Title: Chilkoot Pass Landslide

General Information about Item:

• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States/Canada
• Trail of Origin: Chilkoot
• Informant: Sam D
• Date Collected: 10-29-19

Informant Data:

• Sam D is a 40 year old male from Juneau, Alaska. Sam grew up in Southeast Alaska, and currently works for the state government. Sam hiked the Chilkoot trail in 2015.

Contextual Data:

• Historical Context: First used by the Tlingit people of Alaska as a trade route, the Chilkoot became an important trail for miners and prospectors coming to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s. The trail was mostly abandoned after the end of the gold rush in 1898, until the trail was restored for recreational hikers in the 1960s. Currently, the trail is a popular recreational hike, and stretches between Skagway, Alaska, and Bennett, British Colombia. (Source) Dyea is a small town a north of Skagway, between the residential part of Skagway and the entrance to the Chilkoot trail.
• Social Context: Sam provided this story when asked about stories involving the gold rushers on the Chilkoot trail, that he knew about from hiking the trail, and growing up in Southeast Alaska.

Item:

Sam told the story of a landslide that killed many people at the pass of the Chilkoot Trail. There is now a cemetery in memorial of the victims located in Dyea, Alaska.

Transcript:

• “One of the interesting things to me was a bad landslide. I think it was in 1898 and a bunch of people died at the base of the Chilkoot Pass. It was a snow avalanche. There is a cemetery down in Dyea for the victims. We went to the cemetery to check it out. Dyea is worth going to in general, I don’t think most people do.”

Collectors Note:

This story illustrates the danger associated with the section of the Chilkoot Trail leading up to the mountain summit. This danger may explain the increased significance of this portion of the trail, and the multiple pieces of folklore associated with it, including a colloquial name, and superstitions.

Collector’s Name: Soren Thompson

Tags/Keywords:

• Landslide
• Chilkoot Trail
• Thru Hiking