National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 214 | Ninety-Pound Rucksack, Part 2

By Jess Repanshek - March 19th, 2023

How did America get hooked on skiing? In 1939, Hannes Schneider moved from Austria to North Conway, New Hampshire, to teach skiing. But before the sport really took off, World War II broke out. After the war, a gritty band of soldiers who fought in the U,S, Army’s 10th Mountain Division, returned home into the mountains they loved.

Last week, Christian Beckwith, an alpinist and climbing historian, introduced us to the 10th Mountain Division and how it was jump-started by climbers who had honed their skills in the craggy mountains of Grand Teton National Park.

Beckwith, who rolls out this history in his podcast “Ninety-Pound Rucksack”, is back with us today to explain how those soldiers kick-started the ski industry in America, started the organizations such as the National Outdoor Leadership School, and played a role in fields of avalanche science and wilderness rescue.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
:49 Big Country - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Yellowstone
1:17 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
1:46 Potrero Group
2:13 Washington’s National Park Fund
2:49 Christian Beckwith, creator of the Ninety-Pound Rucksack podcast, explains the role soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division played in launching the ski industry in the United States.
14:02 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - The Sounds of the Caribbean
14:36 Traveler Promo
14:48 Friends of Acadia
15:12 Great Smoky Mountains Association
15:33 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
15:56 Ninety-Pound Rucksack, Part 2, continues
25:08 Vista Verde - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of Peaks, Plateaus and Canyons
25:28 Interior Federal Credit Union
25:45 The Everglades Foundation
25:57 Yosemite Conservancy
26:25 Ninety-Pound Rucksack, Part 2, continues
43:04 Wabanaki - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
43:44 Episode Closing
44:08 Orange Tree Productions
44:41 Splitbeard Productions
44:51 National Parks Traveler footer

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