Dispatch #1: May 7, 2007
We received the season's first Denali dispatch this morning via a message from AAI guide Aidan Loehr. Aidan reported that the team met up in Anchorage yesterday as planned, went through the gear check, and then made a few last gear runs to REI and AMH. They ate dinner at the Bear's Tooth before retiring at the hotel for the night. This morning, the team drove to Talkeetna where they checked in with the National Park Service and loaded the planes.

Unfortunately, the team has not yet been able to fly to Denali Base Camp due to weather. We have been speaking with Aidan throughout the day and he said that the pilots remain optimistic about being able to fly later this afternoon. Stay tuned for more news!

Dispatch #2: May 8, 2007
We received a very brief message from AAI guide Aidan Loehr that Team 1 was able to fly into Denali Base Camp! Their arrival into Base Camp was one day late, and Aidan said they spent the extra day in Talkeetna practicing skills (prusiking, sled loading, etc).

We expect to receive more news from the team soon!

Dispatch #3: May 9, 2007
Denali Team 1 guide Paul Ivaska called today at 12:11pm (Pacific time) from Camp 1! Paul said that the team made the single carry yesterday from Base Camp to Camp 1 in 5 hours. They had a well-established track set for them in the fresh snow by previous groups, and so made great time (leaving Base Camp at 2pm and arriving into Camp 1 at 7pm). They had made camp and were fed and in bed by 10:30pm after a very successful day.

Paul also said that the weather has been very cooperative and is completely clear at 7800 feet. The group plans to head up and make the 10,000-foot cache this afternoon. More from Denali as it comes in!

Dispatch #4: May 11, 2007
Aidan called this morning with a dispatch from Camp 1. He says that the team is doing great, all healthy and in great spirits (except for a few minor blisters). Yesterday, they made their first cache at 10,000 feet (at the top of Ski Hill, just below Kahiltna Pass), and today they are moving up to Camp 2 (11,200 feet). Aidan reported that the weather has been beautiful, with blue skis overhead and a little wind on the summit.

Soon the team will be caching at Windy Corner (13,500') and then moving to Camp 3 (14,200'). Aidan said he might call this evening, so stay tuned!

Dispatch #5: May 11, 2007, in the evening
Aidan called again today at 5pm (Pacific time) to report that half of the team has reached Camp 2 (with Paul Ivaska and Danny Uhlmann), while the other half (with Aidan) is currently at 10,700 feet and will be at camp very shortly. He reports that the weather has held and is beautiful, and that everyone is still doing well! Tomorrow, the team plans to make a cache at Windy Corner (13,500'), and if they end up doing so, then they will be back on their original schedule (which they were slightly behind due to their delayed flight into Base Camp). We expect to hear from Aidan again tomorrow!

Dispatch #6: May 14, 2007
AAI guide Danny Uhlmann called from Camp 2 left a phone message on Sunday at 5:30pm regarding Team 1's progress up Denali. He gave the following report:

"Here is the update from the weekend: After eating breakfast on Saturday morning, the group energy was high, but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating so we decided to take a rest day, which was much needed after two hard carry days and one moving day.

"The weather report for today (Sunday) was clear, but when we woke, we found moderate to high winds and decided that we should not try to move up, despite multiple other teams' decisions to do so. Most of the teams that tried to move up ended up turning around.

"We are now poised for great day tomorrow, with the weather report calling for clear skies, and plan to cache at Windy Corner. The team is feeling strong overall and spirits are high (Ralph's lighthearded humor and uncanny memory of Monty Python lines definitely help!) Everyone is excited to move to Camp 3 over the next couple days."

Dispatch #7: May 14, 2007 - Late afternoon
Guide Danny Uhlmann called us this afternoon at 4pm from Camp 2 with great news: the team is in the process of making a carry up to Windy Corner and will put in a cache slightly beyond! Danny and Glenn Kristiansen stayed behind as Glenn was still healing from a fairly major blister on his toe, but the rest of the team went with Aidan and Paul to make the cache. Danny said the weather is absolutely beautiful today and that the wind has died down from yesterday's big gusts. The group plans on moving up to Camp 3 tomorrow and will do a backcarry to recover today's cache the day after tomorrow.

Danny also said that he is very impressed at how strong Team 1 is, "We seem to be one of the strongest guided parties on the mountain - everyone is very fit, strong, and excited to be here - there's great morale all around. Surely helping with the high spirits is the fact that the team has been eating very well - Danny reminisced for a while on the phone about last night's dinner of burritos.

Another bit of news is that one of the team members, Rob Hart, just became a daddy! His son was born on May 10th at 5:43pm and was 4.2 weeks early! Congratulations Rob!

That's about it from Team 1. They are all looking forward to getting to Camp 3, as Aidan has been building it up for days in all of their minds. As Danny says, "We're all expecting a restaurant and other amenities at Camp 3!" They will look back upon Camp 2 with fond memories - they had a nice bit of "real estate" there due to the "four Dutchmen" (four members are from the Netherlands) and their unquenchable excitement for building very solid snow walls around camp. Danny said, "I think we should be selling our space at Camp 2 - it's really nice and well-built . . . I'd pay for it!"

We hope to hear from Team 1 tomorrow!

Dispatch #8: May 16, 2007
Guide Paul Ivaska called this afternoon from Camp 3! He said the team arrived at Camp 3 (14,200') yesterday evening after eight hours of climbing from Camp 2. He said, "Yesterday morning [Tuesday], we woke to six inches of fresh snow and light wind. We broke camp and moved to Camp 3, arriving around 7pm. The higher up we got, the better the weather became. It did get a little gusty around Windy Corner, but it wasn't bad and didn't last long."

As Paul was calling, the team was enjoying huge cheese and egg bagel sandwiches fried in butter (aka: Denali Sandwiches). They will probably head down tomorrow to retrieve their cache at Windy Corner (13,500'), but that will depend on weather and how everyone feels.

Paul said that today was a beautiful one on Denali, with incredible views of Foraker and Hunter popping out of the scenery around them. He said that while it's calm at Camp 3, it does look windy up high, and they can see lots of snow plumes on the summit ridge.

Hopefully we'll hear from Team 1 again soon!

Dispatch #9: May 17, 2007
Guide Paul Ivaska called today at 5pm to give a report on Team 1's progress. He said that today the team hung out in Camp 3 and practiced fixed line procedures as tomorrow they plan to ascend the fixed lines above Camp 3 and make a cache at either 16,200 feet or 16,600 feet (depending on weather). Today the team also ventured out to "The Edge of the World" to take pictures and soak in some scenery.

Paul was just preparing to start dinner (burritos) and said that they'd try to get to bed early tonight because tomorrow would be a big day. He said the weather has been clear but fairly windy - none of the teams that went for the summit yesterday ended up summiting, due to wind. He said the views have been outstanding though and that Camp 3 is above the cloud layer and prominent peaks, such as Foraker and Hunter, are sticking out of the clouds. "Life is good here on the mountain," he said. "Everyone is feeling good, and Glenn's toes are just about all healed up."

More from Team 1 soon!

Dispatch #10: May 19, 2007
Guide Danny Uhlmann called Saturday at 6pm from Camp 3. He informed us that on Friday, the team made a cache at 17,200 feet (High Camp). It was the first time they had gone up the fixed lines, and Danny said this went very smoothly and everyone did very well. They then returned and had a nice dinner with the pleasant thought that all their food for the three days they would be up high was already at High Camp, so they wouldn't have to do a backcarry once they moved up. A pleasant thought indeed!

Today the team woke and had a big breakfast of Denali sandwiches (bagel with cheese and bacon fried in butter), and Danny said the butter was really flowing. Tomorrow, they plan to get up at 7am and move to High Camp. Danny said that they might perhaps try for the summit on Monday, but more than likely it would be Tuesday.

Danny mentioned that the weather was absolutely beautiful, and that it looks like it might stay that way for a while.

Dispatch #11: May 20, 2007
Guide Paul Ivaska called Sunday at 8pm (Pacific time) with news from High Camp! He said the team had just moved up and that they all did a great job once again on the fixed lines. The weather was beautiful, and it looks like it should be another good day tomorrow. Paul said that they are toying with the idea of going for the summit the next day (Monday), but that it isn't a sure thing yet.

Paul said that he'd have to keep the message brief as they are trying to conserve battery power. The team is currently reinforcing camp and melting water for dinner. We hope to hear from them Monday!

Dispatch #12: May 21, 2007
Guide Aidan Loehr called today at 2pm from High Camp. He said that while they were considering going for the summit today, they decided to take a rest day instead, due in part to the fact that some weather came in yesterday around 2am (wind, snow, and low visibility). Aidan said that the skies have been clearing this afternoon and that tomorrow is supposed to be decent weather-wise, and so they will make their summit bid tomorrow morning.

Today the group is mostly lying in their tents, resting, eating, and acclimating. Hopefully we'll talk to them tomorrow from the top!

Dispatch #13: May 22, 2007
Guide Danny Uhlmann called today at 11:45am to give an update on Team 1's status. He said that they are still poised at High Camp, waiting for a weather window. Currently, low visibility and fairly strong winds prevent them from making their bid for the summit. He said that they will wait a couple more hours today to see if it clears up, but otherwise they will have to wait until tomorrow. Thursday is their last possible day to summit before they have to start back down to Base Camp.

Danny remarked at how warm it was at High Camp. He said, "This is the first trip I've had to the Alaska Range where I haven't had to use my big, warm parka!" Warm enough, even, for a lively game of hacky sack (hacky sack compliments of guide Aidan Loehr). "The big question was, is it easier to hack in down booties or in mountaineering boots? I voted for booties. For our next challenge, we plan on attempting it in crampons."

In all, Danny said that people have acclimated nicely, feel strong, and are rarin' to go. "Everything is in place," he said. "We're just sitting tight for the weather to change."

On another note, today is Danny's birthday - Happy Birthday Danny!