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

Dispatch #1: June 8

We have received our first dispatch from lead guide Coley Gentzel:

"Greetings from the luxurious Red Roof Inn here in rainy Anchorage. After an early start, the guides for team 6 (Angela, Forest, and myself) joined forces with Richard Riquelme (lead on the Alaska Range Mountaineering program) and currently off duty guide Aidan Loehr for a trip from Anchorage to Talkeetna. Thanks to a carefully crafted, prioritized, and evenly divided to-do list, we made short work of a stop at Fred Meyer for last minute food and sundries for the trip. After equally as short, but much more enjoyable trips to the local gear shops, we settled into the Red Roof and met the gang in the lobby at 2:00pm sharp. John and Rick were delayed slightly and missed the initial meeting, but we got them up to speed and we were all in stride with the plan for the day. Despite their best attempts, John and Rick still weren't able to convince us they hadn't lost track of time in the pub on their way here."

"A near disaster seems to have been averted. Tom Betor's bags were lost in transit today and we had to do some scrambling to get the needed items together. Between the AAI gear inventory, other climbers on the trip, and a wallet-stretching trip back to the local gear shops, Tom is back on track and I think he even managed to crack a smile or two at dinner tonight. I never ceased to be amazed by the number of small details in the expeditions, all of which can make a world of difference. Being able to adapt, react, and adjust along the way is absolutely key and so far the group has been doing exactly that and we are on a good track for now. We are all feeling a bit sleepy, like stuffed pythons slithering back to their holes - I think Rick said this, after a rich dinner at the Snow Goose restaurant. Earlier in the day, the guides had tried to figure out the reasoning behind planning for such a nice and tasty meal just before being confined to mountain food for the next few weeks. Logic would tend to say that it would be in our best interest to offer up a sub-par offering so as not to set the bar too high. I suppose it is just too hard to pass up one last chance at a decent meal before subjecting the rest of the team to our culinary whims for the remainder of the trip :)"

"The weather is supposed to be deteriorating later in the day tomorrow and so we are hoping to hit the ground running in Talkeetna and beat the precipitation to the glacier on Denali."

"Since we are picking up a Satellite phone from Mike Madden on the mountain, it could be a few days before our next dispatch. We will give a call on the way if we get into the air."

"Cheers for now!"

Dispatch #2: June 8

Coley called with an update on Team 6's flight status:

"It looks like we will get a break in the weather tonight or tomorrow. When the Alaska Range Mountaineering course is able to fly in and get to the glacier, they are going to radio back and let our Denali team know. That way, can start getting ready to fly onto the glacier as well. Everyone has been hanging out in Talkeetna, and we had an awesome lunch and were able to review knots, roping up, and setting up tents. The conditions on the mountain seem to be reasonable, so the bad weather must be between here (Talkeetna) and there (the glacier)."

Dispatch #3: June 9

We received an update Monday evening from Coley and Team 6:

"We arrived on the glacier yesterday, and spent the night at Base Camp. This morning, we took off up the mountain after doing a quick review of sled rigging and tying prussiks into the rope. The team really made good time to Camp 1, arriving in a little over six hours. The hike was hot and the sun was shining and we were sweating a lot. Now everyone is safely nestled into camp at 7,800'. Angela is the chef this evening and she is cooking up some delicious burritos. Tomorrow's plan is to head up to 10,500' and make a cache. Weather is cloudy now, but hopefully it won't be enough to slow us down at all tomorrow."

Dispatch #4: June 10

We picked up a dispatch Tuesday evening from Coley with Team 6, but the phone cut out halfway through the message - we expect to hear from them again later on Wednesday:

"We are spending our second night at Camp 1 after a successful carry and cache to 10,500'. There was pleasantly cool temperatures during the climb, but is was mostly white out conditions on the glacier. A couple of interesting things happened during the ascent to the cache. First, we had a runaway sled that we chased down in the whiteout, but it all ended well. We retrieved all the lost gear. We also heard some strange sounds coming from across glacier . . . so we'll have to go check that out later! . . . (this is where the phone cut out. We will publish a dispatch as soon as we hear from them on Wednesday)."

Dispatch #5: June 11

Angela reports on the steady progress of Team 6:

"We completed our successful hike to Camp 2. The weather was pleasantly cool for the majority of the hike, and then about 500 feet before we got to camp, the weather warmed up a lot. Other than that, there is not too much to report - no renegade sleds today, and the weird sounds are gone. Say hi to everyone for us!"

Dispatch #6: June 12

Coley called in with an update on Team 6 this afternoon:

"We are all hanging out at Camp 2, and we are celebrating Tom Betor's 40th birthday today! We slept in and ate a leisurely breakfast of hash browns and bacon and sang 'Happy Birthday' to him. Then we went and did a back carry to 9,800'. Later this evening we'll have cheese cake."

"Tomorrow, Friday, we'll be caching at Windy Corner. The temperature was in the teens today, and it really got hot during the day, so we'll see what tomorrow brings."

Dispatch #7: June 13

The daily dispatch from Coley:

"We had a great day moving our cache to 13,500'. Along the way, we saw some of the famous Denali 'landmarks' including Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill. The weather was sunny and warm in the afternoon, and we completed the entire trip in eight hours."

"Everybody is all tuckered out here at Camp 2, after enjoying a meal of macaroni surprise prepared by myself. A couple people have blisters and some aching bones, but overall, everyone feels healthy. The plan is to move to Camp 3 on Saturday."

Dispatch #8: June 15

We received a dispatch from Coley on Sunday:

"Happy Father's Day everyone! We made it to Camp 3 after a six and a half hour move yesterday. Today, it is beautiful and sunny and really the first mellow day of the trip so far. We made a back carry to 13,500' this morning and then chowed down on a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage (thanks to Forest!)."

"While relaxing in camp, we had a fun encounter with a former AAI climber who completed our Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership series a few years back. The climber and his partner had just finished climbing the Cassin Ridge. I hear he also got the chance to see his former instructor Dylan, who is with one of our teams at High Camp right now."

"The plan for tomorrow is to take a rest day, and possibly cache at 16,200'. As for today, we are excited to enjoy our lunch and take in some views."

Dispatch #9: June 15

We received a second dispatch from Coley on Sunday:

"We had some time to hang out this afternoon and relax at Camp 3. We ate burritos and did some fixed line practice because tomorrow the plan is to carry to 16,400'. We're all excited about that."

Dispatch #10: June 16

Forest called in with an update late Monday evening:

"We are having a great time up here at 14,000' - at Camp 3. Our splendid day began a little moist, with some heavy snow. We first climbed to the fixed lines to get up to 16,200' to make a cache. On the way back down, we ran into Team 5, who was returning from the summit. It was really fun to share stories. The hike back was mostly enjoyable, and the sun was raging as we walked back into camp."

"The plan is to take a rest day tomorrow (Tuesday). We hope that you are all well down there, because we are doing good up here!"

Dispatch #11: June 17

Guide Coley called in with Tuesday's report:

"Today was a rest day at Camp 3. The plan, as long as the weather doesn't bring something new, is to move up to High Camp tomorrow. On the way, we will pick up gear. We worked mostly on organizing and logistical aspects of the climb today."

Dispatch #12: June 18

Coley called in with an update for Team 6 late Wednesday night:

"We have arrived at High Camp. We've been here for a few hours now and everyone is relatively healthy and feeling satisfied with their progress so far. We are enjoying dinner and hot drinks and will be heading to bed soon."

"Tomorrow, we may possibly be heading to the Summit, but we'll make the final decision tomorrow morning."

Dispatch #13: June 19

We received a call from Team 6 this morning, and they are headed for the summit:

"We're at High Camp right now, but not for long! In a few minutes we'll be headed up towards the Summit. Although on the schedule today would normally be a rest day, there is some dicey weather coming towards the mountain later this weekend, and we'd like get our summit bid in before that happens. Right now, the skies are blue and it is a bit breezy. We are somewhat tired from yesterday, but the team has been so strong we are really confident that we can do this. We'll most likely be moving until midnight, and we'll call as soon as we can."

Dispatch #14: June 20

We just received word that Team 6 has summited Denali! Here is a very quick dispatch from Forest - (the satellite phone was getting poor reception, so the message was short and sweet):

" We just woke up at High Camp after returning very very late from a successful Summit of Denali! Although we are very tired, we are feeling great about making it to the top. We didn't get back to camp until close to 3 or 4:00am. Today we'll work on packing up and will be making our way towards the airstrip. We'll call as soon as we get to a spot with better reception."

Dispatch #15: June 22

Coley called on Sunday to let us know that they made it back to Base Camp:

"We are currently at Base Camp. We got here really late last night, after taking nine hours to make the trip from Camp 3 to Base Camp. We sat around all day, hoping to get a flight out, but the weather isn't great, so that didn't happen. We lounged and ate food, including some salami and cheese quesadillas, and some salmon and cheese fondue. That was a nice treat, but not as nice as flying home! We're going to spend the night here, and hope that better weather comes around tomorrow."

Dispatch #16: June 23

We just spoke with Coley, who had been waiting at Base Camp with Team 6 to fly back to Talkeetna. Half the team has just been loaded onto a plane, and the other half will be flown out soon. After the team celebrates with a round of drinks and food tonight, we'll get some photos and trip reports up online for friends and family!"