Battlefields Above the Colorado Clouds: Inventory of the Camp Hale Training Area

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Community Centered Archaeology in Colorful Colorado", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument was established in central Colorado’s mountains in 2022. Now razed, the Army cantonment of Camp Hale was originally home to WWII’s vaunted 10th Mountain Division, the first and only American mountain infantry division. Metcalf Archaeological Consultants has been involved with documenting this unique military post on the White River National Forest and its associated battlefields in Italy since participating in the camp’s 1991 NRHP nomination. Recently, supported by funding from the Tenth Mountain Division Foundation and History Colorado, Metcalf conducted the first formal inventory of Camp Hale’s high elevation training area using a modern conflict archaeology approach. Three sites directly associated with 10th Mountain troops and subsequent Cold War warriors were recorded. This presentation summarizes the camp’s history and its training area, the diverse community involved, and the archaeological resources recorded.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Community Centered Archaeology in Colorful Colorado   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow