Hello from Mongolia! It's so incredibly exciting to be here. We arrived yesterday after an epic 40-hour travel day and are now nearly on the exact opposite side of the world from Colorado which lies on the 105th meridian (west). Ulan Bator is on the 106th meridian (east). But enough about lines of longitudes and global positioning... even though it's an infinitely fascinating subject.

Webexpeditions Tim and I are here on a short scouting mission for a future expedition. Our goal spend the next week or so biking and filming around the area of Gurvansaikhan National Park an area roughly 300 miles south of Ulan Bator, Mongolia's capitol city.

It's been a while since I've been somewhere completely new - that I know almost nothing about. In fact, Mongolia itself wasn't know much to the outside world. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 brought a peaceful Democratic Revolution in 1990 and the introduction of a multi-party system, a market economy and open borders.

Mongolia is the most sparsely populated nation in the world, with only 4.3 people per square mile.It has a total area of 603, 909 miles2 (1,564,116 km2) and is slightly smaller than Alaska and is the second largest land-locked country after Kazakhstan.

Mongolia is high, cold, and windy. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers. Ulan Bator is actually the coldest capitol city in the world with an average yearly temperature of roughly 34 degrees F (1 degree C). Which is why I am here: to better understand the world's coldest places.

I am on a fact finding mission. I am here to learn and observe. Our method of travel? Bikes. At times, we will be using a support vehicle and other times we will be on our own. Stay tuned for more updates from our adventure.

Think Snow!

Image: Ulan Bator, Mongolia on final approach.