Thenaturalmedic Adventures
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Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Shredding Ski Cooper: No Crowds, Great Value
Audio only, see YouTube for full video...Thanks
Ski Cooper outside Leadville, Colorado, offers an affordable, uncrowded skiing experience with rich historical connections to the 10th Mountain Division. The resort stands apart from corporate-owned ski areas, offering great value tickets and a meaningful opportunity to honor the veterans who shaped American skiing.
• Natural Medic films a ski run at Ski Cooper, experiencing ideal conditions with manageable crowds
• Detailed history of how the 10th Mountain Division trained nearby during WWII before fighting in the Italian Alps
• Monuments at Ski Cooper commemorate the 990 soldiers who lost their lives during the WWII campaigns
• 10th Mountain Division veterans went on to establish major Colorado ski resorts, including Vail and Aspen
• Cooper provides an affordable alternative to corporate resorts while maintaining excellent skiing conditions
• Budget approach to ski gear with tips on finding quality equipment at thrift stores for under $100
• Recommendation to rent equipment first before investing in personal gear
If you liked the video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and think about subscribing for future adventures of the Natural Medic.
Hello everybody, craig the Natural Medic doing a little run on Ski Cooper outside of Leadville, colorado. Hope you'll enjoy seeing this. We're gonna head out this way. Let's check it out. Hopefully the wind is not too bad. Beautiful view guys. Hope everybody's enjoying this. How about a thumbs up? This is an experiment. Right now I'm skiing with no poles. I'll try to have some cool music. Pretty good, almost lost it there, alright, getting down towards the bottom. Let me tell you why I love Ski Cooper. Usually it's not very crowded. Really good deal on tickets. This week this is the last week when I'm filming this and the music comes back. One thing to think about as you come out is the 10th Mountain Division. Ski Cooper would not be here without the 10th Mountain Division. So if you want to pause the video and read all the whole panel, be my guest. But I'm going to summarize it for you.
Speaker 1:In World War II the Finnish Army did a great job repelling the Soviet Army. They realized they didn't have a similar unit in the United States Armed Forces, so they started figuring that out and it really was all volunteer. It was people that had alpine skills, skiers, mountain climbers and survivalists that could survive in harsh environments Just about seven miles north of where we're standing. Camp Hill was developed to train these soldiers. Their training was held in one of the harshest winters. They had further training in Texas and they were ready to go to the mountains of Italy to fight in World War II. They were one of the last divisions to go After the war.
Speaker 1:The unit was utilized in a lot of different ways. A lot of the veterans did public service. Some started ski resorts throughout Colorado, so Vail, aspen, arapaho were all started by veterans. Virtually every major ski area had 10th Mountain Division veterans in it in some aspect of its operations, veterans in it in some aspect of its operations. In 1985, they reactivated the unit and it saw action in several places such as Somalia, haiti, bosnia-herzegovina, afghanistan, iraq, and also performed humanitarian operations.
Speaker 1:But going back to the Po Valley, there was defenses that the 10th Mountain fought against and they pushed the Germans back, long story short, to the Alps and Italy was able to surrender. Also, you had Kiska Island in the northern Apennines, which was a mission that they undertook in the Aleutian Islands, which is part of Alaska, whereas that was the only time during World War II that a foreign government possessed or occupied US territory, some of the Aleutian Islands were occupied by Japanese forces. Pretty cool history. I definitely recommend you read about it if you want to know more. They give honor to the 990 comrades that were in the 10th Mountain and lost their lives during the Italian campaign and the Aleutian Islands. So this is all of their names. Let's take a moment and remember them. If it wasn't for these guys, debs, they certainly helped.
Speaker 1:The project was completed with the help of the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, colorado Springs. This one right here is called the Norwegian Monument Because of the heritage of Minnesota. You had lots of Norwegian descent people in the 9th Infantry Battalion. This is a monument to them. It's a difficult tablet to read in the light here, but it's talking about the OSS and the ski troopers and the liberation of Norway. That happened in 1945. This is the entrance to Cooper, where you also have the Tennessee Pass and the San Isabel National Forest which Ski Cooper is in. If you look over here, you have the Continental Divide, which is at 10,424 feet and is a memorial to the 10th Mountain Division called Tennessee Pass. The armed forces of our nation have done a lot for us and we salute them, accomplish the mission their leaders send them to World War II was a pretty big deal.
Speaker 1:I have my poles in my right hand, filming with my left. Hopefully we'll be able to see all this. What a beautiful view of the mountains. The snow is pretty icy, which I kind of like. It's definitely a lot easier to ski on.
Speaker 1:I did unfortunately fall coming off of the lift. I was riding with a 79 year old gentleman from Wyoming. I think our skis got caught up a tiny bit and I fell on my right hip. I feel okay, I probably will feel that one in the morning. I'm just taking it easy because it's my first run of the day. I typically use my poles to balance. I have them in one hand because I cannot balance to balance. I have them in one hand because I cannot balance very well, holding both of them.
Speaker 1:Getting a little softer toward the bottom here. Those top parts of this run Were a little hard, especially when I fell. Well, while it's nice to go fast, I prefer to be in control. But my humble opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find a better value ski cooper, one of the few in Colorado that is not run by a large corporate entity. So that's pretty freaking cool. Haven't been in many years, but I'm really enjoying my time here, the last cusp of the ski season for spring, so there'll be more to come. Stay tuned. I always recommend that you put your lift bar bar down. They do want you to do it here at Ski Cooper. If you fall out of these lifts, you're going to be in a world of hurt and you could die. With that in mind, it's pretty cool riding these lifts.
Speaker 1:I've been to Ski Cooper. Probably this is my 7th or 8th time. My first in several years. The last time I was here was either 21 or 22. First in several years, the last time I was here was either 21 or 22. Cool thing about being here at Ski Cooper is it's affordable. It's never seems to be super busy, at least the times I've been here during the week. I couldn't speak for it on the weekends. If you have any questions or comments about this place, leave them below.
Speaker 1:Thanks, let's talk about equipment that you need. Obviously, you need a helmet to protect your noggin. I have never worn a helmet until this ski season. Shame on me, but I found one really cheap at a thrift store in Tucson when I was in Tucson recently. Additionally, it came with some goggles, but you can just use regular sunglasses if you want. I was very lucky to pick up a pair of boots these are Rossignol, I'm probably mispronouncing them. I got them at a second-hand slash thrift shop in Durango. Dropped about 100 on them. It's probably too much. And recently, on the way up here to Leadville, I obtained some Salomon boots which I have to readjust my bindings for 25 bucks. I've got a neck gaiter here that I got on clearance at REI.
Speaker 1:This outer shell jacket is a cheapie from Timu. You definitely want a shell on your outside. I have a soft shell jacket that I got several years ago, but pretty much any warm stuff will do. Just dress to your comfort level and realize you might get warm throughout the day. Let's look at the bottom. Here For pants, I have actually bibs on by a company called Ardix, one I can link to. I will link to. Have actually bibs on by a company called arctic's, one I can link to. I will link to.
Speaker 1:The skis I have are the apache ranger from k2. Not sure of the length. You can look up online what size you need. I happen to look up. Look upon those in moab and thrift store 15 bucks. Of course, you can rent all your stuff.
Speaker 1:Poles are important. These poles I got from the same guy I got the boots from. They are Kerma Inferno poles and they are pretty nice, especially for $10. That pretty much covers all of the gear that you need. So let me know if you have questions. So let me know if you have questions. I would certainly recommend renting and making sure you're going to like it before you invest a lot of money in ski gear.
Speaker 1:Apparel can be rented. Certainly gear the skis, the boots and the poles can be rented. Any ski town probably has a ski rental shop. I live in Farmington. Even though it's not a ski town, it's close to ski towns. I believe we have a ski rental place in Farmington. Even though it's not a ski town, it's close to ski towns. I believe we have a ski rental place in Farmington and sometimes you can find bargains there. They might be selling some of their old gear. You can pick it up at a really low price.
Speaker 1:If I incorporate my other boots, I'm going to have to adjust the bindings to fit these skis. So if I count those, I've got less than $100. Actually, I have less than $50 invested in ski gear. As far as the actual equipment to ski with. If you count these boots that I'm wearing, which the skis are already adjusted for, then I'm in over $100, but really not much over $100. And if you're going to go skiing every year, live close to a ski area, then that's a great investment in my opinion. But definitely rent first, try the sport out and then buy later. Oh and I will make this disclaimer Probably when this video comes out, which may be a couple of weeks before it comes out ski season's going to be over, but bookmark this one, send it to your friends, et cetera, so that you're prepared for next season. Okay, thanks. If you liked the video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and think about subscribing for future adventures of the Natural Medic. Thank you.
