by Christian Beckwith | Jul 2, 2026 | Unabridged
Featuring all-original research, this Unabridged version of Episode 15—available only to patrons—reveals how the mountain troops led the Army’s little-known low-mountain warfare program, prepared ordinary infantrymen for the Italian campaign, and helped lay the...
by Christian Beckwith | Nov 4, 2025 | Unabridged, Uncategorized
Featuring all-original research, Part 4 of our Camp Hale series uncovers how David Brower helped revolutionize American climbing from within the ranks of the (future) 10th Mountain Division. At Camp Hale, through his authorship of the Rock Climbing chapter...
by Christian Beckwith | Jul 22, 2025 | Unabridged
Available only to Patrons, this Unabridged version of Episode 13 continues our deep dive into America’s high-altitude military experiment as it unfolded at Camp Hale during the pivotal winter of 1942–43. The episode details the Mountain Training Center’s...
by Christian Beckwith | Jan 14, 2025 | Unabridged
In Part 2 of our deep dive into Camp Hale, we explore the rocky beginnings of the mountain troops’ high-altitude military encampment. Nestled in Colorado’s Pando Valley, the camp was more than a training base for what would become the 10th Mountain Division; it...
by Christian Beckwith | Sep 13, 2024 | Unabridged
The Origins of Camp Hale: How the U.S. Army scouted, selected, and developed Colorado’s high-altitude Pando Valley site to create a training ground for mountain warfare. Episode Synopsis: In Episode 11 of Ninety-Pound Rucksack, host Christian Beckwith...
by Christian Beckwith | Jul 23, 2024 | Unabridged
In Episode 10 of Ninety-Pound Rucksack, we explore the seismic cultural shift that—driven in no small part by citizen-soldiers like John McCown—enveloped the U.S. Army during WWII. As John and his fellow officers underwent their rigorous training at Officer Candidate...
