My friend who lives in Denver, Colorado owns a Vail ski condo(s). I visited him during the ski off season. He was renting out his one of his condos and needed to go up and have the lease signed. We left on a Friday evening and spent the night in the condo. The next morning as he was waiting to meet with the tenants he loaned me his car and invited me to drive around the area.

I had a great time pulling off on the side of the road and taking hikes up into the hills. As I was driving I saw what appeared to be a large monument and what looked like an old time ski lift. I pulled off the road and walked to the monument. It was dedicated to the U. S. Army division tenth mountain division which was formed in’40.

The reason it was formed was because the infantry was not ready for winter warfare if they had to fight in Finland or Norway or if they had to fight in the Alps they would have to know something about how to fight in the mountains. At the time of formation they were called simply the ski troops. Some of the men who joined did so because it sounded like a glamorous idea.

Camp vale is in the Pando valley just on the Westside of the continental divide. The troops got to vale and were amazed. They did not know that type of mountain existed. The ones that had skied before were impressed with the finest skis and bindings they had ever seen.

It was a more hazardous than recreational skiing because they each carried a fifty pound pack. And the fine bindings were bear trap bindings that did not come off. If you did not know how to fall you could break a leg. It was very rugged training.

The men learned mountain survival the hard way. They endured weeks of living in the mountains where the temperature fell to below twenty degrees below zero. The older taught the younger inexperienced troops how to survive like rubbing bacon grease all over their bodies to prevent frostbite.

In Germany the tenth division finally saw combat. It fought in the mountains of Italy the German army in’45. This was a key battle for the U. S. Because the German army had a high strategic position that was preventing the infantry from moving forward. The Germans were surprised by the mountain division because they believed their position was so high and unattainable that they were beyond attack. But the mountain division surprised them and was able to remove them from their strategic foothold.

The tenth mountain division suffered one of the highest casualty rate of any U. S. Division. It was a sobering experience to stand in part of the area where brave soldiers learned to survive and fight in the snowy mountaintops of world war two. I returned to meet my friend at his ski condo a little more appreciative of those brave world war two snow troops.

BC real estate offers ski condos that are perfect for a little family time. It includes everything such as kitchen appliances, and also offers great scenery as well. If you’re planning a vacation for this winter, remember to visit us.

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