An Evening on Jenny Lake ~ Forged in Adversity: Leadership, Entrepreneurship and the Legacy of the 10th Mountain Division

​A note on registration: the invitation is for you, and you're welcome to bring one guest. Please include your guest's name and email when you register.

On the evening of Wednesday, July 22, Silicon Couloir's Trustee Circle will enjoy a private boating outing on Jenny Lake with Christian Beckwith, a graduate of Silicon Couloir's entrepreneurial education program and one of Jackson's most accomplished alpinists and storytellers.

Christian is the founder of the Teton Climbers' Coalition and the founding editor of Alpinist Magazine, which Reinhold Messner called the greatest climbing magazine in the world. More recently, he created and hosts Ninety-Pound Rucksack, a podcast that tells the true story of John McCown, the 10th Mountain Division, and the dawn of outdoor recreation in America.

That story begins right here. The men of the 10th trained and climbed in these mountains before deploying to Italy, where they broke the Gothic Line and helped turn the war. When they came home, they built Aspen, founded NOLS, pioneered avalanche science, and boldly remade American outdoor culture. Christian spent years deep in that history, piecing it together through summit registers, letters, and the long thread connecting the Tetons to the battlefields of northern Italy. The podcast is the result of that work, and his live talk - "Forged in Adversity: Leadership, Entrepreneurship and the Legacy of the 10th Mountain Division" - brings it into full view.

There's something fitting about hearing this story on Jenny Lake, with the range that shaped it visible in every direction. We'll enjoy beverages and dessert while taking in the views and learning how the 10th Mountain Division forged the entrepreneurial spirit of the outdoor recreation industry.

We'll meet at the Jenny Lake Boating dock at 6:45 PM. The talk and Q&A run until 8:30. Space is limited to 35 guests.