Just a quick note from the Yak and Yeti to let you know that I am still alive and doing fine. While I survived the North Pole, South Pole and Mt. Everest, I have some how managed to pick up a cold in Kathmandu so I am spending my last night here holed up in my room. So much for the rock and roll lifestyle.

It seems after receiving my certificate for climbing Mt. Everest that the tourism office thought to endow me with another special honor: I am now an official ambassador for Nepal Tourism year 2011. I have absolutely no official duties whatsoever but I am taking the responsibility seriously and will hopefully be bringing a group to trek into base camp next fall.

Tshering stopped by to say hi and we hung out for a while. We made some small talk, laughed and talked about our schedules. He also brought over the Kathmandu Post which had run a feature on our combined stories. We made arrangements for tomorrow - a van shuttle to the airport.

I am not looking forward to saying good bye. While I am excited to go home, my heart feels heavy. So much has happened in the past two months that I now consider Tshering and the boys friends more than anything. We share the combined experience of working hard to achieve an extreme goal and the bond between us will always have that as a foundation.

Still, there are many things that I am looking forward to. Seeing Maria, a salad at Mad Greens and being able to have a full blown conversation in English. Can't argue with Dorothy on this one, 'there's no place like home.'

Of course, this is not really the end of anything but the beginning. The whole goal of the Save the Poles expedition was to connect people to these places and now is where the real work begins. My hope is to bring this story to as many audiences around the country as possible and I am currently scheduling presentations for the winter and spring.

There is also another Op Ed piece from Sean Allen, the director of First Homes in Rochester, Minnesota. You can check it out here.

As always, thanks for following and thanks so much for your support. Please stay tuned for more!

Image: Receiving my Everest certificate at the Tourism office.