麻豆淫院

Chris Anthony鈥檚 鈥楳ission Mt. Mangart,鈥� a documentary about the Army鈥檚 10th Mountain Division in World War II, to be shown in Boulder on Jan. 12

Like many lifelong Coloradans, Chris Anthony knew a little bit about the U.S. Army鈥檚 10th Mountain Division, a light infantry unit that trained on skis in the mountains near Vail and whose members later famously helped launch many Colorado ski areas.

Unlike others, however, Anthony was uniquely positioned to tell the story of how the 10th Mountain Division fought in Italy and even captured Mussolini鈥檚 compound on Lake Garda during World War II. Anthony is a University of Colorado Boulder alumnus who earned a BS in kinesiology (now integrative physiology) in 1990, was a professional skier in 28 Warren Miller films, was inducted into of the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, and is now a filmmaker.

Anthony will share that story in a special showing of his documentary film, 鈥淢ission Mt. Mangart: The mighty story of the legendary 10th Mountain Division,鈥� on Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at Boulder Theater. The event is presented by the CU Boulder Alumni Association, and tickets are available

As Anthony notes, local rumors once held that the 10th Mountain Division was instrumental in Colorado鈥檚 ski industry but that it did not see much combat.

鈥淭hat turns out to be incredible misinformation,鈥� Anthony said recently. 鈥淭hey not only saw combat, but they saw a lot of combat in a very short period of time.鈥�

Reminders of that combat are still visible in Colorado. The ruins of Camp Hale, where soldiers were trained in mountain climbing, alpine and Nordic skiing, and cold-weather survival, still lie in a wide valley between Red Cliff and Leadville. Riva Ridge, a popular ski run in Vail, is named after one of the division鈥檚 biggest battles, in the Apennine mountains of northern Italy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just amazing that I鈥檝e skied this run 10,000 times, and I didn鈥檛 know the background of the name.鈥�

Anthony鈥檚 quest to unveil the hidden history of the 10th Mountain Division started about 17 years ago, when he worked with Warren Miller Entertainment on a film about the soldiers .

After completing hundreds of hours of interviews with veterans and their descendants, Anthony discovered 听that the 10th Mountain Division was fighting German troops in Italy up until April 30, 1945.

The 10th Mountain Division suffered heavy casualties鈥攏early 1,000 died鈥攊n multiple battles leading up to Germany鈥檚 surrender of their Italian campaign on May 2, 1945.

Though the war in Europe was largely over, the division was deployed to the border between Italy and what was then Yugoslavia; their mission was to keep Yugoslavian Dictator Josip Tito from invading Italy.听

In early June on that high mountain border, the soldiers, anticipating that they would be deployed to the Pacific, organized a race with a giant slalom on the flanks of Mount Mangart to try and keep morale high in the division. Although many Americans were unaware of the history, the Slovenians very much knew the history, documented it, and eventually brought it to the attentions of Americans including Anthony.

Anthony learned about the race from a retired Slovenian general who met Anthony in northern Italy and 鈥渆xplained to me that the division was on the border in 1945,鈥� he recalled, adding, 鈥渁s far as I knew, they were already back in the United States.鈥�

The Slovenian general ferried Anthony around, and, together, they matched old photos from the 10th Mountain Division with locations in Slovenia; the photos had been mislabeled. Through this and other research, Anthony learned about the Mount Mangart ski race.

The race was won by Walter Prager, who was a world champion before the war, and second place went to Steve Knowlton, an American born soldier who competed in the 1948 Olympics, opened an Aspen night club and helped found Colorado Ski Country USA, The Denver Post reported.

Anthony and his film crew recreated the ski race for 鈥淢ission Mt. Mangart,鈥� wearing authentic uniforms and riding old wooden skis with cable bindings鈥攇ear that is much more difficult to control than are today鈥檚 skis.

鈥淭he equipment was terrible,鈥� Anthony said. 鈥淎nd the snow conditions they skied on were horrible.鈥�

Though he鈥檚 an expert skier, Anthony said he had 鈥渢otal respect鈥� for the soldiers who skied on that equipment. 鈥淲e鈥檙e spoiled (today) compared to that stuff. I did not feel safe on it,鈥� he said.

Anthony explained the dual meaning of the title, 鈥淢ission Mt. Mangart.鈥� After untold hours of research, interviews and poring through trunks of descendants鈥� grandfathers鈥� mementos, tying the story all together became 鈥渕y mission,鈥� Anthony said. It also became the 10th Mountain Division鈥檚 mission to move through Italy and get to Mount Mangart.

Anthony noted that proceeds from the film鈥檚 showings will benefit the , as well as any partnering outreach organizations. Anthony鈥檚 youth project aims to improve the quality of students鈥� lives by introducing them to educational enrichment opportunities.

Anthony said he is very excited that the CU Boulder Alumni Association is bringing the film to Boulder. 鈥淚t feels good to come back to your alma mater and have something to share,鈥� he said, adding that he would not have anticipated a decade ago that this project would have become a passion.

鈥淚 fell in love with the story, and I fell in love with the journey,鈥� Anthony said. 鈥淎s a kid, I always thought history was incredibly boring. But I think it was the way it was presented to us. The fact of the matter is that history and what humans have done is pretty magnificent.鈥澨�

Originally, Anthony said, he thought the 10th Mountain Division story would simply be a 鈥済reat 10-minute ski segment.鈥� But 鈥淢angart drew me in and just never let me go.鈥�

Proceeds from this听showing will be donated to the student, staff and faculty emergency funds, as well as and the .