A project was stopped here before.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe describes Ute people traveling to nearby Pando Valley, now the site of Camp Hale, after the winter snow melted. They hunted and gathered plants and minerals for food, medicine, and spiritual use. The Tribe calls this seasonal circuit Míyatukhwatni, “moving locations as the seasons change.”

Along the Eagle River, a traditional Ute route connected the mountains with the sacred hot springs at Glenwood Springs. Forced removal disrupted these relationships. Ute people continue to return to the Camp Hale and Tenmile Range area to gather, hunt, fish, and honor their ancestors. This is a living homeland, with knowledge and connections that endure.

After months of photographing Colorado’s mountains, the Hayden Survey reached the country where Mount of the Holy Cross was said to stand. On August 23, 1873, Jackson pushed ahead of his companions as they climbed Notch Mountain with photographic equipment on their backs.

Near the top of the ridge, Jackson climbed above the timberline and the clouds. As he clambered over jagged rocks, what he later called the “great shining cross” suddenly appeared directly before him, tilted against the mountainside.

The sight was only the beginning. By the time the whole group reached the summit, the light was too poor to make the photograph.

They spent a sleepless night beside a fire near timberline, without food, coats, or blankets. At dawn they climbed again. Then came another problem: they needed water to prepare the glass plates. Sunlight melted enough snow, and Jackson made eight photographs.

Twenty years later, he returned with his son Clarence. Even with better equipment, Jackson later recalled, he never matched those first images. The photograph above carries that night, that persistence, and that mountain morning into the present.

Camp Hale opened in November 1942. The 10th Mountain Division trained among steep slopes, deep snow, and bitter temperatures. In February 1945, its soldiers climbed a 1,500-foot cliff in Italy to take a German position, helping the Allies break through the defensive line.

After the war, veterans helped create more than 60 ski resorts as founders or managers. Others shaped conservation and outdoor education. David Brower became the Sierra Club’s first executive director; Paul Petzoldt founded the National Outdoor Leadership School. The country that trained them helped shape what they gave back.

The first two 10th Mountain Division huts, McNamara and Margy’s, were completed in 1982. The association’s name honors the soldiers, and several huts were funded by friends and families in memory of men who died in World War II.

Near Homestake Peak, the 10th Mountain Division Hut opened in 1989 with donations from veterans Bill Boddington, Col. Pete Peterson, Maury Kuper, and Bill Bowerman. A roof, a wood stove, and space to share a meal carry that legacy into another generation of mountain journeys. Remembering can be something you do with your boots on.