This 33-mile trail killed more dreamers than any other path to gold in America

The Klondike Gold Rush Chilkoot Trail

In 1897, word spread that gold lined the streams of Canada’s Klondike. Within months, 100,000 dreamers packed their lives into bundles and headed north.

The only way through was the Chilkoot Trail, a brutal 33-mile trek that ended with a near-vertical climb up icy steps carved into rock.

Prospectors called it the Golden Stairs.

Here’s what happened on this legendary route, now preserved as part of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park where you can hike today.

Two Men Created the Golden Stairs

Winter 1897 turned Chilkoot Pass into an icy wall.

Two men saw a chance to make money when others saw danger. They collected $80 daily from grateful climbers.

They cut the first steps into the final 150-foot climb in one night. The slope was so steep that climbers compared it to scaling a house wall.

Others soon added more steps to this profitable path. By winter’s end, 1,500 ice steps climbed the mountainside.

Canadian Police Demanded a Ton of Supplies

North West Mounted Police stood guard at the top of Chilkoot Pass. Their rule was simple: nobody entered Canada without one ton of supplies.

Recent food shortages in the Yukon led to this requirement. Officials calculated each person needed three pounds of food daily for a year.

The remaining 900 pounds included tools, tents, cooking gear, and warm clothes. There were no exceptions.

Many unprepared travelers often turned back when faced with this rule.

The Scales Became the Last Stop Before Climbing

At the base of the Golden Stairs sat an area called The Scales, a name earned from the scales used to weigh goods before the final climb.

This natural rest point (situated at about 2,750 ft elevation) accommodated six restaurants, two hotels, and businesses inside tents.

Located over 1,000 ft above the tree line, it experienced snow up to 10 ft deep.

Entrepreneurs Charged Daily Fees for Stair Access

A daily fee bought unlimited climbs until dark. The first stair-cutters earned $80 daily, worth over $2,500 today.

Ropes hung alongside to help people balance. Small flat areas carved into the slope gave tired climbers places to rest their heavy packs.

This included carefully positioned benches on the right though travelers had to pay a fee to repeatedly traverse this engineered route.

Everyone Climbed in a Single-File Line

The narrow ice steps fit only one person at a time. This created the famous single-file line stretching from bottom to top.

This human chain moved slowly up the mountain.

Photos of these lines of tiny figures against the white slope became the most famous images of the gold rush.

Anyone who stepped out of line would wait all day to rejoin. This unbroken chain became a powerful symbol of gold rush determination.

One Round Trip For a 50 pound pack

Six hours were needed just to climb 1,000 feet with this load.

With 2,000 pounds of required supplies, each person needed 40 trips to move everything which meant hiking more than 2,400 miles.

Many spent three months for a complete relay before even reaching the goldfields. The physical toll was enormous.

Native Packers Charged Premium Rates

Wealthier gold seekers hired local Tlingit, Chilkoot, and Stikine Indians to carry supplies who knew the mountain trails through generations.

Their services weren’t cheap, up to $1 per pound on the final sections, equal to about $27 today while poorer stampeders worked as packers themselves.

Pack animals proved useless on the final four miles where the terrain became too steep and rough even for horses.

An Avalanche Killed Dozens in April 1898

Heavy snow followed by warm winds created deadly conditions on April 3, 1898.

Local Tlingit people refused to work on the mountain that Palm Sunday. But many gold seekers ignored these warnings.

The resulting avalanche killed 63 people near the summit. Survivors spent days recovering bodies from the snow.

A Horse-Powered Tramway Offered Relief

In December 1897, Archie Burns built an aerial tramway up the final stretch of Chilkoot Pass which pulled weight loaded with freight.

According to the National Park Service, “Burns has rigged a windlass and cable there, and with which he hoists up some freight at a cent a pound.”

Joaquin Miller further described the tramway as “a sort of street car sled” and noted that Burns “set up an elevator here.

Visiting Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

You can access the historic Golden Stairs section from either Dyea, Alaska (near Skagway) or Bennett, British Columbia.

Rangers lead walks at The Scales, where 1897–1898 artifacts remain. At the Golden Stairs, you can still see depressions from the original hand-cut steps.

The Chilkoot Trail Visitor Center in Skagway offers permits and orientation. Trail quotas limit daily hikers, so book permits months ahead for summer hikes.

A backcountry permit is required for overnight stays. This historic corridor crosses an international border, so carry proper identification.

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