Memorial Day is a time to honor and mourn those who lost their lives in the United State Armed Forces. A-Basin's founding and history will be forever connected to those who served in World War II. Marnie Jump served in the Navy in Pearl Harbor while her husband Larry served with the 10th Mountain Division. 10th Division soldiers were trained in skiing and winter mountain warfare at nearby Camp Hale, recently designated a National Monument.
Nearly 1,000 10th Mountain soldiers were killed fighting in Europe. The Division was most famous for their battle victory over the Germans on Riva Ridge in Italy's Apennine Mountains.
Following the war, many 10th veterans went on to play prominent roles in the ski and outdoor industry including: Slim Davis a US Forest Service snow ranger and ski resort pioneer, David Brower with the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth, Pete Seibert, Bob Parker and Bill "Sarge" Brown, Vail Resort founders and trail blazers, and of course, Larry Jump, Arapahoe Basin's first President.
Please take today and every day to honor those that have served and those that have died so we can enjoy freedom in this great country.
Larry and Marnie Jump circa 1947 at Arapahoe Basin
