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

Dispatch 1, June 15: The June 12 Denali Expedition team will be getting a satellite phone at the 11,000-foot camp. Until then, the dispatches will be coming via other AAI guides currently on the mountain. This first dispatch from the team came via Jeremy Allyn, an AAI guide leading a different Denali Expedition. "They're doing great and are on a night schedule enjoying the excellent conditions on the lower mountain. Ben wanted to pass on the following message to his wife: 'Hello sweetheart. Everything is fine here. We did a carry to 10,000 feet on Monday night and it went very well. We got back to camp at 5:00 for dinner while Jeremy's team was just getting up for breakfast. I'll try to send another message when we are higher on the mountain.'"

Dispatch 2, June 19: This second dispatch from the team came via Seth Hobby, AAI guide leading the Denali West Rib Expedition. "The team is all set up and very secure at the 11,200-foot camp. The weather is awful at the moment, but they know things will change and they are psyched to move up the mountain when they can. The focus is on good food, hydration, and rest. All is well."

Dispatch 3, June 20: The team now has a satellite phone! Guide Dawn Glanc called Sunday evening to give us a firsthand update on the team's progress. Dawn called from Camp 2 (11,200') and said the team was planning on moving up to Camp 3 (14,200') today if weather permits. Here is a brief summary of what the group has been up to since their arrival at the Kahiltna Base Camp:

Day 1: Flew into Base Camp in the evening, had dinner, and afterwards made a single carry to the camp at 7,800 feet. Dawn said it was a great camp, very comfortable. The team right away adopted a night schedule - due to the intense heat on the glacier during the day - in which they move at night and sleep during the day.

Day 2: The team successfully put in a cache at 10,000 feet. Everyone did very well despite the cold and windy conditions.

Day 3: The group moved to Camp 2 (11,000'). Dawn said they were able to move very conveniently into a camp that had been vacated the day prior. She said it was very "cush", as they did not have to spend any time digging tent platforms or building walls - which was a good thing because everyone was pretty wiped out from the day's climb.

Day 4: After a sleeping in and having a good meal, the team went down to retreive their cache at 10,000 feet.

Day 5: Still climbing on a night schedule, the group made a cache at 13,500 feet. Dawn said it was very cold, though conditions were great and Windy Corner proved to be uncharacteristically easy. At the cache, the group witnessed not only an amazingly beautiful sunset but also were spectators to a gorgeous sunrise as well. Dawn said between the sunset/sunrise and the spectacular views of Foraker and Hunter, there was a great deal of picture-taking going on.

Day 6: After attempting to move up to the 14,200-foot camp, the team had to turn around due to extremely high winds and a storm pending on the horizon. They returned to Camp 2 (11,000') and set camp back up just as the weather moved in.

Day 7 and 8: Weather days! Dawn reports that during these two days in camp, "A lot of snow has fallen, very wet snow. We have been eating as much as we can, playing cards, reading books, and just waiting for better weather. Hopefully tomorrow, Day 9, we will be able to move to Camp 3. From here on out, we're switching to a day schedule, so we'll head out tomorrow morning, weather permitting, and hopefully arrive at Camp 3 at a reasonable hour. It'd be great to find a vacated, established camp waiting for us again! Everyone is doing very well, and we'll be calling again soon with more news."

Dispatch 4, June 21: Guides Dawn Glanc and Seth Hobby called last night (10:30pm Alaska time, June 20) to say that the group was still at the 11,000-foot camp. Seth recently joined up with the team after his descent off the West Rib and will be going up the mountain with them. The team had intended to move up to 14,200 feet on the 20th, but they woke to a couple feet of fresh snow and continuous, whipping winds. Seth said that while it was very stormy and windy all night long, "It didn't keep us awake, fortunately. We didn't even have to get up to dig out." The snow continued to fall throughout the morning with zero visibility, so the climbers spent the day digging out their tents and improving their camp's snow walls. "Around 3:00pm a north wind started up and blew off the cloud layer that was sitting around us," Seth said, "but it was too late to move up, especially considering all the fresh snow and trail-breaking ahead." Guide Dawn Glanc said the team is looking forward to moving up to Camp 3 today, and everyone is very optimistic about the predicted good weather for the next few days.

It sounds like the group is enjoying a wilderness experience uncharacteristic of Denali during this time of year. "It feels like we have the mountain to ourselves," Seth described; "it feels so extremely remote. Lots of climbers have left." The group has been treated with an especially breathtaking display - the daily rising and setting of the sun. "The sunrises and sunsets have been unbelievable from up here. The sun sets at about 11:30pm, only to rise again at 12:30am, so we get to see both in a relatively short period of time. It's fantastic. Also, the alpenglow is drawn out way longer than most people are used to because it takes the sun so much longer to set from this latitude." [editor's note: Because the angle of setting and rising is so acute in relationship to the plane of the earth's horizon in high latitudes, twilight is greatly prolonged after setting and before sunrise. In contrast, when we climb the low latitudes of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, climbers are struck by how extremely quickly the day goes to night and vice versa. It's dramatic enough to make you adjust your schedule if you don't want to be doing a lot of tasks by headlamp.]

Dispatch 5, June 22: Guide Jonathan Spitzer called about midnight last night from Camp 3. After several weather days at 11,200 feet the clouds lifted and the team was able to ascend to 14,200 feet with beautiful skies overhead. Jonathan said, "We had such an awesome day...everyone was happy and having a great time. We were overwhelmed with the views once we got up to 14,000 feet. Foraker and Hunter were crystal clear." Today the team plans on doing a backcarry to pick up their cache at 13,500 feet.

Dispatch 6, June 22: We received news from the team just a few minutes ago (12:30pm Alaska time)! Guide Joey Elton said the group is leaving the 14,200-foot camp in five minutes to do a back-carry from their cache near Windy Corner. Guide Dawn Glanc said, "The weather for the time being is gorgeous. There are big, beautiful clouds down below us and up here it's sunny, bright and warm. It's 50 degrees in the shade. We're wearing just one layer of capilene and are very comfortable. It's going to be a hot afternoon on the glacier!" Tomorrow the team hopes to establish a new cache at 16,200 feet.

Dispatch 7, June 24: Guide Jonathan Spitzer called in last night at 8:30pm. He and the rest of the team had just returned to Camp 3 (14,200') after descending to 13,500 to retrieve their cache. Jonathan reported overall good weather with some light snow on the upper mountain. On Tuesday the group spent some time on fixed line practice, and now everyone feels ready and eager to move up to High Camp (17,200') in the next couple of days. Today the group plans to put in their cache at 16,200 feet.

Dispatch 8, June 24: Guide Dawn Glance called in this afternoon with great news. The team is currently savoring their last rest day at Camp 3 (14,200') before moving up to High Camp tomorrow. Yesterday the group put in their cache at 16,200 and had their first experience on the fixed lines above Camp 3. Dawn said everyone was very excited because "we all enjoyed getting on the steep ground." From camp climbers first ascend 1,200 feet of moderate terrain then move onto the Headwall which is a steady 45 degrees protected by 800 feet of fixed lines.

Tomorrow the team plans to move up to High Camp at 17,200 feet. For the time being, the weather looks good - mixed cloudy and sunny - but there is word that a storm may be coming in. "We may end up using all 21 days of our trip," Dawn said. "We're going up to High Camp regardless and will wait for a good summit day."

Speaking of summiting, two of the clients on this trip - Katrina Sandling and Rob Follows - and guide Seth Hobby are hoping to summit today. Katrina and Rob very recently returned from an expedition on Mt. Everest and have felt still very well acclimatized. As a result, they were able to move up to High Camp ahead of our normal schedule. Yesterday they moved to 17,200 feet, and today they were going to make a summit bid. Dawn spoke with Seth via radio this morning at 11am and he confirmed that they were planning on leaving for the summit within the next hour.

Dispatch 9, June 27: The team has made it to High Camp (17,200')! We received a call from guide Joey Elton yesterday evening (6:23pm Alaska time) who said that the group had arrived at the camp on Saturday night at 11:30pm, exhausted but exilarated. Joey said, "We had really nasty weather on Saturday morning, so we waited awhile to see what would happen. Conditions didn't really change but we went for it anyways. It took a lot of time to negotiate the fixed lines and the ridge above 16,200 feet. In all it was about an 11 hour day. The team remained in very good spirits despite their exhaustion and the fairly cold temperatures. The ridge between 16,200 feet and 17,200 feet, including the landmark Washburn's Thumb, was definately the most beautiful part of the climb so far. It was really spectacular."

When the group arrived at High Camp they wasted no time setting up camp, and everyone was able to crawl into their sleeping bags by 1am - except for the guides, who stayed up a couple hours longer melting snow for water and getting the camp organized. The whole crew slept in late Sunday morning and enjoyed a rest day at High Camp. Joey said the team was preparing for a possible summit attempt today though the weather didn't look that great as of last night. "It looks pretty gusty up high," Joey said. "We're not sure if we're going to go up Monday morning; we will if we can. We have five days' worth of food and fuel stashed up here, so hopefully we'll get a chance soon to go for it. We're all feeling good and I am so proud of everyone. Saturday was a long, hard day in adverse conditions but everyone still had a great time." Joey said he'd be in touch soon and will probably call tonight.

Dispatch 10, June 27: Great news just in from guide Seth Hobby. He called just a few minutes ago (1:00pm) to let us know that he, Katrina Sandling, and Rob Follows reached the summit on Friday! Seth, Kat, and Rob moved up the mountain ahead of the rest of the group last week (see Dispatch 8). We currently have no details on their climb except that they descended quickly down the mountain and were safely flown out of Base Camp yesterday. Way to go Seth, Kat, and Rob!

Dispatch 11, June 27: Guide Dawn Glanc just called in at 5pm Pacific time. The team is at High Camp (17,200') and did not attempt to summit today due to high winds (up to 30mph) that began last night. The winds have since died down and the team hopes the currently calm, blue skies will hold for a summit bid tomorrow. The climbers spent all day reinforcing their tents by building up their snow walls and putting in more stakes. Dawn said, "The wind is definately a concern. It's a problem when it gets really windy and cold because you just don't move fast enough to keep yourself warm." Apparently all the climbers at High Camp felt the same way. "It's really quite desolate up here - there's only one other guided party plus about ten other climbers. Not one party left for the summit this morning," Dawn said. The team hopes to try for the summit tomorrow. If not tomorrow then Wednesday, which is the last day they can spend at High Camp before they have to descend.

Dispatch 12, June 29: Despite brilliantly sunny skies, the team spent yet another day at 17,200 feet due to high winds. Guide Dawn Glanc called in yesterday evening at 5pm Alaska time and reported, "The winds are being recorded around 25 mph, which is enough to keep us in camp. We hope to make our summit attempt tomorrow though the forecast calls for more of the same - blue skies and high winds. We sent Jon Spitzer (guide) down with a few others to retrieve more supplies from our cache at 16,200 feet, so now we have enough food and fuel to sit up here for two more days and wait for a window of calm weather."

Dispatch 13, June 30 We received word from the team last night around dinner time. Guide Dawn Glanc said the group made a summit attempt yesterday but were turned around due to high winds at Denali Pass (18,200'). "We're going to eat dinner, rest up, and make our final attempt for the summit tomorrow," Dawn said. "The weather looks pretty good, a little cloudy but no wind. We're going to try to make it as far as we can and are hoping for the summit!" Today is the team's Day 19. They will hopefully be down the mountain and flying out of the Kahiltna Base Camp on Day 21.

Dispatch 14, July 1: We received a message from the team yesterday 5pm Alaska time from the summit of Denali! "Hi this is Joey Elton of the June 12 Denali Expedition calling from the summit! We had one final chance to make it to the top and after eight hours of climbing here we are! The weather this morning was barely good enough to make the attempt, and conditions the whole way up were iffy. No other teams attempted the summit today. We have the mountain completely to ourselves - we haven't seen a soul all day."

Here are some personal messages:

Chris Spurrell: "Hello to my family and friends in California, and to my family back in England!"

Tim Allen: "Hello to all of my family and friends who are thinking about and praying for me!"

Congratulations to the climbing team - we wish you a safe return.

Dispatch 15, July 8: Guide Joey Elton recently returned to AAI's Bellingham office and gave us a full report on the team's exciting descent off the mountain. Joey said, "After summiting on June 30 and sleeping that night at High Camp, we woke the next morning, July 1, to begin our descent. We were trying to make our July 2 pick up at the Kahiltna Base Camp and we knew it was going to be tight. We headed down the ridge and fixed lines from High Camp and arrived at Camp 3 (14,200 feet) late afternoon. We stayed at Camp 3 for a good four hours resting, reorganizing gear, digging up caches, making water, and eating, and then around 8:30pm left to continue our descent. It was snowing but a nice night for travel - really still with almost no wind. We traveled straight through the night with a few stops at the 11,000-foot and 7,800-foot camps to take short naps and eat, and into the next day. We finally arrived at the Kahiltna Base Camp at 3pm on July 2. In all it was about a 27 hour day! While everyone was obviously tired, it was exciting for the climbers to realize that they were capable of pushing it as hard as we did and traveling for that many hours. It was completely socked it at Base Camp so we waited a few hours for it to clear, which it did, but then it turned out the conditions on the runway were too soft for the plane to land so we ended up spending the night there. We eventually got out the next day, July 3, at 5:30pm and arrived back in Talkeetna at 7pm a day later than planned."

Joey said the entire summit experience and the descent were surreal because they had the mountain almost completely to themselves. "We only saw one or two other people on our summit day. It was the same on our descent, and then at Base Camp we were completely alone. It was an eerie but also a magical way to end the expedition."

Congratulations once again to everyone on the June 12 Denali Expedition for a successful and safe expedition!