Camp Hale
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Camp Hale, between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley in Colorado, was a United States Army training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. It was named in honor of General Irving Hale. Soldiers were trained in mountain climbing, skiing and cold-weather survival. When it was in full operation, approximately 16,000 soldiers were housed there.
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 Rocky Mountains in the area with the Himalayan Plateau. This was a contemporary plan of the CIA to the one that trained dissident Cubans in what later became the Bay of Pigs Invasion. After that failed foray, the Tibetan plan in Colorado's mountains was abandoned, but the Tibetans, having no free homeland to return to, opted to stay in the friendly environment and homelike terrain. Consequently, Colorado has one of the highest concentrations of Tibetans in North America.
In 1965, Camp Hale was dismantled and the land was deeded to the United States Forest Service. Since 1974 the area has reflected its roots by becoming a youth development training center. The Eagle County non-profit, Meet The Wilderness,[link], has effectively used the site to expose disadvantaged youth to many of the same outdoor challenges experienced by the 10th Mountain Division. In 2003, there was a cleanup effort to remove some of the unexploded ordnance at the site.
External links
- [History of Camp Hale]
- [Metropolitan State College of Denver website about Camp Hale]
- [Training of Tibetans at Camp Hale]
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