Following is a series of dispatches received via satellite phone throughout the expedition:

Dispatch 1, July 12: We just received word from guides Seth Hobby and Stephen Karney via satellite phone that their group of three climbers and two guides has been flown safely into the Waddington Range. Seth and Curt were aboard the first helicopter flight leaving yesterday evening in questionable weather. Unfortunately, the conditions were bad enough that the helicopter could not land at the intended destination - the 9,900-foot col between Mt. Waddington (13,263') and Mt. Combatant (12,394'). Seth and Curt instead had to settle for a landing further down the glacier at around 8,250 feet, and that is where they spent the night. The rest of the group flew in this morning in better weather at 7:30am and were able to land on top of the col. The helicopter then went down to where Seth and Curt had camped and shuttled them and their gear up to the col.

Just prior to the beginning of this expedition, brothers Curt Cratty and Steven Cratty and friend Virginia Rozic - all from Butler, Pennsylvania - participated in and completed Part 1 and Part 2 of our Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership course. Their expedition to Waddington is the culmination of the three-part course.

Seth said the plan for today was to get settled in and build their base camp on the col. "It's a great camp, and we've got some nice solid snow walls built already. From here we have breathtaking views of both Combatant and Waddington, our two objectives for this trip." The col - known commonly as the Combatant Col - is a broad, flat, glacial snowfield perched high between Waddington and Combatant's lofty summits. From there the team will have access to both peaks.

Tomorrow the group will attempt to climb Mt. Combatant via a route called Central Couloir. The couloir leads off from the col and extends upward in 1,320 impressive feet of 50-degree snow. At the top of the couloir the route then gains the northwest ridge and ends in a scramble to the main summit.

After their climb on Combatant, the group will take a rest day on Thursday, and then if weather and conditions permit, they will begin their attempt on Mt. Waddington via the Kiwi Route. Though the Kiwi Route is not visible from their base camp on the col, the group will have full view of it during their climb of Combatant tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates!

Dispatch 2, July 13: Guide Seth Hobby called in today at 3pm from the team's camp on the col. This morning the group woke to stormy weather and thunderstorms and so decided to forgo their attempt of Mt. Combatant for today. They may try for Combatant tomorrow "if the big black clouds go away", Seth said. Instead the group went on a tour down the glacier to the south, traveling a few miles to check out the approach to Mt. Hickson.

The forecast for the weekend calls for clear weather and the team is optimistic about their attempt on Mt. Waddington.

Dispatch 3, July 19: Guide Seth Hobby called this morning with great news from the Waddington Range. On Sunday, the entire team successfully reached the summit of Mt. Combatant via the Central Couloir. Seth said, "It was a great climb. The route began in a very broad snow and ice couloir that averaged 45 to 50 degrees for the first five or six rope lengths. Higher up, the couloir narrowed to less than six feet wide and steepened to about 65 degrees for the last few pitches to the ridgecrest." At the top of the couloir the team gained the ridge and then traversed to Combatant's northwest summit. "We had super nice weather," Seth said. "Before the climb we saw that Waddington's summit and many other high altitude rock features in the area were layered in some serious-looking rime ice, so we decided that Mt. Combatant would be the best objective. We were right - conditions were beautiful."

The group flew out Sunday evening after they descended from the summit to their camp at the Combatant Col. Congratulations to everyone for getting to the summit of one of the Waddington Range's prominent peaks!