Sidebar by Allen Best
Camp Hale – July 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
1880: Narrow-gauge railroad from Leadville built across Tennessee Pass and through the valley then called Eagle Park. By 1890, the line had been relaid to standard gauge, and it went through a tunnel under the pass.
1912: Road through Eagle Park becomes part of the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway.
1942: Eagle Park designated for a military base; 200,000 cubic yards of fill is spread on the valley floor, and the Eagle River is channelized. Barracks, mess halls, a hospital, gymnasium, post office, and other structures necessary for a city of up to 16,000 people and 4,000 animals is built within eight months, as well as a rifle range and ski area.
The temporary city is among Colorado’s largest towns, comparable in population to Boulder, Fort Collins, and Grand Junction at the time. The place is also known as Pando, the name of its railroad siding.
1942-1944: Battalions that later became the 10th Mountain Division train before being transferred to Fort Swift, in Texas, and then to Italy.
1945: German prisoners-of-war are used to disassemble most of Camp Hale; 10th Mountain Division is de-activated at Camp Carson.
1958-1964: Central Intelligence Agency clandestinely trains Tibetan guerrillas at Camp Hale for action against forces from People’s Republic of China.
1966: Final 1,456 acres of original 247,243-acre military reservation transferred to U.S. Forest Service.
1985: Seventh-Day Adventists hold a national convention at Camp Hale, more than 10,000 people hear Jesse Jackson speak against drug abuse on a chilly summer night.
1995-1998: Chrysler holds Camp Jeep, an event for four-wheeling enthusiasts at Camp Hale.
1998: Live mortar shell is discovered on Whitney Peak, launching search for leftover ordnance at the former military reservation.
That search continues. Some ammunition is believed to have been left from CIA training operation.