Colorado’s Camp Hale Is the USA’s newest National Monument

The famed 10th Mountain Division trained at Camp Hale. | US Army photo.

If you were on I-70 earlier this week, there’s a good chance you saw the presidential motorcade driving through the mountains. Nope, the President wasn’t going leaf peeping or on his way to score some early season turns. This week, the Biden Administration designated Colorado’s historic Camp Hale as part of the nation’s newest National Monument. The former base and training ground for the US Army’s famed 10^th Mountain Division became part of the newly designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. A consortium of Colorado leaders, including county officials, tribal leaders, conservationists, hunters, anglers, and recreationalists have been working for nearly a decade to protect the beautiful swath of land that includes the former military installation and the surrounding Tenmile Mountain Range. Click here to read more about the 10th Mountain Division and how they shaped modern skiing.

“It’s the first new national monument of my presidency under this authority,” Biden said in a short speech at Camp Hale, “When you think about the natural beauty of Colorado and the history of our nation, you find it here.” In addition to the Camp, Biden announced plans to conserve 225,000 acres on the Thompson Divide, an area that, like much of the state, was once designated for mining. The new 53,804-acre National Monument will be administered by the White River National Forest unit of the USFS.

“Protecting Camp Hale, the hallowed training ground, the birthplace of the 10th Mountain Division, celebrates Colorado’s contribution to the World War II effort and, of course, the service of our proud ski troopers,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said. “Veterans of the 10th Mountain Division helped shape the modern ski industry, leading to Colorado’s rise as a world-class outdoor recreation community, preserving our beautiful natural treasure.”

During World War 2, Camp Hale was a US Army training facility for the 10^th Mountain Division, where soldiers were trained in mountaineering skills, skiing, cold-weather survival, and winter warfare techniques. These troops were instrumental in helping to win WW2 during battles in Italy’s mountains. Soldiers were recruited nationwide through the American Ski Patrol association from ski racing clubs, ski schools, and other winter sports societies. Veterans of the 10^th Mountain Division returned home, where many were involved in founding the US’s modern ski industry. Peter Seibert, the founder of Vail Ski Resort, trained at Camp Hale. Following Allied victory in WW2, Camp Hale was officially decommissioned, but was used for covert CIA operations until 1965 to train Tibetan resistance fighters.