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 FIRE
ON THE MOUNTAIN; The Story of the 10th Mountain Division
(First Run
Features) 1996. Documentary. 72 minutes. Color/black and white. Not
Rated. As the United States prepared for World War II, the American Ski
Patrol organization petitioned President Roosevelt offering their
abilities and services to the US government. Soon thereafter, the Army
accepted their offer and called upon them and other men with similar
abilities (this was the first time a civilian organization was involved in
the formation of military organization). Made up of expert skiers,
mountaineers, and outdoorsman, the 10th Mountain Division
endured years of extreme outdoor training atop Colorado Mountains before
being called to fight. When they were finally called to serve their
country, the 10th packed their bags for the mountains of Italy.
While there, the well trained and determined men defeated the Nazis and
captured Italy’s Riva Ridge.
After making their mark in the War, the surviving members of the 10th
continued to make an impact on society.
Having never heard of this elite fighting division, I was
completely captivated by this documentary. In fact, I am still captivated
by the 10th Mountain Division as I seek out more information on
this group. The doc starts with a brief history of skiing and its growing
popularity among the American public, which leads to how the 10th
actually started. The extensive training is then wonderfully detailed and
makes me believe that these guys are, in reality, the “extreme” ones
and not those baggy pants wearing snowboarding turds you see on Mtv, ESPN,
and Mountain Dew commercials. Although the shortest aspect of this
documentary, the 10th’s battles against the Nazis in Italy is
brought to the forefront and shows how well trained the men where for
mountainous fighting. Closing out Fire on the Mountain is a classy look at
what some of the 10th’s surviving members did after so
successfully serving their country in a time of war. I know you’ll be
fairly surprised at what some of these men ended up doing. This
documentary is made up of old black and white footage of skiers,
photographs of the men in training, archival war footage, and interviews
with a bunch of the men who made up the 10th Mountain Division.
As you may have noticed, I thoroughly enjoyed Fire on the Mountain as it
is a great documentary on a great subject. – Denis Sheehan
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