Dan Kemble and his son Wes talked Rob Macdonald, Dick Eastmure and myself into a hike to the old mine site in Pooley Canyon. Big hike...a couple of thousand feet up...hands and knees stuff...and a steep drop into the Pooley Canyon and the Vaults mine site.
The mine operated for about 10 years...until the price of silver dropped. At the base of the moutain was a small town named after the mining promoter, John Conrad. The town had about 200 inhabitants, stores, churches, hotels, restaurants, baths and laundry, a post office, a mining recorder's office as well as regular steamboat service from Carcross. There was talk at one time of extending the White Pass line to Conrad.
One steep climb....even for the goats.
Rest spot half way up.
You can see a tiny waterfall center right of photo. To get there we still need to go up a few hundred feet before we can drop into the Pooley Canyon
Center photo...old tramway tower. Cost $80,000 to build in 1905. It was to run 18,697 feet from a small bay on Windy Arm, just north of the mouth of Montana Creek, to the Mountain Hero claim, 3,464 feet above the level of the lower terminal. Crossing over two canyons, the tramway was designed with the longest span between towers in the world, 2,960 feet. The tram had carts to carry the ore as well as single seats for the miners to ride up to the work site....the first ski lift!
Looking down into Pooley and the mine site at the waterfall.
The creek that flows down Pooley Canyon starts behind Montana Mtn.
Still standing....old tram tower.
