EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — Sitting around a campfire, retired Navy Seal Josh Jespersen and four other veterans enjoy a quiet morning at the Camp Hale campgrounds. A love for the outdoors and their military background makes Camp Hale a special place for them. Once home to the 10th Mountain Division in WWII, Camp Hale trained 15,000 soldiers in mountain warfare and created arguably the most capable military mountaineers in the world.
Training at 10,000 feet through incredibly tough conditions, soldiers— carrying all of their gear— learned to ski and climb, and would eventually be called into battle in 1945 to help break through the German supply line in Italy, something the Allies had failed to do on multiple attempts.
The Germans, holding the high ground, had defended this position for over a year. But on February 18, 1945, the 10th Mountain Division scaled the mountain in the dead of night and surprised the Germans at dawn. Although they suffered heavy losses, the 10th successfully broke through the German defenses and helped the Allies secure victory in WWII.
Once WWII had ended, many veterans of the 10th Mountain Division found themselves spending much of their time outdoors.