In the early 70's, on my first trip to the Rockies, I had an interaction with members of the 10th Mtn. Division. Our bus trip from Denver to Aspen, done prior to the Eisenhower Tunnel, encountered a pretty good snow storm. Traffic on I-70 in the Vail Pass section was moving very slowly east of Vail, when it was waved down by a group of cross-county skiers. It was nighttime and still snowing, so they were trying to get back to Vail. There were seats on the bus, so many came on board. They identified themselves as members of the 10th who were at a reunion at Vail. That morning, they relived the old days by hiking up the Vail pass, went too far, and got stranded in the storm. My father was a combat infantry officer in WW2, and, I've always made it a point of talking to vets of that era, so I joined them for a few miles. The bus driver made it a point to get them to their hotel at Vail, and, a bunch of happy vets left us...to see their concerned but smiling families anxiously awaiting their return. 30 years after Riva Ridge, they were not in same great shape.
The vets of WW2 are often referred to as "the greatest generation", I will always champion that designation.
On the only downside, after driving through 9 hours of Rocky Mtn. snow, upon arrival in Aspen, there was not one flake of new snow. Spent 6 days in crystal clear blue skis, never saw a cloud.
