05/26/2026
Our old base camp used to be a few miles to the west of here. Gorgeous country!
At the Pat Burns Coal Mine, along the Sheep River deep inside Kananaskis. ➡️➡️
Photos are from 1922 and 2012. Then as now, it's gorgeous setting and very remote.
The mine started in the 1910s, but due to the distance to market it struggled and closed the year after the old photo was captured. Coal was hauled out by wagon and it was a long, demanding trip through difficult terrain just to get to the nearest town. That's Turner Valley, some 45km to the east.
The mine is connected to Calgary's Pat Burns, noted entrepreneur of Burns Meat fame.
The land here is smack dab in the middle of Kananaskis and is still privately held by P Burns Resources. You can hike though the property but they ask you keep to established trails.
The location you see here was the townsite and coal loading area, and the mines themselves were up slope to the right. Some coal slack and the odd bits of timber are all that's left of them. To get here and back from the trailhead is a full day's hike along the old coal road.
The flat face of Gibraltar Mountain is seen in back, but trees mostly block the view today. The cabin seen in the old photo is long gone.
📸 The Then photo is thanks to the UofC Archives. The people shown are listed as (L to R)
Bill Somers, mine caretaker, Pat Rodgers, Bobby McKay, Nina Rodgers, Marjorie Glaister and Elizabeth Rummel.
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Greetings from Chris & Connie!
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