The Ute Indians first inhabited the Gore Creek Valley long before white settlers moved west. The valley offered a cool summer retreat for Indians and during the harsh winters they moved to the arid lands of Western Colorado. The Utes nicknamed the Gore Range “The Shining Mountains.” By the mid 1800’s the first white settlers arrived in the Gore Valley, forcing the Indians to flee. The area became home to ranchers with grazing stock.
When World War II began, the United States Army created a training center south of the Gore Valley at Pando called Camp Hale. The 10th Mountain Division trained for alpine combat here. The 10th Mountain troops fought in northern Italy and upon return, they became major players in the quickly growing ski industry.
A veteran of the 10th Mountain Division, Peter Seibert, returned to Colorado after the war with injuries. Despite this, he was able to return to skiing and became a member of the Aspen Ski Patrol, Aspen Ski School and eventually the manager of Loveland Basin Ski Area by the late 1950’s. While at Loveland, Pete and Earl Eaton began looking to develop another ski area in the Rocky Mountain region. While looking for uranium, Earl discovered a possible area outside of Gore Valley.
Earl Eaton, a Colorado native, began skiing at a young age. By 1940, Eaton was working for the Conservation Corps camp in Glenwood Springs and ski racing in Aspen. In 1941, he headed to Leadville to work in the mines, which eventually led him to Camp Hale for construction. His early jobs in the ski industry included Climax Ski Area and Cooper Hill.
Eaton eventually went back to Aspen where he worked four ten years building chairlifts, trails, and ski patrolling. Seibert and Eaton first climbed Vail Mountain during the winter of 1957. Both agreed that this would be the perfect ski area and Seibert began to look for potential investors.
Vail Mountain was property of The United States Forest Service (USFS)and local ranchers owned the surrounding valley. To get the ski area rolling, Seibert and Eaton needed something that neither of them had, money. Seibert called lawyers Bob Fowler and Jack Tweedy, appraiser John Conway, and oilman George Caulkins of Denver. Fowler and Tweedy were able to create a corporation needed to get the ski area moving, while Conway was able to convince local ranchers to sell their property. To obtain a permit from the USFS Vail needed to have one million dollars in the bank. Caulkins was able to through investors raise the money with a little persuasion. Investors into Caulkins deal paid 10,000 dollars for a condo unit and a lifetime season pass.
With the USFS granting their operating permit, Vail’s opening day was set for December 15, 1962. During the summer of 1962, construction crews were busy erecting a Bell gondola from Vail Village to Mid Vail, two chairlifts, condos, and base facilities. Luckily, that fall Colorado experienced a late winter, allowing for most structures to near completion.
To the ski area’s disappointment, the warm winter continued into December producing marginal conditions for opening day. The first year, ticket prices were set at five dollars. The ski company consisted of one gondola, two chairs, eight ski instructors, and nine ski runs. One of Vail’s biggest assets was it was only half the driving distance from Denver to Aspen.