Camp Hale
The US Army's mountain warfare training base where the 10th Mountain Division learned to ski, built in 1942, decommissioned in 1945 and now a national monument.
- Region
- Colorado
- Country
- USA
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1942
- Year closed
- 1945
- Reason for closure
- Decommissioned as a military installation in November 1945; the camp was dismantled in 1965
History
Camp Hale was constructed in 1942 at 9,238 feet in the Eagle River Valley of central Colorado, between Red Cliff and Leadville, specifically to train the unit that became the 10th Mountain Division. At its peak around 15,000 soldiers were stationed there, learning mountain climbing, alpine and Nordic skiing, cold-weather survival and weapons handling. Ski instruction took place at Cooper Hill, three miles south of the camp, which had barracks for instructors and a newly built T-bar lift. The base was decommissioned in November 1945 and dismantled in 1965, after which the land passed to the US Forest Service. Veterans of the division went on to found or manage many American ski areas after the war. On 12 October 2022 the site was designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, covering 53,804 acres managed by the White River National Forest.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Hill T-Bar | T-Bar | Newly built for ski training at Cooper Hill, three miles south of the camp, with on-site barracks for instructors |
Sources and further reading
More in USA
Location
39.4300, -106.3200