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Veterans from the 10th Mountain Division shaped the sport of skiing following World War II
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The sport of skiing as we know it today would not be the same if it were not for the actions of a group of veterans following World War II. Members of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division played major roles in the creation of many of the top resorts in the United States and overall advancement of the sport.
The Army created its first mountain unit in the early 1940s with the purpose of having troops trained in mountain and winter warfare. Much credit for the establishment of the unit can be given the Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole who lobbied the War Department for having troops trained in such tactics. Dole, the president of the National Ski Patrol at the time, saw value in this after seeing success that Finnish troops on skis had in battle against Russian forces. Once the unit was established, The National Ski Patrol was also instrumental in recruiting and training soldiers for the squad, many of whom had never put on a set of skis before enlisting.
Though they were only in combat a relatively short period of time before the end of the war in 1945, the 10th suffered from one of the highest casualty rates of any American division while fighting in Italy. At the end of 1945 the 10th Mountain Division was sent back to the United States and disbanded. It was at this point that many of its members started with their post-war careers that would have a major impact on the sport.
Friedl Phiefer skied Aspen Mountain while on furlough during training with the 10th in Colorado and saw potential in the mountain and town. He started buying up land in the area with the goal of helping to transform Aspen into a full fledged resort destination and was instrumental in that transformation. Phiefer would also open up the Aspen Ski School. Pete Seibert, another 10th Mountain Division veteran and also a member of the Aspen Ski Patrol following the war, would later become a co-founder of Vail. In additional, several other major resorts in the country were founded or directly impacted by former members of the 10th.
Numerous other veterans of the 10th Mountain Division were instrumental in technological advances in areas such as lifts, equipment and trail layout. With many of the unit’s members having never skied before joining the force, they gained excellent insight and ideas on ways to make the sport more appealing to the masses through these new technologies and ideas.
It is tough to say what skiing would be like today had it not been for the actions of many veterans of the 10th Mountain Division following World War II, but it would be safe to say that the sport is better off because of them
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