Join Durango Nordic Ski Club at Pine Needle Mountaineering for a presentation on the 10th Mountain Division. Mike Elliott, local history enthusiast and three-time Nordic skiing Olympian, will present on the historic 10th Mountain Division and how it impacted the development of skiing in Colorado. Refreshments from Ska will be available.

Early in the 1940s Minnie Dole, a civilian and founder of the National Ski Patrol, convinced the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff to create a Mountain Division in preparation for fighting in World War II. The 10th Mountain Division was the result. From their intensive training in the Colorado Rockies at Camp Hale to the spectacular night climb of Italy's Riva Ridge - where the 10th scored their first victory against Hitler's troops in Italy - the 10th Mountain Division has left a nationwide legacy of skiing as not only a major winter sport, but also as a way of life.