It’s a tale old as time: Narrative is the vehicle that connects us to something greater. And for Christian Beckwith, he’s built a career on that foundation.

You probably know of Christian, or have interacted with his work. He’s spent more than thirty years immersed in the world of alpinism, and in that time he was the editor of The American Alpine Journal, co-founded Alpinist — which Reinhold Messner once called “the greatest climbing magazine in the world” — and recently started a “hardcore history” podcast about the 10th Mountain Division called Ninety-Pound Rucksack.

If you haven’t heard of it, you might be living under the rock… but since you're listening to a climbing podcast, that very well may be the case. Regardless, it’s great and I encourage you to give it a listen.

In this episode, we don’t talk much about the podcast, instead, we hone in on:

• How to complicate seemingly simple projects by going deep
• Clues to find the narrative in anything you do
• What can happen when you follow your curiosity
  

Timestamps:

05:18 - From New England to the Tetons

14:45 - Building community through climbing

22:38 - Narrative as a tool for connection and change

27:25 - Exploring the awe

34:20 - Diving into the contribution of climbers on the 10th Mountain Division

42:28 - How history is written

47:56 - Climbing Riva Ridge to understand history

Resources and links:

To listen to Ninety-Pound Rucksack, head to your favorite podcast platform or learn more about it at christianbeckwith.com. If you love what Christian is doing and want to support longform narrative projects like this, I highly encourage you to become a patron at patreon.com/NinetyPoundRucksack.

Find the rest of the notes on the episode page.

Credits:

Episode cover photo provided by Christian.

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Patreon:

That's it for Season 1! If you enjoyed the conversations and want to help us do many more for Season 2, consider supporting us on Patreon. (And for less than the price of a bougie beer per month).

What are the things in your life that have infinite complexity upon closer inspection?

I’m betting you didn’t expect that question on a podcast about ice climbing.

But that’s Jackson Yip for ya. An atmospheric researcher by training who specializes in cloud-microphysics, Jackson is also a deeply passionate climber and alpinist who has coupled his interests in a myriad of ways.

Whether scrabbling through murky datasets or slogging to break trail, Jackson finds beauty in the mundane and labyrinthine.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about:

• Cloud physics and the complexity of turbulence
• The importance of first-hand experience
• How to develop mental models
• Why we can and need to do better when evaluating ice conditions
• The mechanics of pillar collapse
• And more

Hope you enjoy this chat, I certainly did.

Timestamps:

01:41 - The concept of heat death and its implications

04:00 - Having perspective

05:37 - The complexity of cloud micro-physics

09:15 - Observing and first-hand experience

11:30 - Engineering challenges in climate research

17:58 - Predicting ice formations

20:20 - The tragic consequences of misreading ice conditions

23:10 - Mechanics of slip-out pillar collapse

28:31 - The importance of patience in climbing and life

35:38 - Accessible doesn't mean easy or safe

41:13 - The seasons of life

42:43 - Supporting socioeconomic equality

Resources and links:

If you’re interested in collaborating on one of the ice climbing models that Jackson mentioned, you can reach him at jackson.yip@utah.edu. To connect with him on Instagram, he’s @jp_yip. You can learn more about his research on his website: jpyip.com

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.

Credits:

Episode cover photo provided by Jackson Yip

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon.

It’s rare to find American-made climbing companies. The shortlist includes the likes of Metolius, Organic, Misty Mountain, UnParallel, and a handful of rope producers.

It’s even rarer to find technical apparel made in the U.S., which makes NW Alpine so distinct. And by technical, I mean purpose-built clothing designed for the elements, not adventureleisure masquerading as such.

Anywho, the idea for NWA was born out of the 2008 financial crisis. Founded by Bill Amos, a quote-unquote “climber dude” at the time, he wanted to understand what was happening and brushed up on economics. He concluded that basing the economy on financial shenanigans instead of manufacturing wasn’t the way to go.

So, his solution to one of the worst recessions in the history of the country was to create a pair of pants. At its height, the company employed 75 people and put millions back into the local economy.

In this episode, we talk about how NW Alpine is developing innovative apparel (in the true sense of the word), the economic and free trade factors that led to mass offshoring, and how many of your favorite brands are making huge profits off the back of exploited labor.

NWA harkens back to an older ethos for climbing companies. I particularly enjoyed this chat and hope you do too.

Timestamps:

02:00 - Bill's climbing journey

05:57 - Adventures in the Cascades and Alaska

20:10 - The birth of Northwest Alpine

20:13 - Understanding the economic shift in the U.S.

24:41 - The impact of offshoring on the U.S. manufacturing

33:01 - Journey to Kachatna: Scaling manufacturing

37:37 - Rise and fall of Kachatna Apparel

40:59 - Innovation in apparel: The Fortis line and rainproofness post-PFAS

50:36 - The reality of how products are made overseas

58:03 - The Future of Northwest Alpine

Resources and links:

Bill is graciously giving away two Black Spider Hoodies for listeners — one men’s and one women’s. To enter, head to our Instagram @ice_ice_beta to find the details.

If you’d like to follow along with what NW Alpine is up to, their Instagram is @nwalpinegear. To check out their products head to nwalpine.com. They have several new lines dropping this year.

Here is the video of Sir James Goldsmith predicting the future impact of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in an interview with Charlie Rose (which we reference in the episode). And NW Alpine's blog also has a lot of great trip reports from the past 14 years.

This is the "contentious" IG post where Bill breaks down how much overseas workers are paid to make expensive outdoor apparel.

Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page.

Credits:

Episode cover photo provided by the NW Alpine courtesy of GearJunkie

Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).

Patreon:

For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon.