Meister Cup Honors 10^th Mountain Division

65 Years After Nighttime Baptism by Fire

Franconia Notch, NH  February 15, 2010 – The night of February 18-19 will mark the 65^th anniversary of the first battle fought by the mountain infantry of the 10^th Mountain Division in Italy in the closing months of World War II. As it has for the past 13 years, the 10^th Mountain Division will be honored at the upcoming Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race on March 6 at Cranmore Mountain Resort.

This year the Schneider Race coincides with the winter meeting of the New England Chapter of the 10^th Mountain Division Association, so quite a few 10^th veterans of World War II are expected to be on hand, including at least three who will race for the 10^th team. Herbert Schneider, son of Hannes Schneider for whom the race is named, is himself a veteran of the 10^th Mountain Division, and is expected to attend.

The recruitment and training of the mountain infantry regiments that were combined into the 10^th Mountain Division were unique in the American military. The idea of specially trained troops who could operate in mountain and cold weather environments was pushed by civilians of the American Alpine Club and National Ski Patrol in the early 1940s. Following approval by the War Department, the National Ski Patrol was given a contract to recruit qualified candidates and channel them to Camp Hale, Colorado, where the troops were trained.

Two rigorous winters of maneuvers in the Colorado mountains followed, and it wasn’t until the end of December 1944 that the 10^th was sent overseas to combat. Their first assignment was to scale the craggy precipice of Riva Ridge at night, an ascent that the occupying German mountain troops believed to be unattainable.

New York artist Jacques Parker, a member of Company C, 86^th Mountain Regiment, recalled the climb recently. “We just didn’t realize what superb physical condition we were in. After all the training at Camp Hale, all that preparation it was like a second thought. We just knew what to do and we did it. It wasn’t easy; it was just that for us, we could do it.”

Parker and Lt. John McGown were charged with finding a route up one of the Riva Ridge spurs. Together with two artillery spotters, they located a passage up the cliffy escarpment, and Parker was sent back down to lead his company up. On their return to the summit, they encountered enemy artillery fire: “When Germans got close and realized that we were there, they got their artillery to start lobbing stuff in.” McGown was killed in action later on February 19^th.

Following the successful attack on Riva Ridge, the 10^th stayed engaged in combat on and off until the end of the war in Italy in May, 1945, incurring grievous casualty figures of nearly 1,000 killed and 4,000 wounded.

In the postwar years, veterans of the World War II 10^th Mountain Division were responsible for many of the advancements made in skiing and outdoor recreation. Aspen, Vail, Nike, the Sierra Club, and National Outdoor Leadership School are just several of the well-known resorts and organizations that were founded or marked by 10^th veterans.

The Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race is a dual giant slalom format on forgiving terrain, suitable for all ages and abilities.  In addition to the military race division, the Hannes Schneider event will include a Friday evening reception with torchlight parade, opening ceremony, silent auction, ice carving demonstration, and vintage ski clothing contest. Race entry costs $75 per racer and includes all social events, Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and après-ski bratwurst, day lift ticket, and gift bag. All proceeds go to support the mission of New England Ski Museum to preserve the history of skiing.