here, a little background is required. The Seven Summits are the tallest peaks on all seven continents. The concept was invented, for want of a better word, by the business man and mountaineer Richard Bass in the mid 1980s. It has no relation to how hard or technical the climbs. In fact, a bigger challenge would be to complete the second highest peaks on all seven continents, a challenge that was only completed in 2012. Messner: one of the mountaineering greats The original list has been modified by Reinhold Messner to include a slightly more challenging peak in Oceania, Carstensz Pyramid. I am sure that Messner, one of the greatest explorers of our time, would have been the first to complete the seven summits. The problem was, he was too busy climbing the 14 tallest peaks on our planet (without oxygen I may add). To this day it remains a physical and financial challenge. Approximately 350 people have completed one or other of the two lists, and about 30 per cent of these have managed both lists. The youngest was 15 and a bit, the oldest 71. There have been married couples, those with terminal disease, those with lots of money and those without. My hat goes off to them. So what is my job? Well, it is a little different to other doctors who work on the ice. First of all I am working for a logistics and expedition company that provides support to activities in Antarctica. These can private ventures, including mountaineering expeditions, an ultra-marathon and those who want to follow in great explorers" footsteps and complete the journey to the South Pole. It also encompasses government contracts such as that of the British Antarctica Survey who plan to drill into a fresh water lake in the Ellsworth region this year. Climbers on the Vinson Massif I will be the doctor for these groups and hope that they get through their time here with little or no input from me. Secondly I am based in a tented camp rather than a fabricated base with solid walls. Thirdly I am actually contracted as a medic rather than a researcher, with a short contract for the Antarctic summer. So what will I deal with? Well anything from expedition illnesses such as altitude sickness, major trauma and frostbite to normal general medical problems such as travellers belly and man-flu. I hope to let you into the world that I discover on the ice. For now, just pray for good weather so that we have a window to land and the excitement can begin.