Crisis central in Colorado this morning. With my departure date looming ominously close, today decided (for whatever reason) to reign chaos on me and everything I touched.

Beware of snow and ice? Yeah right. I can't wait to get to Antarctica where life is simple and all I'll have to worry about is thawing out my Clif bars enough to be able to chew them.

Right now I am up to my neck in craziness - replacing an HD video camera that mysteriously blew up while charging, setting up remote web posting capabilities - a process so vast and expansive that my brain actually hurts. In fact, there is now smoke coming out of my ears. Chargers, systems, back ups these details are critical.

On a positive note, my gear is all packed - 4 bags total (I'll get food in punta arenas). I also finished a heat exchanger that should reduce fuel consumption dramatically, put together a comprehensive repair kit and a bunch of other odds and ends.

More tomorrow, now back to the fray.

A new remote audio post has been added to the blog...

A new remote audio post has been added to the blog...

T-minus 7 days and counting until I depart for Chile and the first leg of the Save the Poles Expedition - a 52 day ski to the geographic South Pole across the driest, windiest and coldest place on our planet. Ironically, I'm looking forward to starting this trip. After almost three years of planning and preparation, I am giddy with anticipation.

I am also in New York. Crazy to think of how different my life will be in over two weeks. Surrounded by snow and my Bill and Dongsheng (my teammates) the hustle and bustle of Times Square will be a distant memory.

I spent a day in Burlington, Vermont meeting with the folks at Seventh Generation. I was impressed with the company philosophy, ethics and environmental practices. They demonstrate that being 'green' can also be good business. While there I presented the Save the Poles story to the staff. Lots of fun and special thanks go to Chris Miller to help arrange my visit.

Special thanks also go to Lora Ledermann founder of Scream Agency. We met up in Vermont, drove to New York and had several adventures along the way. While most people think of just the people on the trail with me as my team, it really extends to everyone helping. Lora and the crew at Scream have helped the Save the Poles expedition become a global story.

I've had some other great sponsorship news, partner info and more. Next update for all that, right?

Today people in 181 countries are coming together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world, people are gathering to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

Here is my effort. My nephews Luke (left) and Tyler (right) with the 350 sign that Tyler made. I will be taking to this sign to South Pole as a continuing message.

I'm also heading up to Land O' Lakes, Wisc for a presentation in conjunction with 350 actions at the Conserve School.

Expedition-wise there are a million other things going on, but I'm saving that for another update. In the mean time, add your 350 action here. www.350.org