Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the opening of Vail Ski
Resort. The ski area was founded by Pete Seibert and local rancher Earl Eaton
in 1962, at the base of Vail Pass. The pass was named after Charles Vail, the
highway engineer who routed U.S. Highway 6 through the Vail Valley in 1940, and
eventually became Interstate 70. Seibert, a New England native, served in the
U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division during World War II, which trained at Camp
Hale, 14 miles south of Vail between Red Cliff and Leadville. He was wounded in
Italy at the Battle of Riva Ridge but went on to become a professional skier
