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

Dispatch 1, May 10: AAI Denali guide Joey Elton called in today (May 10) at 3:00pm Pacific time to give the first Denali expedition dispatch of the season! Joey said: "Our group flew out of Talkeetna on time Sunday afternoon in a small window of good weather. It was a nearly perfect day, and we got into Denali base camp at about 5pm, set up camp, ate dinner, and crashed early. The next day, May 8, we woke to cloudy, socked in conditions with visibility at about one half mile. We packed up and headed to Camp 1 at 7800 feet. Visibility deteriorated along the way to whiteout conditions, and we found ourselves navigating with map and compass and breaking trail the entire way. We made it to camp in spite of it all, and arrived in good spirits. Turns out that the wands we left on the route behind us helped out a bunch of teams behind us!"

On May 9, the group climbed to 9800 feet where they placed their first cache, then descended back to their camp at 7800 feet for the night. Today was a rest day. Joey said, "We hung around camp today, took naps, and performed minor maintenance on our stoves. We also set up a very cool system for melting snow using solar energy by draping a black garbage bag over a sled at a 20-degree angle facing south - very high tech."

Tomorrow the team plans to climb to 11,000 feet where they will set up Camp 2. They will collect the cache at 9800 feet the day after.

Congratulations to everyone on Team #1 for a successful first few days on Denali!

Dispatch 2, May 12: Joey Elton called in Friday, May 12 at 11pm Pacific time to give Team #1's second dispatch. Joey said, "Yesterday we climbed from Camp 1 at 7800 feet to 11,000 feet, where we set up Camp 2. The weather has been beautiful, though we did get a huge dump of snow last night so that today when we went down to collect our cache at 9600 feet, we had some hard working breaking trail through fairly deep snow. Believe it or not, the trip down and back was enjoyable work! Of course, the perfect views along the way certainly helped."

"Tomorrow if all goes well we'll put in a cache at Windy Corner (13,500 feet), and then hope to move to Camp 3 at 14,200 feet the day after if the weather remains cooperative. The team is doing very well - all are in good health and good spirits, and we are enjoying the international diversity amongst us. Any given minute, you can hear John speaking in Norwiegan, Malcom speaking in Scottish, and the Belgian and French climbers speaking in French! We are all reveling in the solitude of early season and really haven't seen that many other teams - a rarity for the West Buttress! That's pretty much it - we're definitely having a good time and will continue to call."

Joey

Dispatch 3, May 13:We received a very brief message from Joey on Saturday at 10pm Pacific time. His message was interrupted by the satellite phone cutting out as the satellite most likely dipped below the horizon during his call. However, we were able to make out the following message:

"It's Joey calling again from the 11,000-foot camp. It's another beautiful day up here. We decided to take a rest day today instead of putting in our cache at Windy Corner so a few folks can have another day to adjust to the altitude. With a good forecast for tomorrow, we'll head up to put our cache in." [At this point the satellite phone cut out - stay tuned for tomorrow's dispatch!]

Dispatch 4, May 14:Another dispatch from Team #1 came in just last night at 8pm Pacific time. Guides Joey Elton and Paul Ivaska called from Camp 2 at 11,000 feet with good news:

"Today four climbers on our team and I successfully put in a cache at Windy Corner (13,500 feet). It was a great day, though we did encounter some high winds at about 13,000 feet and beyond. From Windy Corner we were able to get a good view of the route above us, including the headwall with its fixed lines above Camp 3 (14,200 feet). It appears as though the glacier is quite dry above Windy Corner, and heavy winds have scoured off any snow that was previously there. The headwall itself looks to be mostly blue ice, so we're hoping there's a track put in by the time we get to Camp 3."

"We're planning on moving to Camp 3 tomorrow, depending on the weather. There have been lenticular clouds over Denali and Mt. Foraker, which is a sign of high winds. Additionally, yesterday we saw some high cirrus clouds, indicating a front moving in. Hopefully, the weather will move in and out quickly and we'll be on our way up the mountain tomorrow!"

"Everyone is doing well and we are all blown away by the astounding views that reveal themselves around each corner. It is truly spectacular up here."

Dispatch 5, May 18:AAI guide Joey Elton called late Wednesday night (May 17) with a dispatch from Camp 3 (14,200 feet). He said, "This is Joey calling from 14-camp. It's 9:45pm Alaska time and the sun is setting behind the true West Buttress of Denali, casting a beautiful alpenglow on Mt. Foraker in the distance. The team is doing well, in good health and good spirits. Monday saw us ascending from Camp 2 to Camp 3 - it was a long, hard push but we arrived safe and sound around 11:30pm, put up our cook tent and ate dinner, and crashed in our tents. The next morning (Tuesday), we woke late and had a feast for breakfast of hashbrowns, eggs, and bagels, then did a mellow back-carry to retrieve our cache at Windy Corner. Today was a long day - we got up early in bitter cold (around 6 degrees) and began making our way up the fixed lines on the headwall above camp. We were the first group on the headwall, and found icy conditions beneath a couple inches of snow. We ascended the 2000 feet successfully to 16,200', put in our cache, then descended back to camp and cooked a big dinner of pasta and clam sauce. We are hoping for good weather in the days to come, and we'll be in touch."

Dispatch 6, May 19:AAI guide Joey Elton called today at 2:00pm Pacific time from Camp 3 with a brief dispatch:

"It's a gorgeous day with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. However, we are experiencing very high winds up here at 14,200 feet, and we can see spindrift whipping off the ridge above us. No teams at Camp 3 are moving up today, and everyone that was poised for summitting at Camp 4 (17,000 feet) has come down to Camp 3 to escape the conditions. Even the national park rangers came down from their camp at 17,000 feet because of the wind.

The current weather system is forecasted to last until Saturday or Sunday. We will be ready and waiting to move up the mountain when it ends."

Dispatch 7, May 22: Joey Elton of Team #1 called yesterday evening from High Camp (Camp 4) at 17,200' with the following dispatch:

"After spending May 20 waiting out high winds at Camp 3 (14,200'), we ascended to High Camp the next day (May 21). We arrived at 10pm after traversing somewhat challenging terrain on the exposed ridge below High Camp, placing pickets and using a running belay for most of the way. Today, May 22, we woke to extremely cold temperatures and watched as 34 climbers left for the summit. We have three full days in which to make our own summit attempt, and we will wait for the high winds to die down and until we have had at least a day to acclimate before we head up. We will be in touch soon, perhaps from the summit of North America!"

Dispatch 8, May 24: Team #1 contacted us again yesterday evening from their camp at 17,200' with news that high winds have "precluded them" - guide Paul Ivaska's patient term - from attempting the summit, at least so far. Meanwhile, the team is enjoying clear skies and towering views of the Alaska Range from their perch high on the mountain. Paul says that spirits are high and the team is ready, if a bit anxious, to try for the summit as soon as the winds abate. Let's hope the weather cooperates and our first expedition of the year achieves its objective. We're wishing them luck and hoping that the next time we hear from them they will be shouting at us excitedly from the summit.

Dispatch 8, May 24: Over the sound of roaring wind, we spoke with guides Joey Elton and Paul Ivaska of Team #1 late this afternoon. The team spent another day at High Camp (17,200') waiting out the winds, which have been blowing at a constant 60 mph for two days. "We arrived here in pretty decent weather," Joey said, "but it's been high winds ever since. We've been hunkering down in our tents, except when we had to step outside earlier to rebuild our snow walls. The wind is strong enough that it can move you around easily during gusts - it's pretty wild."

May 25, tomorrow, is the team's last day to make a summit attempt before heading down. "We received a forecast from the Park Rangers, and it is supposed to be less windy tomorrow," Joey said. "We're just crossing our fingers and hoping for a chance to head for the summit, but summit or not, everyone on the team is doing very well and is psyched to be this high on the West Buttress. Everyone has been doing a great job, and we're feeling quite secure despite the weather."

Dispatch 10, May 27: Team #1 called on Saturday at 3:12pm Alaska time to let us know that they made it off of the Kahiltna Glacier and back to Talkeetna on schedule (Day #21). Saturday afternoon they were enjoying all the comforts of life "back in civilization."

On Day 19, the team descended from high camp at 17,000'. According to guide Joey Elton, "Hoping for a break, we waited until the last minute to leave high camp. Unfortunately, the weather never cleared enough for us to be able to attempt the summit." Joey related that, in the last week, winds high on the mountain never dropped below 30 mph and crested at 60+ mph for the better part of a day and a half. Given the great strength his team displayed in making it to high camp, Joey concluded by saying, "we had the ability to make it to the top - the conditions just weren't right."

Despite the frustrating weather, the team members' attitudes remained positive, and at the time of their message Joey reported, "We are enjoying the warm weather and celebrating the successes that we had on the mountain." Congratulations from all of us to Team #1 for getting so high and maintaining their position at 17,000' under such difficult conditions.