Tent Mountain was torn a new one

Tent Mountain was not only the last coal mine operating in the Crowsnest Pass, it was also one of the largest. Situated near the Alberta/BC border, portions of it were in either province. Production ended in the early 1980s and this closed the book on mining in The Pass. After some eighty years of sometimes very frenzied activity, the very last of the dozens of mines that once operated here went silent.

Some records on the mine are bit sketchy and contradictory. It seems that mining started in the late 1940s and continued, sometimes intermittently, until 1983 or so (some reports say a bit earlier or a bit later). In any case, most of the scars we see date from the last years of production and in that time they kept busy supplying the Japanese steel industry. It’s not sure what factors lead to its closing – perhaps the contract ended or maybe the mine became uneconomical to operate.

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After extraction, the coal was trucked down to the Coleman Collieries processing plant in Coleman Alberta. This plant still remains but there has been talk of demolishing it. The mine road down is not terribly steep, unless you are driving a loaded coal truck. In that case, it’s a nightmare. Speed limits are posted at 16kmh and there are strategically placed runway lanes along the road. I wonder if they were ever used?

In all reports I’ve seen, the mine was said to be owned by Coleman Collieries, however some signs at the site say Chinook Coals. Perhaps this company bought or inherited the mine after it closed. Research is ongoing.

I am sure there is still some coal up there – many thick seams can still be seen in the pits.

What’s amazing is how much material was moved. On arrival at the first pit, with it’s terraces and lake, it’s clear this was no small operation. However once you head up and over to the other side do you get to appreciate the sheer magnitude of the workings. There are a large number of very steep and deep gouges – no canyons – running parallel to each other. The mountain was torn a new one. Several new ones!

I have yet to see pictures of Tent Mountain before the mining, but it sure would be interesting to compare it to today.

Operating one mine across two provinces certainly made this a unique proposition. It’s likely regulations were different on each side and I am sure this presented some interesting challenges.

The trail head for this adventure is situated up the Chinook Coal road, which heads south off the highway just east of the BC border. There is a large limestone quarry at the turnoff, making the road easy to spot. Drive it for a few kilometres – supposedly it’s the the roadbed of a planned railway into the valley – and park at the gate.

From there follow the mine road as it works its way up. It’s easy and not terribly steep (again, unless you are driving a coal truck) and perhaps it even a bit monotonous. Be mindful of bears on this section, we’ve seen lots of evidence of them. Also watch for ATVs. Along the way as you gain elevation, you catch occasional glimpses of the workings you’re heading up to.

After a couple switchbacks you come to a big gate – it lets you in but keeps the ATVs out. And from there, follow the obvious road as it skirts the coal dump. Shorty after you come to the first pit with its terraces and deep pit lake (how deep?). Most people think this is the entire mine, but in actually it’s only part of it. A zig-zag road takes you up and over to the other side of the mountain. Here the workings are even more extensive. Based upon what we’ve seen few people seem to venture this far.

After checking out these north workings we make our way to that road mentioned earlier, that heads up and over a saddle. As we gain elevation we get a good look of the pits and dump we just visited. Normally we’d also have a good view of the mountains that surround us – Sentry Mountain, Crowsnest Mountain and others. Today, with all the haze, all we could see from this angle was Mt Tecumseh / Phillipps Peak a mountain with two summits with two names.

Our destination this trip is the radio tower that sits on high spot of land between two pits. It’s not the loftiest point on Tent Mountain, but it’s close and makes a suitable goal. Between all the parallel gouges there are several ridges that did not get mined and each of these could be summited if you so wish.

Anyone who frequents the Crowsnest Pass knows how windy it can get and the day of our visit was no exception. With each gust, the radio tower at the summit sang (I am not kidding) and if I can figure out how to eliminate the wind noise in the recording I took, I’ll post it here.

From the top one should be able to see the working Coal Mountain Mine situated across the valley near the ghost town of Corbin BC. However it was so hazy, it was hard to see that far.

On our visit, we just scratched the surface of the operation, and you could easily spend many days exploring the pits and workings. There does not appear to be any building remains at the site, but I am sure there must have been some, now gone.

After an enjoyable lunch, we trace our steps back down to the car. I’m not done with the Tent Mountain Mine and would love to return. Biking the old coal road up would be a good way to save some time and have some fun (zoooom on the way down). It would also be less monotonous – the road section is rather dull.

To see the Coleman Collieries plant where the coal from this mine was processed and loaded on trains, follow this link…
Coleman Collieries plant and mine.

To see Tent Mountain from a nearby radio tower, go here…
Crowsnest radio tower.

If you wish more information on this place, by all means contact us!

Date of adventure: September 2012.
Location: Crowsnest Pass Alberta.
Distance: 20km return.
Height gain from start: 710m (this conflicts with other reports I have seen – is GPS even accurate?).
Height gain cumulative: 710m.
Technical bits:
Notes: ATVs use the first few kilometres of the trail. A gate keeps them out of the mine property itself. This area has a large bear population.
Reference: Hiking the Historic Crowsnest Pass, by Jane Ross and William Tracy.

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Tent Mountain road

The start of the trail. The frame once held a sign about the mine.

Road Tent Mountain

The road up is in good condition and the going is easy.

Runaway lane Tent Mountain

This hump of dirt is actually part of a runaway lane.

Tent Mountain Mine

The goal for today is this radio tower.

Max 16kmh

Maximum speed 16kmh, a sloooow trip down.

These rocks recently broke away.

These rocks recently broke away.

Tent Mountain Mine dump

Most of the area seen here was the Tent Mountain Mine dump.

Road Tent Mountain Mine

Looking back at the way up.

Tent Mountain Coal Mine

This pit is in Alberta but others we’ll see are in BC. The mine straddled the border.

Pit Tent Mountain Mine

I wonder how deep it is?

Coal road Tent Mountain

We follow the old switchback road up.

View from Tent Mountain

Near the saddle looking back.

Phillipps Peal / Mt Tecumseh

In back is Phillipps Peak and Mount Tecumseh – each high point has its own name.

Chinook Coals sign

Extreme danger, now it’s extreme fun.

Tent Mountain Crowsnest Pass

We’re now on the south side of Tent Mountain.

Tent Mountian Mine workings

This area has been heavily worked.

Tent Mountain mining scars

It’s amazing just how much material was moved.

Radio tower Tent Mountain

When the wind blew, this radio tower played a song. Really!

Tent Mountain summit

Looking north. At this point I am on the Alberta/BC border.

Tent Mountain Mine pit

Another pit far below.

Tent Mountain views

It was very hazy this day.

Coal Mountain Corbin BC

Looking into BC, somewhere in the haze is the working Coal Mountain Mine.

Tent Mountain summit

You can see some of the many pits on this side of the mountain.

Strata Tent Mountain

The strata here is extremely tilted, typical of the Crowsnest Pass.

On Tent Mountain

Soaking it up.

Mining scars Tent Mountian

On the way down we get another view of the pit lake.

Crowsnest radio tower

The radio tower above Crowsnest Lake. We’ve been there too (see post for a link).

16 responses

  1. Bernie Nemeth says:

    Very interesting history. In the mid to late 1970s I used to regularly commute from Calgary down to Sparwood BC just across the border to help maintain mainframe computers used by Kaiser Resources in their operation down there. Occasionally, they would give me a guided tour of the coal mining operation. Very similar to your views here. I haven’t been down that way for a long time now, so do not know if the site is still working or not. They produced coking coal for the Asian market.

    • Yes, very similar. Only Tent Mountain, believe it or not, was small in scale compared to those across the border. The old Kaiser Mine still operates but is now owned by Teck. That firm in fact owns almost all the coal up that way, across many mines. Doubt you’d recognize the places you went. They’ve since moved mountains at that mine.

  2. Bert Baumgartner says:

    There was some talk recently in the news that an Australian firm wants to build a coal loadout facility in Blairmore and have been buying up some of the old coal mines in the area so could be a more ‘rosie’ future for us Heavy Equipment Operators in that area. Btw are ATV’s permitted to ride up there? Being from the flatlands of Manitoba I’d sure like to be able to take my SxS on some trails out there.

    • They’ve done some preliminary work up at the old Grassy Mountain Mine nearby, but with coal markets in the dumpster, I wouldn’t be surprised if work has or will be suspended for a time at least. Vehicles are not allowed into the Tent Mountain mine site but there are lots of ATV trails elsewhere in the Pass to keep you busy. Tread lightly.

  3. Jay Reevly says:

    Hi buddy! I just found your website and all can say is that it is great! There is a lots of of useful information in it. I’ve heard from a friend who works in Corbin that the mine there figures there is a couple years worth of coal still untouched in Tent Mountain. There is enough to make it interesting for them and since much of the infrastructure is already in place there (roads and pits), it might be a worthwhile temporary production site, while they ponder what to do next. Coal Mountain is almost finished and while other ridges in the area hold promise, they are not ready to be mined yet. Tent Mountain could hold them over for the time they need. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

    • Yes, it’ll be very interesting to see what happens. I know the Corbin people have or had their eye on a ridge to the west but not Tent Mountain. Hmmm…

  4. Stew R says:

    Jesus, nice.

  5. Raymond M says:

    Beautiful. Nice write up!

  6. Coal Man says:

    I used to work at the Coal Mountain mine in Corbin and often wondered about this place. You could clearly see the pits and terraces from where I worked and I though it was just part of the operation I worked for, and only found out it was Tent Mountain by reading this report. Looks like you had fun exploring it.

    • ChrisBigDoer says:

      The day we were on Tent Mountain the haze was so bad that we could not see Coal Mountain. I could hear it though, between wind gusts that is. Tent Mountain was torn a new one but Coal Mountain has been obliterated. Wow, what a mine scar!

      Yes, we had a blast exploring Tent Mountain. It took three tries to get up to the top. One time snow pack kept us out, another time it was a Grizzly.

  7. Attrell says:

    Far out!

  8. Micheal Byrd says:

    My uncle worked at the mine around 1978 fixing and maintaining trucks. Most of his work was changing out brakes, they went through a lot of them account of the steep road down. He also told me they also broke a lot of shocks. For coal haulage to the processing plant they tried some lighter duty off the shelf highway trucks modified with dump bodies but these did not last long. They were not suited to the extreme service. Later they used some HD Kenworths and I believe some Pacifics and these fared better. I believe he said that they had one runaway on the road down, a greenhorn driver on one of his first trips. I see in your pictures that one runaway ramp is still easily recognizable.

    • ChrisBigDoer says:

      Thanks, that’s very interesting! I bet the trip down was a real white knuckle affair – a speed limit sign says 16kmh. Pacific, was there ever a tougher truck?

  9. HollyHolly says:

    How do you find the energy to do all these adventures?

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