Becoming a Humancicle
To everyone traveling to to the Alaskan Gold Rush, freezing to death was a very real possibility whether they knew it or not. Both the climate of the area and the time of year greatly contributed to this, because Alaska is notoriously cold due to its location, but this is exaggerated during the winter months. Snow storms were a common event during the gold rush, and stampeders were often not ready for the blizzards of in the Arctic because of their rushed packing for the trip. For these people, the possibility of freezing to death was even greater.
Avalanches
During the winter, a snow storm lasting only a few hours could result in a fresh layer of four to five feet of snow. As this snow accumulated, drifts as deep as 70 feet formed. These drifts were unstable on the steep mountain slope and avalanches were a constant danger. This was made worse by many of the stampeders being uninformed about avalanches and how to prevent them. One of the more devastating avalanches occurred in April 1898. A storm had piled six feet of wet snow on the mountain, and in the early morning, over sixty men and women were killed in an avalanche that buried a section of the Dyea trail.
Adding Difficulty to the Trails
The climate made climbing the dangerous trails even more difficult. In order to reach the gold fields, the stampeders hiked a trail that passed over trecherous mountains. These mountains not only were difficult to climb but violent snow storms often swept the area particularly in the winter months, making the climb over the peaks the most difficult part of the journey. The weather at the summits were severe and it was constantly windy.
There were also torrential rains triggering enormous mudslides that were difficult to survive. The Skagway Trail was actually forced to close for most of the fall and spring.
Summer was thought to be the easiest season to climb during due to the fact that there was much less ice. However, this lack of ice also worked against the hikers. The rivers, now thawed, could only be crossed by boat. However, in the cold winter months, most rivers froze and could be crossed by foot.
There were also torrential rains triggering enormous mudslides that were difficult to survive. The Skagway Trail was actually forced to close for most of the fall and spring.
Summer was thought to be the easiest season to climb during due to the fact that there was much less ice. However, this lack of ice also worked against the hikers. The rivers, now thawed, could only be crossed by boat. However, in the cold winter months, most rivers froze and could be crossed by foot.
Starvation
Dawson and surrounding towns may have produced a lot of gold, but due to its climate, everything else - food, clothing, shoes, simple things needed in day-to-day life - had to be imported. The treacherous winters made travel difficult, so the stampeders were unable to travel for most of that season.
At the beginning of the gold rush, around 1,000 gold-seekers beat the enormous crowds of people traveling to Dawson. However, many of those who had arrived in Dawson hadn't brought enough food or supplies to last them until the spring. After the last steamboat unloaded it's supplies, officials determined that the amount of supplies stored wouldn't last the long winter months and that measures needed to be taken, otherwise starvation would be inevitable. In attempt to remedy the situation, the Canadian government offered to transport anyone who didn't have enough food to last the winter to Fort Yukon, Alaska. This proved to be a fairly poor option due to the fact that conditions in Fort Yukon were not much better.
After the trading posts ran out of food before midwinter, some people starved to death and hundreds of others barely survived the winter. Over all, the climate of the Yukon Territory made it difficult to supply food to the growing number of people during the winter season, and the threat of starvation was imminent for the unprepared travelers. After that winter, to mitigate the threat of starvation, each stampeder was required to start off the journey with one ton of supplies, in order to insure each would last a year in the Yukon.
Dawson and surrounding towns may have produced a lot of gold, but due to its climate, everything else - food, clothing, shoes, simple things needed in day-to-day life - had to be imported. The treacherous winters made travel difficult, so the stampeders were unable to travel for most of that season.
At the beginning of the gold rush, around 1,000 gold-seekers beat the enormous crowds of people traveling to Dawson. However, many of those who had arrived in Dawson hadn't brought enough food or supplies to last them until the spring. After the last steamboat unloaded it's supplies, officials determined that the amount of supplies stored wouldn't last the long winter months and that measures needed to be taken, otherwise starvation would be inevitable. In attempt to remedy the situation, the Canadian government offered to transport anyone who didn't have enough food to last the winter to Fort Yukon, Alaska. This proved to be a fairly poor option due to the fact that conditions in Fort Yukon were not much better.
After the trading posts ran out of food before midwinter, some people starved to death and hundreds of others barely survived the winter. Over all, the climate of the Yukon Territory made it difficult to supply food to the growing number of people during the winter season, and the threat of starvation was imminent for the unprepared travelers. After that winter, to mitigate the threat of starvation, each stampeder was required to start off the journey with one ton of supplies, in order to insure each would last a year in the Yukon.