Camp Hale
|
Camp Hale Site
|
|
Concrete ruins of the field house
|
|
| Location | Eagle County, Colorado, USA |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Red Cliff, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 39°26′38″N 106°19′34″W / 39.444°N 106.326°WCoordinates: 39°26′38″N 106°19′34″W / 39.444°N 106.326°W |
| Built | 1942 |
| Architect | U.S. Army |
| NRHP Reference # | 78003522 |
| Added to NRHP | 10 April 1992 |
 Map of Camp Hale
|
|
|
Camp Hale photo
|
Camp Hale, between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley in Colorado, was a U.S. Army training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. It was named for General Irving Hale and was at an elevation of 9,200 feet (2,800 m) above sea level. Onslow S. Rolfe, who had developed mountain warfare techniques as commander of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, was selected to command Camp Hale.
Soldiers were trained in mountain climbing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, cold-weather survival as well as various weapons and ordnance. When it was in full operation, approximately 15,000 soldiers were housed there.
The creation of an elite ski corps was a national effort, with assistance from the National Association of Ski Patrol, local ski clubs, and Hollywood. Enough men were recruited to create three army regiments, which were deployed after training. Camp Hale was decommissioned in November 1945.
The armed ski corps in the U.S. was based on the ski warfare tactics of the Finnish army during the Winter War (1939–1940). Early in the effort, 8,000 skiers and outdoorsmen were recruited. The camp was built to accommodate the effort at a cost of $30 million.
The War Department chose the location at 9,200 feet (2,800 m) because the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad stopped at Pando Rail Station and historically the snowfall in the Tennessee Pass area was plentiful. Construction of the camp began in the spring of 1942 and finished seven months later; during that period Highway 24 was moved, a sewage system installed to prevent pollution in the nearby town of Red Cliff, and the meadow drained. Additionally, the nearby town of Leadville to the south, the only source of recreation for the trainees, was persuaded to change its moral character, perceived "to be on a rather low plane."
...
Wikipedia