OT: 10th Mountain Div documentary tonight (with Italian mountain scenes)

Some PBS stations are running "The Last Ridge" tonight. I did not see it when it first ran in 2007, but supposedly it has good footage from the mountain fighting during WWII . There are also a few scenes from the 10th's service in FVJ on the Yugoslav border in the immediate post-war years. URL: http://www.lastridge.com/index.php

Originally Posted by b-y

Some PBS stations are running "The Last Ridge" tonight. I did not see it when it first ran in 2007, but supposedly it has good footage from the mountain fighting during WWII . There are also a few scenes from the 10th's service in FVJ on the Yugoslav border in the immediate post-war years. URL: http://www.lastridge.com/index.php

Darn, I missed it as I didn't see your post until today. Maybe they will run it again.

The "mountain" (light infantry) forces are fascinating for several reasons. Obviously, there are their combat histories, but also their home bases are often unusal. (I.e., the Alpini in Bolzano and US Marines' Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) near Bridgeport, California.)

The MWTC is off of Highway 108, near the Sonora Pass. Many (including me) consider Hwy 108 to be the closest thing we have to an Alpine Pass for driving.

There used to be a small contingent of special "mountain troops" near Oberammergau, or at least there was back in the '80s when I was stationed in Germany.

Last summer, on my way to race the Leadville trail 100, I stopped at the site of Camp Hale which was the 10th Mtn division's home at alititude. The soldiers practiced mountain climbing, Nordic and downhill skiing as well as cold weather survival skills at Camp Hale. Very cool part of history, thanks for posting.