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Pete Seibert Sr.
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Peter (Pete) Werner Seibert, Sr. was born 7 August 1924 in Sharon, Massachusetts. He was the eldest child of Albert Daniel Seibert and Edythe Loring Seibert. Morrie Shepard, a lifelong friend of Seibert’s, reported that several local youths began skiing together, but they all watched and emulated Seibert. In 1940, Siebert and Shepard, who were both founding fathers of Vail, built a ski run outside of Sharon on “our country doctor’s farm.” Seibert graduated from New Hampton School, a college preparatory institute, in New Hampton, New Hampshire.
In 1943, Pete Seibert Sr. volunteered for the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division during World War II. He was assigned to the 86th Regiment Company F and rose to the rank of Master Sergeant. The 10th Mountain Division trained for winter warfare at Camp Hale, Colorado. Seibert met Earl Eaton, a local miner, rancher, skier and member of the civilian workforce, at Camp Hale. Seibert also met several other men who would eventually establish Vail and other ski communities in the American West.
In February of 1945, Pete Seibert received life-threatening shrapnel wounds during the Battle of Riva Ridge in the Apennine Mountains of northern Italy. After seventeen months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, Seibert began to ski again and ultimately earned the Roche Cup, an honor awarded to Colorado’s top skier. He subsequently qualified for the U.S. Ski Team. In 1950, Seibert returned to Europe and attended L’Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, an international hotel management school in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In 1957, Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton made a seven-hour back-country ski trek up the mountain that came to be known as Vail Mountain. Seibert and investors, spearheaded by George Caulkins, created the Transmontane Rod and Gun Club and began purchasing ranches in the Gore Creek Valley. The initial organization board meeting for the community of Vail and its ski area was held on 10 December 1959; the first board meeting of Vail Corporation was held on 9 January 1962. Vail ski area opened on 15 December 1962. In 1977, Seibert resigned as CEO of Vail Corporation after the 1976 gondola tragedy. During the ensuing years, Seibert continued to spearhead other visionary ski area efforts.
In 1954, Seibert married Elizabeth “Betty” Pardee. Three sons were born to this union: Pete Jr., Calvin and Brandt. In 1980, Seibert was named to the Colorado Ski and Snowsports Hall of Fame. In 2000, Pete Seibert Sr. wrote Vail: Triumph of a Dream, but was unable to finish his second book, For Love of the Mountains. The second volume was a history of the 10th Mountain Division and those who trained at Camp Hale. Pete Seibert Sr. passed away on 15 July 2002 possibly due to illness that originated from his wartime wounds.
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