Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge

Hosted in partnership with the National Ski Patrol, 10th Mountain Division Foundation, 10th Mountain Alpine Club, 10th Mountain Division Descendants and Uphill Athlete, The Ninety-Pound Rucksack Challenge is a nationwide ski mountaineering event held on February 18th at 7 p.m. local time.

Participants across the country honor the 80th anniversary of the 10th Mountain Division’s historic Riva Ridge ascent during WWII by recreating their climb—ascending 1,500–2,500 feet and skiing down.

This event is a chance to celebrate history, community, and the spirit of adventure.

Boston Mills/Brandywine/Alpine Valley will be hosting two events on February 18th; One at Alpine Valley Ski Resort in Chesterland, Ohio and one at Brandywine Ski Resort in Sagamore Hills, Ohio. Participants will be able to climb the hill (multiple times if desired) to recreate this historical ascent carrying their regular kit, a percentage of their body weight, or no weight at all. Participants can take the climb at their own pace and enjoy being part of a nationwide tribute to the 10th Mountain Division and the roots of American skiing.

Timeline for the event:

6:00PM - Registration Opens

6:45PM - Assemble/Opening Remarks

7:00PM - Begin the climb

10:00PM - Hill closed

To register for the event, click here.

Donations are being accepted to offset expenses for this event. All remaining proceeds will be donated to Three Trackers of Ohio to support their dedication in the promotion of adaptive recreational sports to persons with physical disablities, specific to events targeting disabled veterans.

If you would like to donate, please use the PayPal link below. We appreciate your generosity and look forward to seeing you on February 18th!

The history behind the challenge

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. In early 1945 they were inserted into Italy’s Apennine Mountains to break Hitler’s Gothic Line, a fortified series of summits and ridges that had stymied Allied advances for more than 500 days.

To do so, the soldiers first had to take a feature known as Riva Ridge. It was an escarpment so precipitous the Germans barely guarded it, for they considered it impossible to climb.

At 7 p.m. on February 18, 1945, some 1,000 10th Mountain Division soldiers began a night-time ascent of the wall. Carrying packs that weighed up to 50 pounds, they climbed via four different routes that ranged from 1,500 to 2,500 feet to take the Germans on top without a casualty. Their successful ascent not only cracked the Gothic Line; it precipitated the German surrender of Italy and hastened the end of the war as well.

In the peace that followed, more than 2,000 veterans of the 10th became ski instructors, operated ski schools and developed ski areas around the country, including Aspen, Vail, A-Basin, Crystal Mountain, Sugarbush, Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor.