Camp Hale, the training site for the 10th Mountain Division and other winter warfare training used during World War II, is set to be designated as a national monument next week as President Biden reportedly plans to visit the site located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
According to 9News, the President will be traveling to Colorado on Wednesday, October 19th, possibly including the Tenmile Range in his designation. This site will be the first designated by President Biden as a national monument through the Antiquities Act.
Beginning in 1942, Camp Hale was used as the main training location for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, a group built up with experienced skiers from ski clubs and universities across the nation. After fighting in WWII, the 10th Mountain Division became a majorly important force in establishing skiing in Colorado.
10th Mountain Division Veteran Lawrence Jump founded Arapahoe Basin in 1946 along side several other veterans, and in 1947, Freidl Pfeifer, Percy Rideout, and John Litchfield, all veterans of the 10th, founded Aspen. Pete Seibert, another veteran, founded Vail in 1962.
Other veterans of the 10th Mountain Division held major positions in the ski industry as well, allowing many mountains the survive and grow through the early years. Curtis Chase ran the Aspen ski patrol, Paul Duke became the executive manager of Breckenridge, and Gordon Wren created the youth ski program and Steamboat. According to Mountain Town Magazine, 64 total ski areas across the country were founded by veterans of the 10th Mountain Division.
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