Arrive
Set out.
Twice a year, a small group of CISOs leaves the inbox behind and meets where the cell service ends. Spring, then fall. New park each time. The trip is short. The reset is not.
Spring & Fall
Two retreats
Every year
Two retreats
Every year
Connect. Collaborate. Recharge.
The job rarely goes quiet. Out here, the phone does. CISO Ascent brings security leaders into America's National Parks to breathe, build real friendships, and give something back.
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Est. July 2025
It started in July 2025. That fall, a room full of CISOs traded conference halls for trailheads. What began as one weekend outdoors became a nationwide community built around honest conversation, fresh air, and time away from the noise.
350+
CISOs in the community
Vetted, top-of-house security executives from across the country.
2
National parks per year
One in spring, one in fall. A new park, every time.
60
CISOs per retreat
Small enough to know everyone by Friday night.
Why CISO Ascent
The people protecting everything need a place to put the weight down.
A CISO can spend all week being the calmest person in the room. There are few places to say, honestly, that the work is heavy. CISO Ascent was built to be one of them.
Twice a year, a small group heads into a different National Park. We walk. We talk. We laugh more than anyone expects. There are no panels and no stage between you and the conversation. Just people who do the same hard job, sharing a trail and some of the weight.
How it works
The rhythm of a retreat. Simple on purpose.
Each retreat follows the same simple rhythm. A small cohort sets out, walks together, and comes home with the sort of friendships that do not need a calendar invite.
Unplug
Walk together.
Sixty peers, no panel theater, no badges to scan. The conversations that matter happen on the trail, around the fire, and at the bottom of a long climb. Friendships outlast quarters.
Carry it home
Return clearer.
You come back with a network of CISOs who get the weight you carry, a clearer head for the work, and a contribution toward the parks and communities that hosted you.
The Difference
Less of the usual.
More of the trail.
A few things you won't find on the trail.
- Panel discussionsTrail talk beats stage talk.
- Badge scanningShow up. That's the badge.
- Hotel ballroomsTrade fluorescent for open sky.
Giving back is part of the trip
The parks host us.
We support them in return.
Each retreat supports National Parks and the communities around them.
On the Trail
What you'll find out here.
Place
The Parks Set the Pace
Not as a backdrop. As the place that slows us down, opens the conversation, and reminds us what deserves protecting.
People
Relationships That Last
A steep trail has a way of skipping the small talk. Members leave with peers they can call when the work gets hard.
Pace
Room to Breathe
The agenda leaves space to think, move, sleep, and return to the work with a clearer head.
Peers
A Room of Peers
Membership is reserved for senior security leaders. Everyone on the trail understands the decisions waiting back home.
Purpose
Support the Places That Host Us
Every retreat supports the parks and local communities that make the experience possible.
Access
Help Getting There
Optional travel and lodging grants help qualified members join the retreat when budgets are tight.
Upcoming & Cadence
Two retreats. One trail.
Every spring and every fall, the community meets somewhere new: a different National Park, the same rhythm: hike, talk, decompress, come home with a clearer head.
Jul 2025Founded
Fall 2025First retreat
Spring 2026Past
Fall 2026Open
Now accepting · September 2026
Fall 2026 Yellowstone Retreat
Bozeman, MT
View retreatMembership is free
Find your cohort
on the trail.
Apply to join a vetted, nationwide community of CISOs who choose the wilderness as the room where it happens.
Apply for membership