History and culture - Mountains
Tennessee Pass and Ski Cooper carry the 10th Mountain Division story
Tennessee Pass north of Leadville and the Ski Cooper area trace back to World War II, when the Army trained the 10th Mountain Division ski troops in this high country.
Published June 10, 2026 - Last verified June 11, 2026
Drive north from Leadville on US Highway 24 and you climb to Tennessee Pass, where the road crosses the Continental Divide. The pass and the ski area at its top, Ski Cooper, carry a piece of military history that shaped how Colorado skis today.
During World War II, the Army trained mountain and ski troops in this high country, the soldiers who became known as the 10th Mountain Division. The terrain on and around Tennessee Pass was part of that training ground, and Ski Cooper grew from it. Just over the pass to the north sits Camp Hale, the division’s main training camp, now a national monument managed by the Forest Service.
That history has a long tail. After the war, veterans of the 10th Mountain Division helped build Colorado’s ski industry, so the slopes you enjoy elsewhere in the state trace partly back to this spot. For a newcomer, Tennessee Pass is a place where local landscape and national history meet.
The pass is a working mountain highway with real winter weather, and the monument and ski area each have their own rules and seasons. Check conditions before you go. For the history and visitor details, start with the Forest Service pages on Ski Cooper and Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument.