Photo courtesy of Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame

“As one of the birthplaces of modern backcountry skiing, Camp Hale and the surrounding Tenmile Range is hallowed ground. The historic importance of the camp and its veterans to backcountry skiing and winter mountaineering cannot be overstated. This National Monument designation will protect a living cultural history for present and future generations of Americans, who will now and forever be able to ski and climb in the skin tracks of their heroic forebears.”

-David Page, WWA Executive Director

This afternoon, President Biden announced the designation of Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. This National Monument protects the Tenmile Range and Camp Hale in the heart of Colorado.

Not only does this designation protect amazing wild places and spectacular terrain for backcountry skiing today, it celebrates and protects an important piece of American skiing history. Camp Hale was the main training facility for the 10th Mountain Division and is where they developed many of the modern skiing, mountaineering, and climbing techniques you are probably familiar with and use today.

After returning from using these new techniques to fight fascists in the mountains of Europe during World War Two, 10th Mountain Division veterans went on to shape Colorado’s – and the nation’s – ski industry and brought the United States to the forefront of backcountry skiing, mountaineering, and climbing.

This new National Monument honors the heroes of the 10th Mountain Division and America’s human-powered recreation culture.