1942–1946. U.S. 24, 11 miles south of Gilman (NR)
During World War II the small mountain valley known as Eagle Park, on the D&RG line between Leadville and Redcliff, and the surrounding peaks became the training camp for the U.S. Army's first and only ski troops, the Tenth Mountain Division. Named for Colorado Spanish-American war hero General Irving Hale, the camp replaced an iceberg lettuce farm on the valley floor of the upper Eagle River. Constructed in 1942 to house 735 officers and 13,500 enlisted men, the base was leveled to its concrete foundations in 1965. Many veterans who trained here, including Vail's Peter Seibert, returned to Colorado after the war to launch ski areas at Aspen, Vail, and elsewhere.