Collection: The Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge

In February 2026, Outdoor Research was honored to be the Presenting Sponsor of The Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge: a military appreciation ski mountaineering event that stands both as a tribute to one of the most influential mountain units in U.S. military history and test of resilience for its participants.

Working alongside Christian Beckwith, Alpinist and outdoor visionary, his team, and 27 ski resorts around the country, the community came together to share the story behind an event that continues to bridge military heritage and the outdoor community. More than a race, the Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge is a living connection to the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division — soldiers whose endurance, mountain skill, and resolve helped shape both the outcome of World War II and the foundation of modern American mountain culture.

From alpine warfare to the rise of the American ski industry, the influence of the 10th Mountain Division can still be felt today in the climbers, skiers, guides, and outdoor brands continuing to push deeper into the mountains in pursuit of challenge and purpose.

The Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge captures that spirit in its purest form: heavy packs, steep terrain, winter conditions, and the kind of shared suffering that forges lasting respect between generations. 

Outdoor Research: If you could, please give our audience who may not know you a little background of yourself. 

Christian: I’m an alpinist and ski mountaineer from Jackson, Wyoming, and I’ve been documenting the world of alpinism for a few decades now. I started my first climbing organization, The Wayward Mountaineers, and my first climbing ‘zine, The Mountain Yodel, soon after moving to Jackson in 1993. In 1996, I began editing The American Alpine Journal. In 2002 I co-founded Alpinist Magazine, and developed The Alpinist Film Festival to celebrate our adventures outside via the medium of film.

I’m fascinated by our relationship to nature, and a number of the projects I’ve developed have been built around that. I developed the Teton Boulder Park, a public bouldering park in downtown Jackson Hole to honor Teton pioneers, remember the partners we’ve lost to the mountains and inspire future generations to take to the hills. In 2013, I founded SHIFT, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of nature as a determinant of health. Climbing has simply been the vehicle with which I enjoy my connections with the natural world.

I’ve celebrated those connections in different ways. I launched Outerlocal, a social media website for adventure athletes, in 2010. A few years later I started the Town Pump, an annual summertime bouldering series, that I continue to run today. I started The Teton Climbers’ Coalition in 2020, and began its annual film festival, AlpinFilm, in 2023. It’s very important to me to stay connected to my local climbing community via initiatives like these.

I began working on Ninety-Pound Rucksack, documenting the story of the 10th Mountain Division and its impact on outdoor rec in America, a few years ago. In 2023, I was inducted into the 10th Mountain Division’s Warrior Hall of Fame for services rendered to the Division. 

In terms of climbing and skiing, I’ve made expeditions to Kyrgyzstan, Alaska, Peru and Tibet, skied the Grand Teton half a dozen times, and established numerous first ascents and descents around the world. 

OR: You’ve been on a journey for the last couple years telling the 10th Mountain Divisions story through your podcast - Ninety-Pound Rucksack, speaking engagements around the country, and now the NPR Challenge. Can you speak a little bit about the almost immeasurable influence the 10th has had on the outdoor industry?

Christian: The US Army’s 10th Mountain Division was an unprecedented unit of expert mountaineers who trained for more than three years—often carrying ninety-pound “rucksacks,” or backpacks—to fight the Axis powers in extreme cold and mountainous terrain. Not only did their insertion into the war in 1945 help end Germany’s occupation of Italy; post-war, its veterans founded and developed ski areas across America, started companies like NOLS and Nike and launched the fields of avalanche science and wilderness rescue.

OR: Your life has been deeply rooted in alpinism and mountain history—both on the civilian and now military side. How did your background in mountaineering media and organizations influence the way you tell the story of the 10th Mountain Division? 

Christian: The more I studied the 10th, the more I realized its mountaineers have been largely written out of its history. To cite just a few examples, climbers like H. Adams Carter and Bob Bates were instrumental to its inception, its handbooks were written by climbers like David Brower and Ken Henderson, and its signature offensive was a military mountaineering exercise–skiing had nothing to do with it. 

Carter edited the American Alpine Journal for 36 years. I took over the editorial duties when he died. He was profoundly humble, as were a lot of the other climbers in the unit, so I’ve taken it upon myself to correct the record on their behalf so American mountaineers get the credit they deserve. 

OR: Can you walk us through the historical roots of the Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge and what was the inspiration behind creating it? 

Christian: The protagonist I follow in Ninety-Pound Rucksack, John McCown, was one of the primary architects of the Riva Ridge assault, which in turn helped break Hitler’s Gothic Line and catalyzed Germany’s surrender of Italy. When I climbed McCown’s line on Riva Ridge in 2023, I realized it was a far more technical undertaking than I had imagined. Highlighting it with the Challenge seemed like a good way to honor the service and sacrifice of McCown and his comrades—they were profoundly honorable men, and their willingness to lay down their lives in the fight against fascism and right-wing authoritarianism ensured that I enjoy the freedoms of a democratic nation as well as access to our public lands and waters today. It’s my way of saying thanks.

OR: The first Challenge was in 2024 at just a few locations and has expanded now to 27 participating locations all around the country. What lessons did you learn from that inaugural year, and how did that shape the event moving forward?

Christian: The first year, I figured I’d just do it here in the Tetons on Mt. Glory (the call sign of the 10th Mountain Division is “Climb to Glory”). I’d given a talk at Whiteface in New York and visited Ski Cooper outside Camp Hale where the 10th did much of its training, so I reached out to them and found them interested as well. A number of folks participated, including members of the 10th Mountain Alpine Club, a nonprofit that advances alpinism in the 10th Mountain Division community, and enthusiasm seemed high enough to merit leaning into the Challenge again the next year.

I’ve compiled lists of all the ski areas touched by veterans of the 10th, so I used that as the starting point for outreach for 2025. By the time of that year’s Challenge, we had 15 ski areas lined up, plus a contingent that did it on Riva Ridge. Every ski area wanted to do it again, so I leaned back into the spreadsheets and kept inviting more areas that were started, managed or affected by 10th vets. We’re now up to 27 ski areas around the country for this year’s Challenge, which feels pretty fun.

OR: Do you see the Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge evolving into a broader platform for education around mountain history and outdoor heritage? What are your hopes for the Challenge 10, 20, or even 50 years from now? 

Christian: Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but learning about history can be about as exciting as watching paint dry. The Challenge allows people to appreciate the 10th’s contributions to American ideals in a visceral fashion that transcends a rational understanding of what they fought for and what they gave us. It would be great to see it continue to evolve as a living tribute to our roots as outdoor recreationalists, and as a vehicle to deepen our connection to a moment in history that we’re now in danger of repeating. 

OR: What experiences in your personal journey have most shaped your philosophy on challenge and responsibility—values so central to the 10th Mountain Division’s legacy? 

Christian: When I give talks on the 10th, I keep John McCown’s 10th Mountain Division patch in my pocket to give me the courage to speak my mind. Lately, I’ve been studying the contributions of David Brower, the great Sierra Club climber who became instrumental to the 10th’s development and fought alongside McCown in Italy. Post-war, he became one of the great environmentalists of the 20th century. He never backed down from what he thought was right, and he never compromised. As the American political scene has become increasingly hijacked by right-wing ideologues intent on stripping rights and freedoms men like McCown and Brower were willing to die to defend, I try to channel their conviction in my efforts to fight for what I believe is right.

OR: Last but not least, what advice do you have for someone preparing for their first Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge?

Christian: As the madcap experiment that became the 10th quickly revealed, physical fitness is key to any mountain endeavors. They used to train with packs that weighed up to ninety pounds, which became the foundation of their eventual success in Italy, but on the Riva Ridge operation, their packs weighed between 40 and 60 pounds. 

Nobody needs to carry any additional weight on the Challenge. The point is to remember what they were willing to die for and what they gave us. It takes fitness to ascend 1,500 to 2,500 feet, which was the vertical relief of the lines they climbed on Riva Ridge, but it’s more important to honor their legacy with your climb, regardless of the weight you carry. And if you do carry weight, please make sure it’s water so you can pour it out before making your descent!

OR: Thank you so much for your time, Christian, we look forward to being a part of this event with you for many years to come! 

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