Camp Hale Camp Hale , between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley in Colorado , was a U . S . Army training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division . It was named for General Irving Hale . Soldiers were trained in mountain climbing , Alpine and Nordic skiing , cold - weather survival as well as various weapons and ordnance . When it was in full operation , approximately 15 , 000 soldiers were housed there . The creation of an elite ski corps was a national effort , with assistance from the National Association of Ski Patrol , local ski clubs , and Hollywood . Enough men were recruited to create three army regiments , which were deployed after training . Camp Hale was decommissioned in November 1945 . World War II . Construction . The armed ski corps in the US was based on the ski warfare tactics of the Finnish army during the Winter War . Early in the effort 8000 skiers and outdoorsmen were recruited . The camp was built to accommodate the effort at a cost of $ 30 million . The War Department chose the location at 9 , 300 feet because the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad stopped at Pando Rail Station and historically the snowfall in the Tennessee Pass area was plentiful . Construction of the camp began in the spring of 1942 and finished seven months later ; during that period 24 was moved , a sewage system installed to prevent pollution in the near - by town of Red Cliff , and the meadow drained . Additionally , the nearby town of Leadville , the only source of recreation for the trainees , was persuaded to change its moral character , perceived " to be on a rather low plane " . The camp included mess halls , infirmaries , a ski shop , administrative offices , a movie theater , and stables for livestock . White painted barracks for 15 , 000 soldiers were built straight lines on the mountain meadow , but when the first trainees of the 87th Regiment of the 10th Light Division , quickly renamed the 10th Mountain Division , arrived in the winter of 1942 only a small portion of barracks were filled . The War Department needed to train more skiers in the elite fighting ski corps and asked the American Ski Patrol Association to contact ski racing clubs , ski schools , and local patrol units , nationwide — each applicant had to supply three letters of recommendation . Recruitment . After 1942 problems in communication caused by the war slowed the recruitment effort . However , that year , Darryl Zanuck released Sun Valley Serenade , starring Sonja Henie , and featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra , and filmed on location in Sun Valley . The movie was a hit and the Hollywood effort helped to interest trainees in the ski corps . Two more wartime movies were made , each filmed at Camp Hale , featuring the white - clad elite troops — " Mountain Fighters " in 1943 and " I Love a Soldier " in 1944 . The ski corps was featured on national magazine covers and popular radio shows . Although the effort brought in recruits to add the 86th and 85th Regiments for a full division , recruiters realized not enough skiers existed to fill the new regiments ; thereafter , efforts were made to bring in rugged outdoorsmen of all types with the slogan that the 10th Mountain Division was made up of " college boys to cowboys " . In addition , 200 women from the Women ' s Army Corps were brought in for administrative support . Training . By 1943 , Camp Hale had as many as 14 , 000 men in training . Conditions in the camp were harsh : the altitude required acclimation ; the shallow valley created polluted inversion layer s ; recreation was non - existent because of the camp ' s high mountain isolation , which prevented even the USO from visiting ; and many of the non - skiing trainees hated skiing . Trainees were taught to ski at Cooper Hill by ski instructors , brought from the ski - areas such as Sun Valley and Waterville Valley . Located three miles from the camp , Cooper Hill had on - site barracks for the instructors and a newly built T - bar ski lift for the trainees . Military use of Camp Hale included the 10th Mountain Division , the 38th Regimental Combat Team , the Norwegian - American 99th Infantry Battalion ( Separate ) , and soldiers from Fort Carson conducting mountain and winter warfare training exercises . Trainees were taught skiing , mountain climbing , snow survival skills ( such as building snow cave s ) , and winter combat . Camp Hale was active for three years . In 1945 it was deactivated and the 10th Mountain Division moved to Texas . Prisoner of war camp . Camp Hale held " about 400 of the most incorrigible members of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ' s Afrika Corps " . On 15 February 1944 , guard Private Dale Maple drove away with German Sergeants Heinrich Kikillus and Erhard Schwichtenberg . They made it to Mexico before being arrested and turned over to U . S . authorities . In an unrelated scandal , in March 1944 , five WAC s were charged with exchanging notes with the prisoners . Three received sentences of four to six months and were dishonorably discharged . 1960s . From 1959 to 1965 , Tibetan guerrillas were secretly trained at Camp Hale by the CIA . The site was chosen because of the similarities of the terrain with the Himalayan Plateau . The Tibetans nicknamed the camp " Dhumra " , meaning " The Garden " . The CIA circulated a story in the local press that Camp Hale was to be the site of atomic tests and would be a high security zone . Until the camp was closed in 1964 , the entire area was cordoned off and its perimeter patrolled by military police . In all , around 259 Tibetans were trained at Camp Hale . After Camp Hale was dismantled in 1964 , no Tibetans remained in Colorado . From 1958 to 1960 , Anthony Poshepny trained various special missions teams , including Tibetan Khambas and Hui Muslims , for operations in China against the communist government . In 1965 , Camp Hale was dismantled and the land was deeded to the U . S . Forest Service . Since 1974 , the area has become a youth development training center . An Eagle County non - profit organization , SOS Outreach , has used the site to expose disadvantaged youth to many of the same outdoor challenges experienced by the 10th Mountain Division . In 1962 , Pete Seibert , who was among the soldiers who trained at Camp Hale and then returned to the area after the war , founded the Vail Ski Resort nearby . Present day . In 2003 , the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers began a cleanup effort to remove some of the unexploded ordnance at the site in conjunction with several other government agencies . This effort is still ongoing . Most of the remnants of Camp Hale are located in the White River National Forest . There are camping grounds where overnight camping is permitted on this former army base . Several informational plaques are located throughout the area . These plaques contain historical information about camp construction , the 99th Infantry Battalion ( aka " The Viking Battalion " ) , ski training , rock climbing / alpine training , the motor pool area , CIA training , and camp entertainment .