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

Dispatch #1: May 5

We have the 2009 season's first Denali dispatch! AAI guide Paul Ivaska called to let us know that the team is on the mountain. He said that they were able to successfully fly in on May 3rd and set up basecamp. On May 4th they put in a cache at 7800 feet, and on May 5th they moved up to Camp 1 at 7800 feet.

Dispatch #2: May 6

We recieved another dispatch from our first team on Denali. Today Team 1 hiked up the Ski Hill from Camp 1 and made a cache at 10,200'. After making the cache the team moved back down to Camp 1 at 7,600'. Tomorrow the plan is to move up to Camp 2 at 11,200', below Motorcycle Hill. Paul reported that everyone on the team was doing very well and the weather had been staying nice.

Dispatch #3: May 7

"We are at 11,200' camp now and happy to be here! It went really well today. The team did great dealing with the terrain and with their loads. It was a clear day - actually a little hot. Nice problem to have - we're totally willing to deal with that as an issue! Tomorrow will be a rest day, though we will return to 10,000 feet to pick up our cache, so I guess it's not completely a rest day, but it won't be hard. On Saturday we'll put a cache in at 13,500' around Windy Corner, and then we'll drop back and camp again here at 11,200'.

Every one on the team says "We miss our family and friends back home." And Luke says "Happy Birthday to Brooke!! Would you save me some cake?" It's great to be here guiding with Danny and Gabe. It's an excellent team and we're really enjoying everyone that's a part of this. We all work extremely well together and we're enjoying the process of moving up this amazing mountain, We'll call you tomorrow and give you the latest. Time for more food, so by for now! Hey, we're eating well. I don't think we've lost much weight! OK, talk to you tomorrow."

Dispatch #4: May 9

Lead Guide, Paul Ivaska, from Team 1 reports the following:

"Hi everyone! This is Paul with a West Buttress dispatch for Team 1. Today we went and carried a cache up to 13,500'. It's been quite windy (surpise, surprise), but every is still doing very well. Tomorrow we'll continue up the mountain and establish camp at 14,000. That's it from this end. We'll call you when we get to 14 camp. Ciao!" -Unfortunately the satellite phone connection was weak and cut out frequently, however, we were able to get the bulk of the message.

Dispatch #5: May 11

Lead Guide, Paul Ivaska, from Team 1 reports the following:

"Although our plan was to try to make it to 14 camp we are currently stuck at Camp 2. Winds are gusting up to 70 mph here. We spent the day reinforcing snow walls and trying to stay warm inside our tents...away from this wind! The consensus among the seasoned guides at Camp 2 is that nobody has ever seen such high winds at this camp. Parties up high on the mountain are all moving down to get out of the wind. On a less windy note, Walt would like to offer his congratulations from Camp 2 to Joe!"

Dispatch #6: May 12

Assistant Guide, Danny Uhlmann, from Team 1 reports the following:

"Hi Everyone. This is Team One reporting. We're still at11,000 feet waiting for the wind to die down. We had pretty significant winds all night. We had a little tent damage - one pole on one of our guides' tents snapped and a pole on another tent broke and punched a hole through the fabric. Not very convenient, to say the least, but we were able to repair both OK.

So now our team is completely hunkered down and comfortable. We have massive snow walls around the camp as windbreaks. We're determined to have no more damage from these troublesome 60 mph winds.

Because we have extended our stay here at this camp, (guides) Paul and Gabe had to go back up to the cache today to get some food and bring it back while we continue to wait out the storm.

Everybody has become master wall builders. Walt has become a master crafter of latrines. The toilet area is stylish with large snow walls to protect it from the wind. I think he is an architect at heart!

We have some world class cocoa drinkers on this trip, so now we're rationing the stuff. It's frightening to think what would happen to these guys if we actually ran out. There could be a cocoa coup or cocoa revolution. We've had a private guide meeting and we're strategizing how to prevent cocoa attacks on the other expeditions. Scary thought, but we think the rationing has a good chance of keeping these guys unders control. We'll keep you posted.

Ok. So all is otherwise well here. Everybody's in great spririts and catching up on reading. And we know improved weather can't be too far away. Right? This is where everyone says, "Of course!". Ok, talk to you soon. A warm hello to everyone at home."

Dispatch #7: May 14

After a very long day yesterday, Team 1 has made it up to Camp 3 at 14,200 feet:

"It's still kinda' windy up here," Paul said. "But it's not as bad as it was . . . It's supposed to die down this weekend."

In other news, it appears that the team is celebrating Luke's 16th birthday! Imagine having your 16th birthday on Denali. This is definitely a long term climber in the making. They celebrated by giving him an extra sausage with extra Tabasco on it.

Paul went on to say that, "tomorrow we're going to practice our fixed line technique. Then we're probably going to go take a look over the Edge of the World." The Edge of the World is a phenomenal veiwpoint near Camp 3.

Chris had the following message for his family:
"Kathy, Kyle, and Maya . . . Thank you for this opportunity. I never though that being away would be this difficult. Doing well. Love, Chris/Dad"

Dispatch #8: May 16

We received the following dispatch from Team 1 lead guide Paul Ivaska:

"Good evening everyone. Today we had an excellent climb to 16,200' at the top of the West Buttress to put in a cache. We're back at Camp 3 now (14,000'), and tomorrow we plan to establish and occupy High Camp at 17,200'.

We'll probably take a rest day at High Camp on Monday and head for the summit on Tuesday or Wednesday, but we could also climb on Monday if the weather forecast is for deteriorating conditions for the later days. Right now the weather is perfect. We'll probably call you tomorrow and let you know what we are thinking. Everyone is feeling really great. It's a great team.

Johnna sends her love.

We'll call again tomorrow from high campe if we can. OK, goodnight for now and talk to you soon!"

Dispatch #9: May 18

Lead Guide Paul Ivaska called at 12:30pm with the following dispatch:

"Team 1 is at high camp and are getting ready to leave for the summit right now! We are worried that some poor weather may be coming i over the next few days so this might be our best shot. Wish us luck!"

Paul was understandably in a hurry to get to climbing so he kept the message brief. Once we hear what happened on the summit attempt we will let you know.

Dispatch #10: May 19

Lead Guide Paul Ivaska called at 11:45am with the following dispatch:

"Well, we attempted the summit yesterday. Unfortunately we were turned back at 19,600 ft due to high summit winds. We were at the base of Pig Hill, the last obstacle to the summit, so it was disappointing to be turned around...but that's just part of mountaineering and how it goes sometimes. Everyone performed great on the summit push and when we left the camp for the summit the winds weren't too bad. As the day progressed the wind direction shifted and made any further progress above Pig Hill dangerous. We are currently back at high camp and getting ready to pack up and head down to 14,000 ft today."

"Once we are back at 14,000 ft we are going to spend tomorrow resting and then will move down Denali and try to get back to the airfield/basecamp. The winds are still fairly high so we will take our time and be extra careful on the descent to 14,000 ft. Luckily the weather is clear so we don't have to deal with any blowing snow. Well, we will give you a call tomorrow during our time at 14,000 ft."

Dispatch #11: May 20

Lead Guide Paul Ivasksa called at 1:45pm with the following dispatch:

"So, we arrived at 14,000 ft last night. Everyone slept very well after a couple of big days, including a summit attempt on Monday. We enjoyed a nice big breakfast of eggs, sausage and bagels. Today we will hike all the way to basecamp/airstrip . This will probably take us most of the night and we hope to arrive by 8am tomorrow morning. From there we will give K2 Aviation a call and hopefully get a flight back to Talkeetna. Everyone is doing great and enjoying a little hard-earned rest."

Dispatch #12: May 21

Lead Guide Paul Ivaska called at 1:30pm with the following dispatch:

"Hello everyone at AAI and back home. We moved from 14 camp down to the airstrip yesterday. We were able to fly out this morning and made it back to Talkeetna about an hour or two ago. Everyone is doing really well."

"We are going to spend the most of the day dealing with gear. We have a lot of equipment to sort through and organize. After everyone gets things sorted out and gets some time back at their hotel rooms (for showers and naps!) we are going to meet up at the West Rib (the restaurant...not the route) for a celebration dinner!"