VAIL, Colo. — At the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail, professional skier and filmmaker Chris Anthony says there are a lot of stories about the famous 10th Mountain Division, but in a new documentary he’s diving into some untold stories most have never heard of.
“I figured I needed to share it with the world,” said Anthony.
The film is called "Mission Mt. Mangart" and it covers the rise of the 10th Mountain Division, an elite experimental troop of soldiers trained to fight on skis.
The documentary follows the division from the recruiting process to the training at Camp Hale in Colorado and eventually the fighting during World War II in Europe.
“They were placed in Italy where they basically chased the Germans,” said Anthony. “My movie follows the whole thing from 1939 to June 3, 1945.”
During that time, the film also focuses in on a single day in June when the 10th Mountain soldiers put their guns down and held a ski race, building a course out of tree branches and using ski gear they took for German soldiers.
“They did this at Mangart, at that time, the Yugoslavian border,” said Anthony. “What type of characters all of a sudden, during wartime, have a ski race on equipment they captured from the Germans? It was such a unique thing that I had to go deeper.”
The film will raise money for the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project to improve the quality of life of youth by introducing them to education opportunities.
Anthony will tour the globe screening the movie in person with a number of screenings in Colorado.
Screening schedule
• Aug. 30 - Fort Drum, New York, with the Active 10th Mountain Division
• Sept. 1 - Washington DC, Slovenian Embassy, Private Screening with dignitaries including Justice from Supreme Court.
• Sept. 10 - Pontebba, Italy
• Sept. 12 - Poljče, Slovenia with NATO
• Oct. 1 - Breckenridge, Colorado Mountain College (CMC)
• Oct. 14 - HAATS Eagle - Army High Altitude Aviation Training Center
• Oct. 22 - Saint Francis, Yacht Club San Francisco - Members only, Co-hosted by Johnny Moseley
• Oct. 28 - Silverthorne, Bluebird Market, 5:30 p.m.
• Nov. 3 - Denver Newman Center - This is officially the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project Gala Show open to the public, featuring nationally acclaimed singer Erica Brown.
• Nov. 18 - Kitzbuehel, Austria
• Dec. 14 - Aspen, Wheeler Opera House
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