Trooper Traverse -- Leadville to Aspen on Skis -- February 1944

Roster, annotated

The 33 soldiers (30 enlisted men and 3 officers) on the "Trooper Traverse" came from three components of the soldiers stationed at Camp Hale: 10th Reconnaissance Troop, Mountain Training Group, and 10th Medics. It appears that participation in this groups was somewhat arbitrary, and men were placed where needed and where their skills necessitated. For example, famed climber Paul Petzoldt stated he was scrubbing floors in the mess hall, when an officer saw him and said "are you Paul Petzoldt?" Paul affirmed that he was indeed the man, and the officer transferred Petzoldt from scullery work to creating, from scratch, the Army's methodology for mountain evacuation. (Petzoldt statements from video Fire on the Mountain).

Note there may have been a few other soldiers on the trip. Trip participant Ralph Ball loaned this author photos of the trip he claims were made by James Norman Richardson, but Richardson is not on the roster as presented in the Ski-Zette. It's possible the Ball photos are actually those made by Horace Quick, and I believe this to be the case.

Officially, according to the Camp Hale Ski-Zette newspaper, March 3, 1944, the 10th Reconnaissance troop was commanded by Capt. John Jay, and the Mountain Training Group was commanded by Lt. Col. Paul Lafferty. Both were organizations within the 15th Headquarters Detachment under command of Col. D. P. Spalding. John Jay was on the ski traverse and was the official leader of the trip, Paul Lafferty was not on the trip.

Men on the trip, alphabetic:
Glen Asher
Ralph Ball (Living in Carbondale Colorado, Dawson is in touch with him, Mtn. Training Group.)
Fred Beckey (According to traverse vet Glen Dawson this is indeed the famous climber, Lou Dawson did some climbing with him once, would like to get in contact...)
Albert Beesmer
Andrews Black
Donald Borthwick (Deceased, lived in Aspen area for many years)
William "Bill" Bowes
John Chappell
Neil Christie (Deceased, son lives in Colorado.)
Thomas Degles
Glen Dawson (Still living in 2001, well known mountaineer.)
W.A. Eastman
Maurice Finn
Joseph Froelich
William Hackett (Famed mountaineer and mountain medicine expert, deceased.)
Hans Hagemeister (Principle in ski equipment industry for many years.)
Charles Hampton
George Hurt (Mtn. Training Group)
John Jay (Pioneer of ski cinematography, deceased, commander of 10th Reconnaissance Troop, may not have been on trip, some say he was.)
Charles Klingerman
Mattias Madsen
Jack Major
Russ M. McJury (Commander of 10th Recon, one of the trip leaders)
Robert McCaig
Nathan Morrell
Erling Omland (Living in Vermont, in contact with Dawson)
Paul Petzoldt (10th Medics, world famous mountineer, founded NOLS, deceased.)
James Popp
Horace Quick (Artist and photographer, posed for famed Sat. Evening Post cover, Dawson contacted him, he lives in Colorado.)
Richard Rocker (Mtn. Training Group, field commision during combat.)
Hans Sarbach
Ernest "Tap" Tapley (Famous outdoorsman, worked with Petzoldt to found United States Outward Bound, Dawson in contact with him.)
Burdell Winter (died in combat, 10th Mountain Uncle Bud's Hut is memorial to him)

It's known there were several groups of soldiers who hiked a similar route between Leadville and Aspen, one during autumn when they trudged through snow above timberline. With the mist of time, some of these groups have been mistaken for ski trips by sources this author has contacted. Also, there was at least one group of soldiers that traveled from Camp Hale (Pando) to Glenwood Springs on foot, possibly in part on skis. To the best of this author's knowledge after extensive historical research, the trip done by the men listed above was the only true 10th Mountain Division ski mountaineering trip done from Leadville to Aspen, over the alpine highland across the highest part of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. It is the only "Trooper Traverse."