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

Dispatch 1, June 20: We received a call from guide Joseph Anderson this morning. The team has been unable to fly onto the glacier due to stormy weather over the weekend and is still waiting in Talkeetna. Their window of opportunity may come later today as the forecast calls for clearing skies. Joseph said that if they don't fly out today, then it's almost positive tomorrow will bring the necessary clear weather.

Dispatch 2, June 21: The bad weather has passed and this last expedition of the season was able to fly to base camp yesterday in the evening.

Dispatch 3, June 24: Guide Joesph Anderson called from 11,000 feet last night at roughly 10:30pm Alaska time. He reported, "We are currently at Camp 2 (11,000') with all of our gear. It's snowing heavily. After flying in to Base Camp on Day 2 we enjoyed some absolutely beautiful hiking, and it took us three days to get up here to 11,000. All is well, and we'll be in touch soon."

Dispatch 4, June 24: We received a very short message from guide Aidan Loehr just a few minutes ago at 4:05pm Alaska time (his satellite phone cut out as it does sometimes when the satellite dips below the horizon). He reported that the team is currently at 11,000 feet enjoying a rest day after a yesterday's push to put in the 13,500-foot cache. He described yesterday's trip up to 13,500 feet as "huge...a huge push", and said that it was a major workout due to the immense accumulation of snowfall over the past few days. The team will most likely be moving up to Camp 3 (14,200') in the next day or two.

Dispatch 5, June 27: Guide Joseph Anderson called moments ago (1:45pm) from Camp 3 (14,200'). He said "The expedition is going really well so far. We've got a real hard-charging crew. Besides the fact that everyone is downright strong and capable, they're also all pretty funny and the constant humour is keeping team morale high. We're moving faster than I've ever moved with groups before." Team #7 is currently at Camp 3 with all their gear, after doing a backcarry yesterday to retreive their cache at 13,500 feet. Today the team is enjoying a rest day. Tomorrow they plan to put in a cache at 16,200 feet and hopefully the next day move up to High Camp (17,200'). "The next few days are all weather-dependent," Joseph cautioned. "The forecast calls for scattered clouds, which is basically what we've been having the entire trip except for the one day of heavy snow at 11,000 feet. It's been really nice so far, mostly broken sun and light snow flurries. Today we are feeling our first day of real wind with gusts up to about 30 mph. We have great views of the surrounding landscape but the upper mountain is totally socked in - looks like it'd be pretty stormy up there today."

Dispatch 6, June 29: Guide Joseph Anderson called at 3:30pm Alaska time from Camp 3 (14,200'). "It's really cold up here," Joseph said. "Temperatures are well below zero. We tried to build a few snow caves to sleep in for warmth, but after about an hour and a half we gave up. The weather looks good other than the cold - I imagine Team #6 is summiting today. We're staying pretty comfortable, we tried to watch a DVD earlier today but it didn't work out! We've got plenty of food and fuel and plan on moving up soon."

Dispatch 7, July 5: Guide Joseph Anderson called yesterday (July 4) from the Kahiltna Base Camp to report great news, "On July 2 our team made it to the summit of Denali! It was a breathtaking day on the mountain and we were all very happy to be up there. The conditions were a balmy negative 5 degrees, cloudy, with very little wind. Most of the Alaska Range was covered in clouds but we could see Foraker's beautiful Sultana Ridge pretty clearly. Now we are waiting at Base Camp for our plane ride off the glacier. It's sunny and gorgeous here and spirits are high among the group. We can't wait to get into Talkeetna where cheeseburgers and beer await!"

This brings the season to a close, and everyone at AAI would like to pass along their congratulations to all climbers on the 2005 Denali Expeditions for the great job they did preparing for the mountain and for the poise with which they climbed during a year of icy conditions and difficult weather. One of our West Buttress teams missed the summit because of weather, while five of the six teams reached the top. The many summit successes are a testament to the care with which each climber prepared for this huge undertaking. Everyone showed both patience and fortitude when the going was tough. Hopefully we can now look forward to some more normal conditions on the mountain next year.