On this date in hiking history: The 10th Mountain Division is established

On this date in 1943 the legendary 10th Mountain Division was constituted. Five days later, on July 15th, it was activated at Camp Hale in Colorado, located near Tennessee Pass between Leadville and Vail. After an extremely hard-fought campaign in Northern Italy during the later stages of WWII, many veterans from this unit came home and became integral parts of the budding outdoor recreation industry.

More than 2000 soldiers from the unit had direct roles in creating the modern ski industry in America. This includes the founding of the Aspen, Vail, and Arapahoe Basin ski resorts, among several others.

Other 10th Mountain Division veterans became heavily involved in the hiking and mountaineering industry. This includes Gerry Cunningham, who founded GERRY; Paul Petzoldt, who helped found Exum Mountain Guides, Outward Bound, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and the Wilderness Education Association (WEA); and David Bower, who served as the first executive director for the Sierra Club, and is credited with helping pass the Wilderness Act.

After designing the master plans for Vail, Snowmass, and Breckenridge, Fritz Benedict established the 10th Mountain Hut system in Colorado. Inspired by the backcountry huts he saw in the Alps, Benedict envisioned a system of huts connected by backcountry trails. The first two were constructed in 1982. The expansive network now encompasses 34 huts and 350 miles of trails, and is used year-round by skiers, snowshoers, hikers, and mountain bikers.

During the Korean War, Jim and Lou Whittaker trained soldiers in mountain warfare at Camp Hale. Afterwards, Lou co-founded Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (now RMI Expeditions). His twin brother became the first full-time employee at Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) in 1955, and eventually became its CEO sixteen year later. Within that span he became the first American to summit Mt. Everest (in 1963).



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.

Canyon Lakes Recruiting Nordic Rangers for 2014 Season

The Canyon Lakes Ranger District is looking for volunteers to ski or snowshoe this winter in the busy Cameron Pass area, where 32 miles of trail can see over 300 skiers a day on a weekend.

This popular area includes trails that border Highway 14 between Chambers Lake and Cameron Pass. The area receives enough snow to ski before many others and snow often remains after other areas have lost their snow cover. For this reason, the number of winter recreationists at Cameron Pass continues to grow.

Volunteers ski or snowshoe “with a purpose,” helping the Forest Service educate winter visitors and provide winter use statistics. To volunteer, participants will take part in a minimum of four days patrolling and attend Forest Service-provided training. The kick-off meeting is Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at 2150 Centre Ave., Building E, in Fort Collins. The required classroom training is Dec. 4, 6-9 p.m. and the required field training is Dec. 7 from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. For more information or to RSVP, call Kristy Wumkes at 970-295-6721 or email kwumkes@fs.fed.us.

Along with a general introduction to the program, the kick-off also introduces potential new members to many of the partner-organizations, such as Jax Outdoor Gear and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and to some of the returning Nordic rangers.

The Cameron Pass Nordic Ranger program began in 1992. Volunteers assist the Forest Service by skiing or snowshoeing area trails to provide safety, trail, and low-impact backcountry use information to winter enthusiasts; help maintain area ski trails and trailheads for safety; and gather visitor use information to aid in Forest Service planning. Some of the Nordic rangers work as a winter trail crew to help keep the trails cleared of downed trees and limbs, install signs, and shovel paths to the restrooms.

Many of the trails are in the Rawah and Neota Wilderness areas, where routes can be challenging. Backcountry skiing also includes risks inherent with winter conditions in the mountains, including extreme cold. These are some of the key reasons volunteers in the area are so valuable to its many users, especially those with little winter sports experience.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com