10/16/2026
It took A.J. Cargill three attempts just to reach the summit of the Grand Teton. Then she skied it on telemark gear, the first woman ever to do so.
That story, from Angus Thuermer’s WyoFile profile this week, is the best description of entrepreneurship I’ve read in a while. A.J. won the 1997 women’s world free-skiing title for a fifth of the men’s prize money, spent 20 years on ski patrol, and earned her place in a scene that didn’t make room for women.
“You’ve got to get back up and try it again to succeed around here,” she said of the Tetons. Any founder will recognize that.
Now she’s bringing the same persistence to Alpine Revival, her cashmere ski sweater company. Last month it won the Bob Arndt Community Caretaker award at Pitch Day, and A.J. is a participant in our TEAMS mentoring program.
Read the full profile: https://wyofile.com/the-mountain-elite-wyoming-mountains-forged-a-j-cargill-into-a-stylish-ski-champion/
Moving from the Midwest as a child, she had to catch up with the mountain lifestyle and a culture that didn’t always treat women well.