It was a sunny spring day in Skagway, April 3, 1898. Hundreds of prospectors who had made their way to this port town were headed up to the gold fields of the Klondike in Canada, seeking their fortune. The sourdoughs and native Alaskans were seasoned travelers in the harsh conditions of the local mountains, and used to watching conditions on the steep and unforgiving Chilkoot Trail, the only passageway to the Klondike. Heavy snow had fallen for weeks, the warm weather was loosening the mountains grip on those heavy snowbanks, and the sun was shining. Everyone who was paying attention warned the prospectors that travel was dangerous, but many didn't heed the warnings.

The Palm Sunday Avalanche was a series of heavy snow slides, resulting in a catastrophic death toll in the small mining community. The snow careened down the mountain, sweeping prospectors along the trail with it to their cold graves at the bottom of 30 feet of snow. Records are variable, with the highest death toll being close to 100. These pioneers are interred at Slide Cemetary, the haunting Dyea ghost town cemetery near Skagway, a reminder of this terrible event.

Slide Cemetary

Historic Dyea Townsite

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

Skagway, AK 99840

Directions to Slide Cemetary:

From Dyea Campground, head north on Dyea Road toward Chilkoot Trail for 0.6 miles. Keep left to stay on Dyea Road for 1.5 mi, then turn right onto Hatcher Road/Jeep Trail. Continue to follow Jeep Trail 0.9 mi and continue onto Slide Cemetary Trail.

In 1898, the Gold Rush town Dyea was a bustling boomtown and the start of the famed Chilkoot Trail. Stampeders were flocking to the area to reach the gold fields of the Klondike.

The Chilkoot Trail was a treacherous route, but a necessary one if you wanted to reach the fortunes they were hoping for. After the discovery of gold in the Klondike in 1896, prospectors arrived in Dyea in droves.

It was estimated that 30,000 people rushed to the Klondike in the first two years after the discovery. With all those dreamers, there was a lot of competition to reach the gold strike first.

That winter of 1898, record snowfalls had made the mountains heavy with snowdrifts.

Avalanche danger was high and the conditions were warming up.

Despite the warnings of the local sourdoughs and the Tlingit elders, the stream of prospectors continued steadily up the trail. Some heeded the warnings, but many took their chances and continued on their journey.

The avalanche was actually a series of avalanches that started snow tumbling down from the top of the Chilkoot Trail and headed down the mountain beginning the night of April 2, 1898.

The avalanches continued the next day, with tons of wet, heavy snow sliding down the crowded trail, There were approx. 70 prospectors who died in the Palm Sunday Avalanche, April 3, 1898.

The tragedy received a lot of press, including an article in the New York Times on April 11, 1898 listing the names of many of the victims.

Due to the transient nature of the lives of the stampeders, and the difficulties of record-keeping in the situation, the reports had varying numbers of casualties.

The town site of Dyea never really recovered from the tragedy. Skagway, ten miles away, took over as the popular town site of the area for travelers and permanent residents.

Visit the ghost town of Dyea near Skagway and remember those who died in the Palm Sunday Avalanche at the Slide Cemetery.

Watch this video for more detailed information:

More information about the Slide Cemetary here.

Explore other creepy experiences in Skagway in The Creepy Small Town In Alaska With Insane Paranormal Activity. Or you might like This Bigfoot Themed Restaurant In Alaska.

Have you been to the Slide Cemetary? Tell us about it the comments below.