BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) – An original ski chalet from the Breckenridge Ski Area in Colorado is going to be saved thanks a group of Lakota Indians from South Dakota.

The old ski school patrol hut has already been moved once, from Peak 8 to the Breckenridge Nordic Center, KCNC-TV in Denver reported. The hut was in place when Breckenridge opened in 1961 and has been the Nordic Center’s home for 35 years.

“Near and dear to our hearts is our little Nordic chalet,” Therese Dayton with the Breckenridge Nordic Center said.

Now the building must be moved by the end of the month and a team of Lakota Indians is preparing the building so it can be theirs.

“We have a whole team and a crew to help us keep this building from going to our local landfill in Dillon, and they are going to reconstruct this back on their Pine Ridge reservation,” Dayton said.

The nonprofit organization Tipi Raisers helped bring the tribe and the Nordic Center together. One trailer is full and another four semis will take the rest of the building and materials 400 miles.

Lakota leader Ed Iron Cloud says the ski chalet will become a multipurpose facility.

“We took down the roof, we took down the shingles, everything down to the wood. Inside we’re just gutting it,” Iron Cloud said.

The charity is still raising money to refurbish the ski patrol hut.

“We’re just happy to have it,” Iron Cloud said. “It’s a labor of love and it’s hard, but ultimately the bottom line is it’s for the children.”

–––

Online:

http://www.thetipiraisers.org