The Paratroopers who trained at alta.
Before the creation of the famed 10th Mountain Division, Company B of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion trained at Alta in 1942. The 503rd sent 175 paratroopers from Fort Benning, Georgia, to Alta Ski Area to train for potential on-snow combat in the Alps.
The Army recruited Dick Durrance, head of the Alta Ski School and manager of the newly minted Alta Lodge. Durrance enlisted the help of eleven ski instructors, consisting mostly of ski racing friends, family members and Alta ski instructors, to teach 175 soldiers—some of whom had never before seen snow—to ski and navigate in a high alpine environment.
Company B was based out of the Rock Shelter—now the Snowpine Lodge. For six weeks, the troops learned about the basics of ski equipment, mountain travel, snow camping, parachute landings on snow and downhill ski techniques.
During the winter of 1941–42, the War Department filmed and produced a short film at Alta, highlighting the training of the ski troops at Alta.
War Department Film Bulletin | Issue No. 24
While Company B of the 503rd Battalion never engaged in on-snow warfare, the concept of a skiing light infantry was later proven to be a monumental success with the creation of the 10th Mountain Division—a group of mountaineers, climbers, and skiers who enlisted to fight in the mountains of Italy during World War II.
“By the end of that winter we came to the conclusion that maybe a third of them would become pretty good skiers, the middle third could get by, and the remaining third had better stay in the paratroopers and forget it.”
- Dick Durrance
As soldiers returned from the war with a newfound appreciation for the mountains and skiing culture found throughout Europe, the popularity of skiing skyrocketed across North America. This post-war era ushered in the adoption of skiing into the middle-class lifestyle. Surplus military ski gear was sold at a steep discount to anyone who had a few dollars to spare.
Ski technologies improved rapidly in the decade that followed. New ski areas opened all across the country and winter recreation rapidly gained in popularity. Existing ski areas—like Alta in Utah's Little Cottonwood Canyon—were perfectly positioned to welcome new skiers and snow enthusiasts to the slopes.
Company B of the 503rd Battalion and the 10th Mountain Division also contributed to the snow science and avalanche safety fields. Monty Atwater, a 10th Mountain Division veteran, returned to Alta and succeeded Sverre Engen as the second-ever Snow Ranger for the US Forest Service. Monty began experimenting with ski cuts and hand charges to reduce the threat of avalanches. He studied how the layers of snow interact with each other and kept meticulous observations of the snowpack.
Atwater eventually petitioned the government in 1949 to begin testing the use of heavy military artillery in order to trigger avalanches in the mountains around Alta. These early efforts contributed to Alta serving as the birthplace of avalanche mitigation in North America.
Additional information on Company B of the 503rd Battalion and the famed 10th Mountain Division:
- Dick Durrance | Alta Historical Society
- Winter Warfare Training of the 503rd Parachute Battalion at Alta, Utah 1942 | Alta Powder News, Winter 2011
- 10th Mountain Division | 10thMtnDivAssoc.org
- 10th Mountain Division - The Ski Industry Catalyst | Mountain Town Magazine
- The Army's Most Famous Band of Skiing Soldiers | Teton Gravity
- Meet the First Guy to Chuck a Bomb at an Avalanche Hazard | Adventure Journal
- History of Avalanche Forecasting & Mitigation in Utah | Ski Utah
