Wow Photo Wednesday ~ Winter Troopers

Wow ~ Bravery and danger in the freezing cold of the Rocky Mountains! Long before winter sports turned Colorado's mountains into the glittering, busy playgrounds they are today, the United States Army was training soldiers in the arts of winter survival, teaching them to ski, snowshoe, and climb precipitous inclines for the purpose of defeating the Germans, in the Italian Alps, in World War II. A number of these veterans, after the War, returned to Colorado and recycled their experience into creating today's world class Colorado Ski Industry. 

In 1987, the Western History Department at the Denver Public Library joined forces with the Colorado Historical Society Museum (now History Colorado) and the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division to create the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center. The Resource Center is the official repository for all records and artifacts related to the World War II 10th Mountain Division. Our collection of photographs, documents and artifacts is the largest in the world, and a vital resource for Division members and their families, for historians, and for people seeking the historical basis for the outdoor sports industry, which has grown beyond the wildest imaginings of those early adventurers.

This photo shows troopers cross country skiing above Camp Hale, in Colorado, where the 10th Mountain Division had their training grounds.

Find out about the Denver Public Library's 10th Mountain Division resources, in this Research Guide, or in this blog which focuses on the photographs and features a gallery. 

For more information regarding the 10th Mountain Division, please contact Keli Schmid at kschmid@denverlibrary.org or 720-865-1812.

"Wow Photo Wednesday" celebrates photographs in the Denver Public Library's Digital Collections that have "The Wow Factor" and that highlight the myriad delightful nuggets in our database.