The day we thought would be spent sitting in the tent at the North Pole relaxing was quite different. Leave it to the Arctic Ocean to once again reverse our expectations. This latest change, however, had little to do with the forces of Nature. Instead, the Russians seemed to be holding all the cards which in this case was a good thing.

During our nightly call in with the Russian ice base Borneo, we learned that we would most likely be picked up in the morning by helicopter. 'Call back at six your time,' Victor said. So much for sleeping in. It didn't matter about the alarm I was awake at quarter to six anyway (just like the past 51 days had conditioned me to).

'They are coming to get you in 30 minutes,' the heavy russian accent announced through the iridium satellite phone. 'Then, you get on plane right away and fly to Svalbard. And so it was.

The helicopter took a bit longer and so we huddled behind a snow wall for warmth and waited, sleds packed, drifting North Pole farther and farther away due to increasing winds.

'Glad we don't have to ski today,' AJ added.

A plane was waiting upon reaching Borneo that was quickly loaded and within 45 minutes we were airborne again. During the flight, we drank mineral water from a can and ate sandwiches wrapped in plastic. Four hours after that, a warm room, showers, and three big pizzas delivered to our door step. Surreal.

A couple days ago I had turned around to AJ and Darcy and said, 'look around boys and soak it all in. This moment is fleeting and too soon it will be gone. We will have the rest of our lives to be inside. Before boarding the plane I turned to look one more time at the ice and snow. Remember this always I thought.

Special thanks goes to Lora at Scream Agency who is in charge of Save the Poles PR. After coordinating all sorts of interviews for today, rescheduled them to fit our crazy schedule. Thank Lora and Scream - the best PR and marketing team in the world!

Image: Eating pizza!?!

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com

For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/

For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

That the lead we camped next to closed overnight could only be a good omen we thought. But the Arctic Ocean, had other ideas. For starters, we drifted two and a half miles south while we slept. The first shift found us floundering through drifts, pressure ridges and small fractured pans.

Later, Darcy asked that I navigate the last few miles to the Pole in honor of my efforts in organizing and leading the expedition. Personally, I would have prefered to ski in the back and take pictures but my hands were frozen so I agreed. For a while, I regretted my decision but my legs felt good and energy was high. After some thin ice, open water and moving ice, I skied out onto a massive vast stretch of flat ice. Before me, about a half mile farther was the North Pole. I smiled quietly to myself.

I looked back at AJ and Darcy. 'Almost,' I said. We would ski the last few feet together.

Achieving the North Pole on Earth Day is not only the realization of a dream but also a reinforcement of a basic philosophy. The quality of our lives is directly linked to the air we breathe and the water we drink. At the North Pole, lines of longitude begin, grow and extend until they reach everyone one the entire planet. In spite of its remoteness, this is the one place that connects us all.

Nearly four months ago, I was at the opposite end of the world, the South Pole (another of Earth's connecting points). Today, the North Pole. In another four months, the summit of Mt. Everest. Standing here now is the culmination of three and a half years of preparation and planning as well as the efforts of many people. While I may be personally involved in these adventures, the Save the Poles expedition is not about me. My importance in any of this stems only in my ability to share my experiences with others.

On this expedition, we often traveled within a narrow margin of safety. We had limited resources and had to conserve and meter food and fuel. There is no question that now, the 21st century, we need to use resources to ensure our health and survival. But which resources we use, how we use them (and in what quantities) and if they are renewable are cornerstone to preserving our planet for future generations. Ultimately, when we view ourselves part of a whole, we can begin to understand how our actions affect other people and the planet.

After all, we are all explorers in one fashion or another, but the job of explorers in the 21st century is not to conquer but to protect.

Thank you for following and thanks to our great partners listed below.

Major Sponsor - bing, University of Plymouth Project Sponsors - terramar, Goal0, Atlas, madshus, Sierra Designs, Optic Nerve Environmental Partners - Seventh Generation, Center for Biological Diversity, Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, Environmental Law and Policy Center Science Partners - Nat'l Snow and Ice Data Center, Univ Plymouth PR - Scream Technology - Web Expeditions Equipment - Madshus, Cliff, stanley-pmi.com/" target="_blank">Stanley, ACR, Atwater Carey, Thermarest, MSR, granite gear, Surley, Potable Aqua, Princeton Tech, wigwam, Action Wipes, Scarpa, iridium, NorthWest Co, Tap Logic, Sobeys, Wintergreen, Mountain House, Neve

We will do other important Thank You's tomorrow.

Image: Antony Jinman, Eric Larsen and Darcy St-Laurent standing at the Geographic North Pole.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support froque m the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com

For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/

For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

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

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

I have been relying on my Optic Nerve sun glasses with a mini nose beak that I made from fleece and duct tape for face and eye protection but today's biting wind sent me digging for my partially stove-melted goggles. If I look through mostly my right eye and the top part of the lens, I can see fairly well. It was nice to wear them again. My face was instantly warmer.

The weather started out relatively calm but the wind steadily increased to what I would consider near brutal proportions. We skied with our down vests and even our Sierra Designs down parkas at times. Brrr. I guess it was the Arctic Ocean's fun little way to remind us who's in charge around here.

The wind seems to have caused a big crack to expand into a fairly wide open gap of water. We need to cross it to get to the pole but for now we are camped on the south side. Hopefully, it will be frozen in the morning.

I'd like to write more but it's late and we're drifting south. If all goes well, tomorrow I'll be writing to yyouu from the top of the world.

Remember, check out the www.350.org Petition: People's Petition to Cap Carbon Dioxide Pollution at 350 Parts Per Million.

Image: My frozen facel.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com

For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/

For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

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

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.