Ninety-Pound Rucksack

Featuring all-original research, this episode uncovers the Army's little-known low-mountain warfare program and the role the mountain troops played in preparing ordinary infantrymen for the Italian campaign. In the spring of 1943, with Allied forces preparing to invade Sicily, the U.S. Army turned to the Mountain Training Center to answer a critical question: Could standard infantrymen be taught t...

Featuring all-original research, this revelatory episode reveals how David Brower helped revolutionize American climbing from within the ranks of the 10th Mountain Division.  The story also examines the extraordinary new recruits who made up the 86th Mountain Infantry Regiment and the parallel development of the 10th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop and the Mountain Training Group.   Highlights includ...

In Part 3 of our Camp Hale series, host Christian Beckwith explores America's military mountaineering experiment during the pivotal winter of 1942–43. Following Second Lieutenant John McCown, the episode traces early training frustrations, the media frenzy that made the "mountain warriors" famous, and the disastrous Homestake Peak Maneuvers —an exercise so plagued by frostbite, blizzards, and fail...

In Part 2 of our deep dive into Camp Hale, host Christian Beckwith explores the rocky beginnings of the mountain troops' high-altitude military encampment. From the soldiers' grueling acclimatization to the challenges of uniting skiers, mountaineers, and draftees under the harshest of conditions, Episode 12 uncovers the untold stories of struggle, frustration and resilience that emerged from the s...

In Episode 11 of Ninety-Pound Rucksack , host Christian Beckwith explores the origins of Camp Hale, the high-altitude training ground where the mountain troops were transformed into the elite mountain warfare unit of the U.S. Army.  The episode covers the decision-making process behind the camp's selection, the incredible logistical challenges of building it, and the impact Camp Hale's development...

In Episode 10 of Ninety-Pound Rucksack, host Christian Beckwith explores how John McCown and his fellow citizen-soldiers overcame traditional military doctrine to prepare for mountain warfare—and in the process, reshaped the Old Army into one of the mightiest forces the world had ever known. Show Notes and Resources: www.christianbeckwith.com The episode includes interviews with Ninety-Pound Rucks...

Illuminating a pivotal moment in both military and outdoor recreation history, this groundbreaking episode reveals the collaborative efforts of America's leading mountaineers to equip the 10th Mountain Division for war. Featuring original research and exclusive interviews, the episode details the audacious climbs and expeditions used to test the mountain troops' gear—and that revolutionized the Am...

Episode 8: Gear Heads, Part 1 is the first segment of our two-part mini-series that examines the equipment, clothing and food developed, at great expense, for the 10th Mountain Division. Not only did this development make the soldiers' ability to train for cold-weather and mountain offensives like Riva Ridge possible; post-war, it catalyzed the explosive growth of America's nascent outdoor recreat...

Featuring original and previously unpublished research, Episode 7 reveals the untold story of H. Adams Carter, the Harvard Five, and their groundbreaking efforts to make the 10th Mountain Division the best-trained, best-fed, best-equipped mountain unit in the world. Show notes and resources: https://christianbeckwith.com/ninety-pound-rucksack-episodes/mountain-intelligence-episode-07/ The Harvard...

Episode 6 follows the mountain troops to   Mount Rainier National Park where, in the middle of February 1942, they began their ski training at one of the best places a soldier could ever learn to ski—a place called, appropriately enough, Paradise. Show notes and resources:  https://christianbeckwith.com/ninety-pound-rucksack-episodes/ninety-pounds-of-rucksack/ Available only to patrons,  the Unabr...

Episode 5 explores the pivotal period from late 1941 until early 1942 when the War Department activated the 87th Infantry Mountain Regiment, America's very first test force for cold-weather and mountain warfare, and it prepared to train in Paradise Valley on the flanks of Mount Rainier. Show notes and resources: https://christianbeckwith.com/ninety-pound-rucksack-episodes/ninety-pounds-of-rucksack...

Episode 4  takes a deep dive into the US Army's experimental ski patrols of 1940-1941, as well as the events that led to the activation of the 1st Battalion (Reinforced), 87th Mountain Infantry at Ft. Lewis, Washington—the unit that would eventually become the 10th Mountain Division. The episode also explores John McCown's 1941 expedition to British Columbia's Coast Range, which he made before enl...

The Drumbeats of War: Episode 3 explores the 10th Mountain Division's backstory in the lead-up to America's entry into World War II. The episode includes abridged interviews with  Chris Juergens, PhD , the Anschutz Curator of Military History at History Colorado, on the history of Germany's mountain troops, and  Sepp Scanlin , the former director of the  10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum...

Episode 2, Part 2 delivers a deep dive into the state of American and European climbing before the war, as well as how the rise of the Third Reich caused some of the best German and Austro-Hungarian mountaineers to emigrate, influencing climbing and skiing in America and contributing to 10th Mountain Division's fighting skills.  Show notes and resources: https://christianbeckwith.com/ninety-pound-...

Episode 2, Part 1 provides a sweeping overview of the history of skiing in America as told through the experiences of one of the 10th Mountain Division's greatest unsung heroes, John Andrew McCown II. Episode includes interview excerpts with Paul Petzoldt, the Teton climbing legend who would join the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale in 1942 and be put in charge of developing its mountain rescue...

This episode explores how the 1939 Soviet invasion of Finland catalyzed the creation of the 10th Mountain Division… with a little help from the National Ski Patrol System, the United States Army, and a couple of twenty-something climbers from The American Alpine Club.   Show notes and resources: https://christianbeckwith.com/ninety-pound-rucksack-podcast/the-winter-war/   Please consider becoming...

Ninety-Pound Rucksack is a podcast about the US Army's 10th Mountain Division and the dawn of outdoor recreation in America. Join host Christian Beckwith, former editor of The American Alpine Journal and founding editor of Alpinist Magazine, and an advisory board of the 10th Mountain Division's foremost experts as we immerse ourselves in the living legacy of America's original mountain warriors.

In this episode, podcast host Christian Beckwith details how a search for the roots of Teton mountaineering led to a podcast (and book) about the US Army's 10th Mountain Division and the dawn of outdoor recreation in America.