The Guardian of the Gore Range: The Lore of the Vail Tally

High in Colorado’s mountains, where winter storms roll over the Gore Range and the forests whisper beneath heavy snow, the old stories say a spirit still walks the ridgelines.

Long before chairlifts climbed the mountains and skiers carved their paths through fresh powder, the people who traveled these valleys spoke of Eira, the guardian of the high country.

She was not a gentle spirit.

She was a warrior.

Crowned in frost, her armor etched with the scars of endless winters, Eira was said to watch over the peaks and the travelers brave enough to cross them. Those who respected the mountains were guided safely through the storms. Those who underestimated them learned quickly that the high country answers to no one.

Centuries later, another group of warriors would arrive in these same mountains.

The soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division came to Colorado to train for a different kind of battle. They carried rifles and skis through the deep snow, learning to fight where the air was thin and the terrain unforgiving.

They moved through these mountains the same way the old stories said Eira did — silent, determined, and relentless.

It is said the spirit of the mountains favors those who endure.

The Vail Tally was forged to honor that legacy.

Every detail of the coin reflects the spirit of the high country — the steel resolve of the warriors who trained here, the unforgiving beauty of the peaks, and the stories that live in the snow long after the storm has passed.

Like the mountains themselves, a tally is meant to endure.

A small piece of metal, heavy in the hand, built to travel through the world the way all great adventures do — one destination at a time.

Because the mountains remember those who walk among them.

And sometimes, they leave behind a story.