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Winter Warriors: The 10^th Mountain Division

Every year we celebrate Veteran's Day as a time to honor all American men and women that have served in the armed forces. One group of veterans that deserves special recognition is the 10^th Mountain Division, an elite unit of military "ski troopers" that were largely responsible for the rapid growth of the modern ski industry after World War II.

Joe "Barnes" Berry with his dad Bill and brother Hal (1942) (click for larger version)

Keston Ramsey, developer of the Sky Tavern Resort, was there that day, as was Bill Berry, a noted journalist and Sierra ski historian. A few of the guys skiing were 18-year-old freshmen at the University of Nevada – Reno, including Chelton Leonard, a future coach of the University of Nevada ski team, as well as Joe "Barnes" Berry, son of Bill.

At the end of the day, a few of them stopped at the lodge at Galena Creek for refreshments and to boast about who had skied best that day. That's when they heard the news that the Japanese had bombed an American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States quickly declared war on Japan and began mobilizing troops.

Longtime friends, Chelton Leonard and Barnes Berry were among the Reno skiers who volunteered for assignment as mountain soldiers, but they were forced to wait a couple of months for the induction process. At the time, the U.S. Army was training soldiers of the 87^th Mountain Regiment for winter combat at Fort Lewis, north of Mount Rainier. Berry and Leonard took advantage of the delay by spending days skiing in the mountains. In mid-February 1942, Leonard and Berry were working and skiing at Beacon Hill (Soda Springs) when a movie director approached them. He was using the Beacon Hill slopes to film an Abbott & Costello musical comedy set in Sun Valley, Idaho, titled "Hit the Ice."

Leonard and Berry skied in the movie Hit the Ice  (click for larger version)

In the ski chase, gangsters are pursuing Abbott and Costello down the mountain. Chelton Leonard, playing Lou Costello, was being chased by Barnes Berry, who was standing in for an actor named Sheldon Leonard. You can imagine the confusion as the director dealt with the nearly identically sounding names of Chelton Leonard and Sheldon Leonard.

Their skiing enjoyment was short-lived, however, as Berry and Leonard were soon inducted into the army. They were assigned to a new military facility called Camp Hale, located near Aspen, Colorado. At Camp Hale, soldiers would be trained to fight in cold weather conditions and rugged alpine terrain. The idea for this specialized regiment was inspired by the Finnish army's success that their skilled mountain troops were having against the invading Russians. Minot Dole, a Connecticut insurance broker and ski enthusiast who had organized the National Ski Patrol System to help injured skiers, convinced the U.S. War Department that the Army desperately needed a unit of mountain soldiers.

The War Dept. asked Dole to utilize the National Ski Patrol System to recruit skiers and mountain climbers from all over the country. Anyone wanting to join needed three letters testifying to their skiing ability and outdoorsmanship. Recruiters encouraged all outdoor-oriented men to volunteer for mountain soldier training, which attracted park rangers, trappers, hunting guides, and ranchers. The Army wanted 2,500 men; Dole's system provided more than 3,500. Among the brave volunteers who joined were two former Truckee residents, the late Karl Kielhofer and Pete Vanni.

Soldier Leonard at Camp Hale, Colorado 1942  (click for larger version)

It was a grueling regime that built muscle and endurance, as well as character and grit. The soldiers learned the technical skills necessary to climb cliffs and struggled to handle the newly invented "Weasel" (an over-snow track vehicle) in rough terrain. They marched more than 20 miles a day, yet there was always a lot of singing. Winter weather in the Rockies can be brutal, and the men were often cold, wet and hungry. At the end of one period of tactical training in Feb. 1944, known as the D-Series, 30 percent of the participants were recovering in the infirmary from frostbite or exhaustion.

The mountain troops developed a special camaraderie, where enlisted soldiers seemed equal to the officers commanding them. Former ski instructors and college racers often found themselves teaching officers of a higher rank. Some of the most famous skiers and mountain men from America and even some from Europe trained at Camp Hale. Roy Mikkelsen, a national ski jumping champion with the Auburn Ski Club, was a second lieutenant at Camp Hale in 1943. Europeans like Austrians Hannes Schneider's son, Herbie, (Schneider Sr. is considered by many the Father of Modern Skiing) and Bill Klein (a founder of Sugar Bowl Ski Resort) joined the mountain unit.

10th Mountain Division Memorial, Colorado Springs  (click for larger version)

Combat continued as the mountain troops broke through the German line and spearheaded the drive across the Po River Valley. With skis, ropes and mules, the 10^th was successful in cutting off the German Army's main escape route by prevailing in the famous battles of Riva Ridge, Mount Belvadere and Mont Gorgolesco. Indicative of the fierce fighting, nearly 1,000 men of the 10^th Mountain Division were killed and 4,100 wounded in the Italian campaign. Their fearless courage was honored, as the 10^th became one of the most highly decorated divisions in U.S. history.

After the war, ex-soldiers from the 10^th Mountain Division fired-up America's modern ski industry. They published ski magazines, opened ski schools, and established ski areas, including Vail, Aspen, Sugarbush, Whiteface Mountain and others. At least 62 ski resorts have been founded, managed, or employed head ski instructors that were 10^th Mountain Division veterans.

Officer Joe Berry went on to fight in Korea and a military career commanding the Army Rifle Team, while Chelton Leonard, like other veterans from the 10^th, found a career in the ski industry. He coached the University of Nevada ski team for ten years, was appointed Assistant Sports Technical Director for the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, became the Executive Director of the National Ski Association, and maybe his proudest accomplishment, became Secretary General for the International Federation of Mountain Soldiers (IFMS), an organization dedicated to world peace. Chelton Leonard is still very active in the IFMS and each year travels to meet veteran mountain soldiers from other countries, to help promote peace and heal the wounds of war.

Highway 89 between Tahoe and Truckee is dedicated to ski troopers  (click for larger version)

In 1997, Highway 89 between Tahoe City and Truckee was renamed "The 10^th Mountain Division Highway" in salute to these Winter Warriors. Two signs posted on each end of the highway commemorate this honor.