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It was actually Bigfoot attacks and nothing environmental. The environmental stuff was made up so others not from the area would avoid the place and there would be a lesser chance of more people getting attacked by very territorial Bigfoot clans.
I am a 71 year old man living in Cleveland Ohio. In the 1970's I was a miner at New Jersey Zinc's Gilman mine. I lived in Leadville Colorado at the time and enjoyed your video tremendously as it brought back nice memories of working there. I worked with many old timers such as Chili and Harvey and was known as "Harvey's Hippie". Just want to mention one interesting fact about mining at Gilman, even though electric caps were around at that time the old timers elected to shoot with black wick and strikers cutting the wicks at different lengths to get the different delay times needed to pull a perfect round every time. If you ever get the chance Leadville has a lot of interesting old mines such as Asarco's Black Cloud and others.
Thanks for your comment and additional info Kenny! You should check out my latest episode where I venture into the underground part😊 It must have been a tough job! Respect!
I live in Medina OH. Have been to Leadville a few times. Used dirt bikes to ride to some of the old abandoned gold mines and ghost towns. Wish I could have seen them when they were in operation.
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath I watched that too. Just amazing how they could get all that stuff underground and put together. How much noise you think all that made when it was up and running? Those tumblers and crushers are bad enough above ground.
very interesting and thank you for sharing your experience. The preference of black wick over electric, is really indicative of those times. "pull a perfect round ever time" Amazing and love it.
My dad is from Gilman, Colorado and I've heard many stories about this old mining town. His mother was the postmaster while he was growing up. A good portion of his health problems are the result of growing up in this mining town. Unfortunately, all of his sisters and brother have all passed from cancer. The amount of history in these buildings is amazing!
A profit based business was a lucrative those days. The side effects were not thoughts on their minds. Sad to hear from you. Innocent were the first to review.
I am the daughter of a former miner in Idaho and I enjoy your site. Dad was hired by a mine owner in idaho in 1943 to work in essential mining for WWII . He followed this career for ten years as a mechanic and heavy equipment operator. After WWII he worked for companies mining for gold, both by hard rock or tunnels and dredges. Growing up in the mountains was a wonderful child hood.
I'm 69 now and was the last member of the mine crew at the New Jersey Zinc mine in Gillman . Worked on the 34 level mostly and lived in Leadville and commuted to the mine . Worked at the Climax Molybdenum mine until it closed in 78.then worked at Black cloud then Gillman .Then The North London Mine outside Alma then Camp Bird Outside Ouray .Relly Wish i was young again those where the best of times ,worked hard and played hard.
My great grandfather worked and lived at Gilman (and Minturn too), working for New Jersey Zinc from 1939 to 1959, but the family moved (eventually) to Denver. At the time he retired, he was working in the compressor room. I heard lots of stories about Gilman as a kid.
Guess they're strip mining the old Climax mine in Leadville now. Think they started to do that in 2014. You might have known my uncle Dale Griess or my cousin Carla Griess. You're about her age.
Those railroad tracks went to Camp Hale about 7 miles from Gilman. It was a secret high altitude training base during WWII and the original home of the 10th Mountain Division. There were over 20,000 troops living there and it was a huge thriving base. They pioneered modern rappelling, free climbing, snow fighting and high mountain warfare. Today there is almost no trace of it left except for railroad tracks.
there is actually a good amount you can find there still. the out bunkers, the rock climbing stuff, foundation out the mesh hall the mule pens, animal cemetery and if you hike up from the road to the top the mountain there is the machine gun base and you can still find shell casings.
That’s crazy cause I had thought that cause I had neighbors that lived up in those small towns but the kind of work they did had nothing to do with the mines. my grandpa worked in this mine in 1950’s (possibly the 40s too) they lived in Minturn. My grandma died of cancer when my mama was 5, soon after he had to give my mama (she was the youngest & the siblings were gone) away to other family members. I assume it was to much for him & I can’t blame him. He wasn’t home enough.
I was a two year old child when my father worked in the mine. My mother told us she tied us to trees when we were outside to protect us from the cliff that was our front yard.
Even though Gilman is shut down due to contamination, the surrounding area is so beautiful. Great motorcycle road up and around Gilman. Back there spring of ‘23.
That young guy died in 1978, but somebody still sems to bring fresh flowers to the memorial. That is very touching! It seems he was a young guy from La Puebla, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States of America, his body is buried there on La Puebla Cemetery.
Perhaps he wanted to be buried there either because he worked there or just loved the area. I own a beautiful old redundant quarry and sometimes people ask to spread ashes and things there. Who knows
Guys, I know you heard this before, but if you play in the mines out west here in the states, you need radiation meter, bad air sensor, beware of mercury, arsenic, lead, bat droppings, mouse droppings asbestos. Try not to eat with dirty hands from these places, a real dust mask/respirator is not stupid, and some pants with armor. Doom talk is over now. Thank you so much for covering this town, yes I do remember the color of that river. Lots of nice equipment there. I recall the town, I had been there as a kid.
I had permission from the Ginn Corporation in the early 2000’s to document Gilman for couple of years. The Gilman Project was done using a 5x7 view camera and is in book form in Eagle County Library and Ginn Corporation has the limited edition framed prints from the many gallery showings I did. I have a Library of Congress number because of the historical significance of my project was to the history of Gilman. One thing you didn’t think of the mine and town has large amounts of asbestos in the air. With out proper protection you are at risk. Greg Dahlgren photographer of the Gilman Project
Welcome to Colorado! I've driven by Gilman many times and have always wondered what it would be like inside the buildings there and I'm excited to finally see! My boyfriend used to live in Minturn, a nearby town, and knows someone who lived there and they said it was a dump even before it was abandoned. Some of those cars you saw at the bottom could be left from old accidents, which are unfortunately a somewhat regular occurrence in that area of the highway with it being so twisty, narrow, and lacking sufficient guardrails. I know of at least one accident where a person died as they coming home from work late at night in a bad snow storm. It was suspected at the time the person became disoriented due to the snow and being tired and simply turned off the road and fell down the cliff as there were no signs they lost control of the vehicle. Hope you enjoyed your visit to our wonderful state!
Thanks Miki ! I really loved Colorado. Sad of the people who crashed there :( Well a lot more is coming up from Colorado. Next episode we venture inside a very cool underground mine.
back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Colorado mountain sides looked like a junkyard, from drunks and their wrecked cars, then they invented guard rails and started paving the jeep trails, about the mid 60s. about the same time the slope dopes started making the state more than just a cow pasture. Gilpin county used to be nick named Gulp-in county because the only industry was Bars for out of work miners and cowboys. back then the Denver hicks used to get all liquored up in Morrison, and try to see who could make it down Lariat road in one piece. most all of that got cleaned up in the 70s, so as to not offend the sensibility's of the California coke heads.
My dad was born in Minturn in 1943 and has told us a lot of stories about all around that area for years and once in a while,we would even take trips around there
Glad to see yall visited my state! There are so many abandoned mines and ghost towns here. Sounds like our altitude got you a bit. Thanks for the video!
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath People definitely need to be careful when encountering high altitudes. Take a few days to acclimate before any strenuous activity. We don't want people coming to our state and falling ill! We want you to enjoy your time here, safely!
@@mayhemacres725 You're right. Unfortunately we had only 6 days and had a lot on the list. But I was in Peru earlier this year and didn't experience any altitude sickness, so we just went for it.
I’ve lived in Colorado all my life. Growing up my family would camp near and explore many of these old mining towns. Many fond memories. I ended up making my home in Gilpin County in the heart of gold mining territory. In fact, the small town I live in once had a population of over 10,000 because of mining. Now this town is full of casinos which is a shame, tho they say without the casinos it would have likely turned into a ghost town. Still, many of the old buildings remain and have been restored and there are the scars of gold mines everywhere peppering the mountainsides, reminding us of our once colorful past. I love living here..
You guys took the time to hold the camera still or pan very slowly so we could enjoy the beautiful scenery - awesome !! It seems too many filming and posting videos move the camera way too quickly for the viewers to get any enjoyment from the scenery or the old machinery / buildings left behind - thanks for being thoughtful enough to not make this common mistake - you guys did great on this one !!
This mine was primarily zinc and silver I was born there and my dad was a miner my mom ran post office and my grandfather was superintendent of New Jersey zinc mine used to be eagle mine they closed it down due to water contamination we had school in town and high school in red cliff colorado miner lived in Gilman and red cliff and Minturn
Hi John, must have been an amazing place to live ! I also filmed some in the upper part and I'm editing this at the moment. If you have some extra info, have some stories or want to answer some questions, please send me an e-mail, info@bobthissen.com
Can be re used if know how. ) im in wrong country. Old will survive with a sevice oil grease. That power plant will run with some welding. ) i dream a place like this. )
@@huetuyenquang5518 I live in Berlin Germany and would love to go to these places. I once went to Texas, and my parents lived there for a while. My brother lived in AZ and took me and my sister to the Grand Canyon and then to Mount Rushmore. We drove through Colorado, I wish I knew about these places before we drove right through it. I probably won't be back to the states our Parents now live in Poland and are on a midlife crisis so I'm not sure where they are at any time, My Brother is in Sweden, and Little Sis and Me are in Berlin. As for all the graffiti artists, they just need to have their hands cut off, no more graffiti.
When you drive mountain/big area drives in the US it's always something I think about now is how many forgotten places or stories must be on those run down side roads.
Hi, I think canaries were only used in coal mines, most mines had good amounts of Oxygen which was pushed into the mines by fans and through vent pipes that hung mainly on the ribs (sides) of the mines. The "Gold is actually Iron Pyrite also known as Fool's Gold". A really cool explore guys, this would have been a very busy place back in the day. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx 💖
I worked in a mill for a gold mine in about 1979. I laughed when I saw the book of purchase orders and it had parts for an SRL pump. I hated those damn pumps!! The packing would wear out and you'd have to change it very quickly. They carried water straight up 90 degrees for 3 stories on a 4" line and then about a mile at 45 degrees up hill.
I took a cross country trip years ago and remember stopping in and exploring this mine, your video brings back so many memories of that trip, amazing video guys!
I've lived in Colorado my whole life and finding URBEX channels in general was kind of a shock because in the towns and cities there are almost zero abandoned buildings. Lots of ghost towns and old mining stuff though if you know where to look.
Gilman would make an excellent diorama or as part of a railway layout, I do like industrial archaeology and those mine buildings are amazing. - Stay safe
The person taping has a steady hand and did a great job recording everything thank you. Thank you for bringing this to all of us old timers God bless you all please stay safe.
Lived in Colorado, long ago, for over 10 years. Went to many ghost towns up in the mountains. Holy Cross City was one I remember. Strange places, hard to believe people lived there. They weren't like this, abandoned earlier, 1800s. 4 wheel drive a must, usually followed by a long hike in on foot. Took some real effort to get to them. These places weren't tourist attractions. When you got there there was nobody around, I mean nobody. Definition of "middle of nowhere."
Could you tell me the places you visited? I'm always looking for more places to Urbex and film. I've been to Gilman, Red Mountain Town, the Vindicator Vally Trailhead, and I'll be making my way to the Skagway Power Plant soon.
@@Poppilion I really don't remember names. That was a long, long time ago. I recall we had a book, don't remember the title. That would point you the general direction to go to some of them. I don't remember even seeing any posted signs for a name of the places. Getting to them was quite a trek. I remember leaning up hill in an open top jeep with a couple of others putting weight on the uphill side of a very slanted "road". Hoping we wouldn't roll. Like in a sailboat. Sorry I can't be more help. Have a great time while you're at. It's a lot of fun. ;0)
@@bintheredonethatWhat is this Holy Cross City place you’re referring to? I’m a Colorado native, currently in Glenwood Springs. My friends and I are always looking for new places to explore, I’d love information if you remember. Thanks!
What a photogenic and potentially dangerous place! You boys climbing up those wrecked stairs with bags in your hands sure shows commitment - thanks for the effort and great footage! 🥴
Another outstanding job, the editing and inserting the drone shots, very nice. I am amazed at the places you lug that drone but I am grateful for your dedication.
I explored Gilman and it was interesting. I'd love to do it again, but I won't. Because the EPA, which is part of the federal government, ordered all Gilman residents to vacate the town in 1984, entry by unauthorized persons is prohibited. Anyone caught trespassing can be charged with a felony in federal court. It's just not worth it.
One time I was on vacation and I was looking at the upper abandoned town Gilman from up the road. A guy with his wife near us pointed out the now abandoned house he lived in when he was a kid. Gilman is cool to look at. We also saw a mountain lion right before we stopped to look at Gilman. Colorado rules!
O that sounds crazy. A mountain loin would have been the cherry on the icecake, haha. NExt sunday we venture inside an underground mine and after that we go back to Gilman to explore the upper part :)
By any chance r u referring to Minturn (north of Gilman) & this is a long chance but was this old childhood house right off the busy st. & in the back was a trailer that they lived in? & do u remember if his name was Leroy? Cause that would be too weird!
& his wife had long hair named Sylvia?! I keep reading your comment & I’m thinking it can’t be but is it??? If so that’s my aunt & uncle & the house in the front still stands today & that is we’re my mama & her siblings grew up until my mama was 5!
Great video, I really love it. I am pretty sure I saw a lot of asbestos - the roofing plates and insulation rope on the pipes. It is all dry, and the dust will hover in the rooms.
22:20 is pyrite. I'm a miner myself, and have found kilos upon kilos of this. It's really common, but can also be really pretty. Pyrite can form cubic crystals, as well as triangular. These can become symmetrical, making some interesting speciemens which can be worth a lot of money. It was also really interesting to see a skip-track and tressle out in the open like that. As you say, it was probably used as stairs, but I think the main function was a skipcart moving ore the to mill at the bottom. You can see some of these drifts along the way towards the top. You can see multiple waste rock piles when using the drone. Kinda rare from my knowledge, as most are dug inside the mountain. Keep up the amazing work!
Welcome all! I moved to CO in my youth, about 40 years ago. Its due to the beauty here that I decided to continue on as an adult. This video is very good. The replies that followed were beautiful to read, thank you all for sharing from your heart. Love the fact that you left no trace to keep CO beautiful. ✌️
If memory serves me correctly, wasn't that event where the river turned orange caused by the EPA themselves by breaching the mine and releasing the contaminated water from the mine? Never heard of any EPA people ever being prosecuted as a result of the pollution.
There's definitely a double standard here in America if you're rich you can do anything just look at Biden, he stole the presidency of the United States and nothing will ever happen to him until he stands before God and spends eternity in the lake of fire!!!
Man Bob, that place is epic. I really wish you could have done some more footage of the power house and the equipment. Can't believe after watching abandoned mine videos for the last couple of years that no one has documented this place that I have seen at least. Hope your stay in the States is a good one. Thanks from AZ.
Next week you'll be amazed ! :) This was just a nice side catch. And sorry for that ! The place was massive and we had to continue. I had a good time there :) Arizona is still on the wishlist to visit. Only have been there as a kid :)
I love how you're increasing the production value. This is my favorite urbex channel by far. Just one small criticism - the new microphones are perfect, but please don't pan them hard left / hard right in the edit!
Thanks James ! I think I might have to convert these audio files somehow, believe the mics record L and R seperately.. This sunday an amazing episode is coming up. The best abandoned underground mine I've seen in my life. I'll make sure to fix the audio problem asap :)
This was so cool !! It’d be nice to find out what each piece of machinery was used for and how they operated !! BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY !! My daughter lived in Colorado for a number of years !! She’s wanting to return there !!
I remember driving through the little town in my younger days when it was still inhabited, nice to see the insides of those structures down by the tracks and all the old machinery...
Great video! I'd not dare enter those places without full length pants and 8" steel toe boots. So many sharp and rusty edges. Glad you made it in and out safely.
Gilman had a school at one time. Its gorgeous country up and down around there outside Gilman. Its one road to take to get to Vail. You can get to Aspen in the other direction via Independece Pass. Its just unbelievable. You get to view Buena Vista mtn range. Colorado has everything and many people cant move away it is so nice once you visit. I lived there over 40 year span..1973 to 2012. So many wonderful memories.
'a hardhat would be good in here' - yes why aren't you wearing one? With a hardhat and a clipboard you can get almost anywhere without raising immediate suspicion!
The tracks in the video are former Denver & Rio Grande Western RR trackage. They were left there when the UP bought the DRGW and abandoned the so called Royal Gorge Route
That was the part I was really interested in. How the rails connected in to serve the plant and how it was loaded. It's all interesting. From a former industrial archeologist
That was the D&RGW main line from Denver to Salt Lake City before the Moffat tunnel was constructed. The portion of the line you saw is not "abandoned" - it is considered "out of service", still owned by the UP. The eastern end of that line is still active. The UP owns as far as Canon City and a scenic / tourist railroad owns and operates the portion through the Royal Gorge, also freight trains haul rock mined from the quarry at the west end of the gorge (UP retains trackage rights through the gorge should they ever want to restore through rail service.) I recently read that UP had leased the out of service portion to a short line railroad which apparently intends to restore service on at least some portion but could find no more information on that.
@@evanstauffer4470 yeah am well aware of the history; but like the visual detail. As a modeler that kind of stuff is priceless. And I love mining. Re: the shortline, there is info on TrainOrders a membership railfanning site. (the oldest one) it's called the Uinta Basin and is building an all new line to near Vernal UT to access the oilfield there. May also move some of the Phosphate mined there. They want to re-open Royal Gorge but, this is really iffy right now. There are a lot of complications.
@@evanstauffer4470 Though I'm retired in Australia I'm from Golden so I know the area well. I was happy to hear you say the line is disused but not scrapped which is what usually happens both to save tax money and for the scrap value. They dude who runs the Gorge tourist train, Lindsey Ashby, used to have the Georgetown Loop line. With the tracks in tact I can see a tourist train all the way to Tennessee Pass but I guess no one else with money has.
They turned off the pumps and the water filled the mines overflowing into the river poluting everything with arsenic, lead and other horrible materials...
I worked for a company that would clear the storm and water lines after every season. We had access to the valley right next to the tracks. The old timer giving us the rundown told us that the kids in Leadville had a game to see who could send a car the furthest down the hill. They would buy old cars to launch them over the cliffs. It’s a drive very much worth taking, I was blessed to be on the bottom side, even though I was working, I stood and took a piss off of an old bridge the train would use, (into the river, sorry) It’s such a trip imagining how a train was roaring by at one point. I find myself riddled with anxiety. History really helps me, because it can’t change, I was blessed to talk to an old timer about this part of history. Absolutely Blessed
@@nicholas4839 If you only knew what I all saw in the past 20 years ;) 99% of the places I don't make an episode. ( And keep a lot of stuff totally offlince) If you know anyone who discovers of lot of epic abandoned places.. I am curious who you will name.. There are not many on TH-cam.
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath you are good but not the best like they said your knowledge is decent but not the best I have seen the proper people do a lot better not trying to put you down or anything but I call people out when they say best if they are not and don't get me wrong the proper people are not the best I can't say who that is but they are more knowledgeable then what you show on your videos
@@nicholas4839 Ah you mean it in another way. That could be yes. I have a busy life and have to do a lot of assignments because YT is not my fulltime job. So I can't read a lot indepth information where I go... But .... Places where we go are more unique and exclusive and often never explored before. I often risk my life literally. (In September I have to go to court because I'm charged for "having state secrets" because of a never explored before bunker...) That's another reason I can't prepare a lot.. Many places I try fail. I'm a guy who just shows the places and give some basic info.And English is not my native language and talking very specific about things is pretty hard too I can tell you.
Such a beautiful location. All that equipment can easily be used again. All the abandoned and wasted hardware in that supply office makes me scream. Great video.
Fun fact: The front facade of this town looked familiar to me so I did a little digging, no pun intended... This town was featured on a movie from 1995 called Under Siege 2 Dark Territory" about a group of terrorists who hijack a train, it passes by the town on those tracks, at that time still in use. The town is close to the end of the movie, you don't see much of it, they only pass by it, and IMDB calls it "Eagle Rock" but it's the same town. I loved the part where you zoom on those manufacture plaques, last abandoned building I personally explored was an abandoned power plant, it was part of a larger complex to a textile mill. The assembly blocks were demolished in 2011, but it useta be huge. I first explored it in 2009 with a couple friends, then again on my own a couple years ago, the only thing standing is the power plant, which was also tagged, but by filthy garbage that made what you have in the video, look like art. I blacked out the grafitti on my video, but when I got home I found myself researching Babcock & Wilcox steam turbines, Detroit Rotograte Stokers and other equipment I found.
Part of the movie Tall Tale was filmed at the mining site. They repainted and repaired some of the buildings for the set. The steam engine used in the film was a scale model superimposed on the site. Got to watch through the camera as it was being filmed.
Your videos always are wonderful to watch. You manage to find the most interesting places to explore. Thank you for your efforts. Can't wait to see the next installment!
Fool's gold is actually very extremely easy to find but yet real gold is actually very extremely hard to find. Pyrite (fool's gold) will actually have an odor, smoke, and changes color when heated, real gold won't do that.
These areas are so fascinating. I have been in a mine here in PA and I honestly don’t know how the miners did it. They drill in all directions not just front back side and top. It was very disorienting looking at all the areas they had worked on. I really enjoy your videos!
Pretty sure the scene where the train in the movie passes a ghost town and switches track in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory was filmed here. A mid 90's classic.
Living in Colorado, I’ll never be able to get over the environment. Such a beautiful place. Going into that mine made me claustrophobic! And I’m sitting on my couch with a fan on me.
Colorado native with many of my mother's family still living in that area. The road going to that bridge and Redcliff Colorado is Battle Mountain Pass. As someone else pointed out you can continue on up the road to Leadville and a small ski area, Cooper Hill. Gilman Mine is on the Eagle River which runs through Minturn, Avon, Edwards, Eagle and into the Colorado River. Years ago, one of my dumb cousins and his friend blew up a house in the town of Gilman that sits high up on that cliff off of Battle Mountain Pass Road. My younger brother lost control of his car on that mountain road and decided to ram into the mountain instead of plummeting 1000 feet below. It saved his life (black ice was the cause). It's a gorgeous, gorgeous area, but very, very expensive to live there.
very interesting and thank you for sharing your experience. we just start our gold mine legal preparation here in Sumatra Islands. Seeing the land and geographically that gold mines was really difficult place rather than in our country.
It always amazes me how much gets left behind in cases like this. You have to think how much all of that equipment cost originally, it kind of boggles the mind. Did they expect to come back one day ?? Was it just to expensive to remove the machines ??
The EPA closed it and evacuated the people. I think also because of the location it's hard to get everything out there. You also see it in the Arctic. And with the equipment. Often rich companies leave locations abandoned like this. They had their profit and often don't care about the place anymore.
I can’t comprehend why a company would buy the equipment, pay for technicians to install it, and electricians to finish the wiring but won’t pay for it to be removed.
@@Velo1010 It happens all the time Velo... especially in remote places. But even in the US and Europe a lot of facilitiest are just left to decay...(often with expensive stuff left behind)
@@Velo1010 Because the cost of removing heavy old equipment like that would be more than it is worth to just buy brand new better stuff today. Think about it, the logistics alone would take dozens of people, heavy machinery, trains, lifts, the logistics alone would likely be tens of thousands of dollars, and what do you get for that cost, old used machines with lots of wear and tear.
@@-Zevin- An example why just leave behind is more economical is the Camp Shorabak (Camp Bastion), a British base in Afghanistan. "Cost £50m to fully build in 2006 and a further £300 to wipe it clean of British assets eight years later. "
Another neat & abandoned ghost town y’all need to explore is Animas Forks which is around 10-15 miles from Silverton in the San Juan Mountains. My dad, uncle, cousin & I walked around the ruins for a couple hours while taking Engineers Pass from Animas Forks over to Lake City close to 15 years ago. It’s a part of the 65 mile Alpine Loop trail which goes through Lake City, Ouray & Silverton. Beautiful part of Colorado to explore. I would love to go back & hit Cinnamon Pass next.
Just to add: I’ve driven by Gilman on the way to Vail, but never had the chance to stop there. I’ve wondered what the place looked like up close so thanks for taking the time to get out & explore this area for yourselves. Y’all did a fantastic job filming this video. 👍
@🔥The Eternal Flame 🔥 Thanks for checking out ! In the next episodes we'll explore more in this area (and more of Gilman) 😀 Animas Forks we had on our list, but we only had limited time so we had to make choices :(
@Exploring the Unbeaten Path Understandable! You can only see & do so much within a limited time. I’ll definitely checkout the next video y’all post of y’all exploring more around the Gilman area.
Thanks for the comment Rol, did you also see the underground mine of the series? that one was a real untouched gem :O th-cam.com/video/nG9K-a0occE/w-d-xo.html
Very interesting video and a sad reminder of our once mighty industrial past. I appreciate the environmental impact but one can only imagine how many jobs were lost and families broken when most of the USA's ore mines closed.
I often reminisce about this past and like to think we could have a green energy industrial revolution if we really put our heads together - it's a little weird and disappointing that we apparently won't, or can't.
Amazing footage, great video fellas ! It's plenty dangerous and just a lot of accidents waiting to happen on someone who dares to challenge such an environment.
My grandfather worked in the mine there I'm guessing around the 40s or maybe early 50s, they say that all the miners records are still in one of the mine buildings it would be interesting to check out that rumor.
That was a good point about all of the abandoned hardware around the world and how much of it there is. A lot of things were produced to make a profit and now just sitting as junk somewhere.
Een kleine "tip" van iemand die met veel regelmaat naar Colorado gaat. Als je gaat hiken, zorg voor dat je stevige hoge schoenen/laarzen draagt. In het gebied waar jullie rond liepen stikt het van de rattelslangen en je zult zeker niet de eerste of laatste zijn die er door gebeten word. Kijk trouwens s'avonds ook uit voor coyotes.
As 'n mens jonk is doen jy mos maar sulke dinge. Hier in Suid Afrika gaan loop die mense ook sonder die regte skoene. Dit is lekker om iets in 'n taal te lees wat amper soos jou eie klink.
I have lived in Colorado for over 50 years. I’ve never encountered a rattler. Coyotes are getting more brazen with human encounters. Wildlife no longer fear humans. Carry a .44 magnum for bear and possible human encounters. You can legally open carry in most counties: Denver / Broomfield being the exceptions.
I’ve lived at that altitude in Colorado for nearly 40 years, have done a *lot* of hiking, and have never seen a rattlesnake up here. At lower elevations, however, they’re quite common in some areas, like along the Mt. Sanita’s trail in north Boulder.
As noted by other commenters the Union Pacific still owns this line and it is considered "out of service", not "abandoned." I did some legal work for the counties along the route and when I spoke with the UP they said that they are keeping it as an alternative to the Moffat Tunnel in case traffic becomes too heavy (the Moffat Tunnel can only handle X number of trains per day due to ventilation issues). I was also told that it would cost about $1million+/mile to bring it back into service due to rehabilitating trestles, bridges, signal equipment, etc.. I suspect that it would take at least a year of work to rehab the line once a decision had been made to do so.
I used to live next to the tracks in Fraser. The trains would stop and wait on the siding there for the tunnel to clear before proceeding. It’s a fairly high traffic route, but the Moffat is a major bottleneck. This video makes me miss Colorado.
I love this part of Colorado , that railroad track used to be a main line of the DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN. Railbanked by the UNION PACIFIC. The trains thru here were epic to see . Four and five engines up front , then four mid train , just howling up the grades. Now just a silent , rusty railbed. Good job guys !
I've lived in Colorado for the past 3 yrs . This was exciting to watch. I travel all over the USA an stop at places like these or just very tiny towns. I love to explore. This was awesome an great excercise I'm sure lol. Thanks for filming.
Hi Guys, I grew up in North Wales (Llandudno) and am pretty familiar with exploring the N Wales mountains, mines, crashed planes (ME-109 etc above Llyn Dulyn). The Dutch accent got my attention straight off (I moved to Germany at the beginning of 2000 to work for the Dresden Field office (of your famous Semi-Con Stepper / Scanner company), then one of you said we have things like this in Wales, that focussed my attention into Hyperdrive. I've been subscriber of yours since I can't remember but I just ticked to bell for notices too now. From the age of 8 I was exploring the Great Ormes' ancient Copper mines (in my Home Town). They commercialised the top entrance and made it into a business now and you only see a few small chambers but the old way in (now gated and Padlocked) was through through the railway Adit, fantastic to have seen the original workings and you can make your way to the bottom of the ventilation shafts (and have to be extremely careful of people dropping stones through the bars of the grating at the top). They used to be lead mines in North Wales too. There is one at Trefriw; not sure if they closed off the older workings to the Public though.
Lugar sulreal top demais... Paisagens incríveis... Túneis magnificos... Fico imaginando eu explorando este lugar, seria maravilhoso... Parabéns excelente trabalho obrigado por nos mostrar... Tmj... Abração do AVENTUREIRO PAULEK!
➡🤩Check out our books! 800+ pictures taken in over 70 countries of the best abandoned places worldwide with info: exploringtheunbeatenpath.myonline.store/
So how many places have you criminally trespassed on in Colorado ?
The canarys were used to detect large quantities of carbon monoxide in the mind
It was actually Bigfoot attacks and nothing environmental. The environmental stuff was made up so others not from the area would avoid the place and there would be a lesser chance of more people getting attacked by very territorial Bigfoot clans.
Love your wideos man!
@@donaldperson948 The shipping is pretty expensive unfortunately !
I am a 71 year old man living in Cleveland Ohio. In the 1970's I was a miner at New Jersey Zinc's Gilman mine. I lived in Leadville Colorado at the time and enjoyed your video tremendously as it brought back nice memories of working there. I worked with many old timers such as Chili and Harvey and was known as "Harvey's Hippie". Just want to mention one interesting fact about mining at Gilman, even though electric caps were around at that time the old timers elected to shoot with black wick and strikers cutting the wicks at different lengths to get the different delay times needed to pull a perfect round every time. If you ever get the chance Leadville has a lot of interesting old mines such as Asarco's Black Cloud and others.
Thanks for your comment and additional info Kenny! You should check out my latest episode where I venture into the underground part😊 It must have been a tough job! Respect!
I live in Medina OH. Have been to Leadville a few times. Used dirt bikes to ride to some of the old abandoned gold mines and ghost towns. Wish I could have seen them when they were in operation.
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath I watched that too. Just amazing how they could get all that stuff underground and put together. How much noise you think all that made when it was up and running? Those tumblers and crushers are bad enough above ground.
very interesting and thank you for sharing your experience. The preference of black wick over electric, is really indicative of those times. "pull a perfect round ever time" Amazing and love it.
Hi man. Friendship with me
My dad is from Gilman, Colorado and I've heard many stories about this old mining town. His mother was the postmaster while he was growing up. A good portion of his health problems are the result of growing up in this mining town. Unfortunately, all of his sisters and brother have all passed from cancer. The amount of history in these buildings is amazing!
John Heyer commented above
R.I.P 🙏
A profit based business was a lucrative those days. The side effects were not thoughts on their minds. Sad to hear from you. Innocent were the first to review.
I am the daughter of a former miner in Idaho and I enjoy your site. Dad was hired by a mine owner in idaho in 1943 to work in essential mining for WWII . He followed this career for ten years as a mechanic and heavy equipment operator. After WWII he worked for companies mining for gold, both by hard rock or tunnels and dredges. Growing up in the mountains was a wonderful child
hood.
wallace?
Amazing to hear. Your father must have been a tough man! And you live in a beautiful area😌😇
The shiny (gold) colored rocks you were holding are pyrite. You can tell by the crystal structures. Fools gold is the more common term
Nitpick, Nitpick.
Definitely pyrite. That would absolutely not be "too small to do anything with" if that was real gold.
Sure is fools gold. Got a good laugh out of that one.
I'm 69 now and was the last member of the mine crew at the New Jersey Zinc mine in Gillman . Worked on the 34 level mostly and lived in Leadville and commuted to the mine . Worked at the Climax Molybdenum mine until it closed in 78.then worked at Black cloud then Gillman .Then The North London Mine outside Alma then Camp Bird Outside Ouray .Relly Wish i was young again those where the best of times ,worked hard and played hard.
Thanks for your comment and the info James! Do you have any pictures from there?
Did you know a man named Martin Esser? My grandfather mined in a good amount of Colorado
Climax has been reopened for years now
My great grandfather worked and lived at Gilman (and Minturn too), working for New Jersey Zinc from 1939 to 1959, but the family moved (eventually) to Denver. At the time he retired, he was working in the compressor room. I heard lots of stories about Gilman as a kid.
Guess they're strip mining the old Climax mine in Leadville now. Think they started to do that in 2014. You might have known my uncle Dale Griess or my cousin Carla Griess. You're about her age.
Those railroad tracks went to Camp Hale about 7 miles from Gilman. It was a secret high altitude training base during WWII and the original home of the 10th Mountain Division. There were over 20,000 troops living there and it was a huge thriving base.
They pioneered modern rappelling, free climbing, snow fighting and high mountain warfare. Today there is almost no trace of it left except for railroad tracks.
there is actually a good amount you can find there still. the out bunkers, the rock climbing stuff, foundation out the mesh hall the mule pens, animal cemetery and if you hike up from the road to the top the mountain there is the machine gun base and you can still find shell casings.
It was recently designated a historic memorial, and is now protected.
@@TacticaLLR
Biden just designated it just last year, right? Something like 50,000 acres. Awesome!
wow that is wild!
That’s crazy cause I had thought that cause I had neighbors that lived up in those small towns but the kind of work they did had nothing to do with the mines. my grandpa worked in this mine in 1950’s (possibly the 40s too) they lived in Minturn. My grandma died of cancer when my mama was 5, soon after he had to give my mama (she was the youngest & the siblings were gone) away to other family members. I assume it was to much for him & I can’t blame him. He wasn’t home enough.
I was a two year old child when my father worked in the mine. My mother told us she tied us to trees when we were outside to protect us from the cliff that was our front yard.
Even though Gilman is shut down due to contamination, the surrounding area is so beautiful. Great motorcycle road up and around Gilman. Back there spring of ‘23.
That young guy died in 1978, but somebody still sems to bring fresh flowers to the memorial. That is very touching! It seems he was a young guy from La Puebla, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States of America, his body is buried there on La Puebla Cemetery.
They’re plastic from what I see
@@carlokalisch-cellai284 I guess, Bob could answer this.
@@jochemb.1748 Plastic flowers yes, but some didn't seem that old still....
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath Perhaps it had to do with the car you saw!
Perhaps he wanted to be buried there either because he worked there or just loved the area. I own a beautiful old redundant quarry and sometimes people ask to spread ashes and things there. Who knows
Guys, I know you heard this before, but if you play in the mines out west here in the states, you need radiation meter, bad air sensor, beware of mercury, arsenic, lead, bat droppings, mouse droppings asbestos. Try not to eat with dirty hands from these places, a real dust mask/respirator is not stupid, and some pants with armor. Doom talk is over now.
Thank you so much for covering this town, yes I do remember the color of that river. Lots of nice equipment there. I recall the town, I had been there as a kid.
Hello, I'm from Vietnam, which country are you from?💖💖💖💖
@@huetuyenquang5518 from US, your youtube channel very interesting
I had permission from the Ginn Corporation in the early 2000’s to document Gilman for couple of years. The Gilman Project was done using a 5x7 view camera and is in book form in Eagle County Library and Ginn Corporation has the limited edition framed prints from the many gallery showings I did. I have a Library of Congress number because of the historical significance of my project was to the history of Gilman. One thing you didn’t think of the mine and town has large amounts of asbestos in the air. With out proper protection you are at risk. Greg Dahlgren photographer of the Gilman Project
Hi Greg, amazing ! Will look up your pictures if they are online. Must have been amazing to document this place when it was still in a good shape :)
I don't recall seeing anything that looked like asbestos
@@texomatex1 There is tons of it in the video.
@@Wklambert haha indeed
@@Wklambert yup - the fallen and broken corrugated roofing and pipe lagging to name but two ..... in a dry, dusty environment that's a major concern.
Welcome to Colorado! I've driven by Gilman many times and have always wondered what it would be like inside the buildings there and I'm excited to finally see! My boyfriend used to live in Minturn, a nearby town, and knows someone who lived there and they said it was a dump even before it was abandoned. Some of those cars you saw at the bottom could be left from old accidents, which are unfortunately a somewhat regular occurrence in that area of the highway with it being so twisty, narrow, and lacking sufficient guardrails. I know of at least one accident where a person died as they coming home from work late at night in a bad snow storm. It was suspected at the time the person became disoriented due to the snow and being tired and simply turned off the road and fell down the cliff as there were no signs they lost control of the vehicle. Hope you enjoyed your visit to our wonderful state!
Thanks Miki ! I really loved Colorado. Sad of the people who crashed there :( Well a lot more is coming up from Colorado. Next episode we venture inside a very cool underground mine.
back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Colorado mountain sides looked like a junkyard, from drunks and their wrecked cars, then they invented guard rails and started paving the jeep trails, about the mid 60s. about the same time the slope dopes started making the state more than just a cow pasture. Gilpin county used to be nick named Gulp-in county because the only industry was Bars for out of work miners and cowboys. back then the Denver hicks used to get all liquored up in Morrison, and try to see who could make it down Lariat road in one piece. most all of that got cleaned up in the 70s, so as to not offend the sensibility's of the California coke heads.
My dad was born in Minturn in 1943 and has told us a lot of stories about all around that area for years and once in a while,we would even take trips around there
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath
I'm a 7th Generation Colorado Native! Colorado is BEAUTIFUL, just know, Colorado is also Bear Country!
WELCOME TO COLORADO... NOW LEAVE!! 🤜
Glad to see yall visited my state! There are so many abandoned mines and ghost towns here. Sounds like our altitude got you a bit. Thanks for the video!
Yes, I name it in another episode.. we were out of breath more quickly because of the sudden high altitude😅 Don’t miss the next episode.. an epic one!
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath People definitely need to be careful when encountering high altitudes. Take a few days to acclimate before any strenuous activity. We don't want people coming to our state and falling ill! We want you to enjoy your time here, safely!
@@mayhemacres725 You're right. Unfortunately we had only 6 days and had a lot on the list. But I was in Peru earlier this year and didn't experience any altitude sickness, so we just went for it.
I’ve lived in Colorado all my life. Growing up my family would camp near and explore many of these old mining towns. Many fond memories. I ended up making my home in Gilpin County in the heart of gold mining territory. In fact, the small town I live in once had a population of over 10,000 because of mining. Now this town is full of casinos which is a shame, tho they say without the casinos it would have likely turned into a ghost town. Still, many of the old buildings remain and have been restored and there are the scars of gold mines everywhere peppering the mountainsides, reminding us of our once colorful past. I love living here..
Thanks Broella, guess we went to that town for another episode! Great State to grow up I can imagine😎🤩 thanks for checking out!
Hello, I'm from Vietnam, which country are you from?💖💖💖💖
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath❤❤❤❤
@@huetuyenquang5518😮😮😮
I haven't been to Central City since before the casinos.
You guys took the time to hold the camera still or pan very slowly so we could enjoy the beautiful scenery - awesome !! It seems too many filming and posting videos move the camera way too quickly for the viewers to get any enjoyment from the scenery or the old machinery / buildings left behind - thanks for being thoughtful enough to not make this common mistake - you guys did great on this one !!
Hello, I'm from Vietnam, which country are you from?
They probably had a film guy
This mine was primarily zinc and silver I was born there and my dad was a miner my mom ran post office and my grandfather was superintendent of New Jersey zinc mine used to be eagle mine they closed it down due to water contamination we had school in town and high school in red cliff colorado miner lived in Gilman and red cliff and Minturn
Hi John, must have been an amazing place to live !
I also filmed some in the upper part and I'm editing this at the moment.
If you have some extra info, have some stories or want to answer some questions, please send me an e-mail, info@bobthissen.com
Must be really sad to see your home town just abandoned but what a great history it has!!!
I love these types of videos, it does however make me sad seeing how everything has always been trashed and tagged with spray paint.
Well.. make sure you check the episode next week when out adventure continues. An abandoned place in a pristine condition!
Can be re used if know how. ) im in wrong country. Old will survive with a sevice oil grease. That power plant will run with some welding. ) i dream a place like this. )
Hello, I'm from Vietnam, which country are you from?
It would probably be in better shape if people didn’t keep trespassing, like the creators of this video. Lots of effort keeping people out.
@@huetuyenquang5518 I live in Berlin Germany and would love to go to these places. I once went to Texas, and my parents lived there for a while. My brother lived in AZ and took me and my sister to the Grand Canyon and then to Mount Rushmore. We drove through Colorado, I wish I knew about these places before we drove right through it. I probably won't be back to the states our Parents now live in Poland and are on a midlife crisis so I'm not sure where they are at any time, My Brother is in Sweden, and Little Sis and Me are in Berlin. As for all the graffiti artists, they just need to have their hands cut off, no more graffiti.
When you drive mountain/big area drives in the US it's always something I think about now is how many forgotten places or stories must be on those run down side roads.
So many history ! Also a lot of amazing hidden underground worlds! We’ll cover 2 of those places in these series😍😎
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath I am excite!
Hi, I think canaries were only used in coal mines, most mines had good amounts of Oxygen which was pushed into the mines by fans and through vent pipes that hung mainly on the ribs (sides) of the mines. The "Gold is actually Iron Pyrite also known as Fool's Gold". A really cool explore guys, this would have been a very busy place back in the day. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx 💖
I worked in a mill for a gold mine in about 1979. I laughed when I saw the book of purchase orders and it had parts for an SRL pump. I hated those damn pumps!! The packing would wear out and you'd have to change it very quickly. They carried water straight up 90 degrees for 3 stories on a 4" line and then about a mile at 45 degrees up hill.
I took a cross country trip years ago and remember stopping in and exploring this mine, your video brings back so many memories of that trip, amazing video guys!
Spectacular video, as usual. loved all that old machinery. Glad to have you visit my part of the country and show us what's here. Thumbs up!!
O, you live in such a beautiful surrounding Matt! 😍🤩
I've lived in Colorado my whole life and finding URBEX channels in general was kind of a shock because in the towns and cities there are almost zero abandoned buildings. Lots of ghost towns and old mining stuff though if you know where to look.
Great place to live!😇😍 Ges, some epic stuff is coming up. Next week a totally intact minimg facility
Gilman would make an excellent diorama or as part of a railway layout, I do like industrial archaeology and those mine buildings are amazing. - Stay safe
The person taping has a steady hand and did a great job recording everything thank you. Thank you for bringing this to all of us old timers God bless you all please stay safe.
Thanks! Did you also see the underground mines& factories on this channel? That were the REAL gems😎👌
For me, Colorado is the most beautiful state from all USA........many thanks for sharing, take care : )
IF only it had the Ocean!
Excellent video as always, thanks for having me along!
Lived in Colorado, long ago, for over 10 years. Went to many ghost towns up in the mountains. Holy Cross City was one I remember. Strange places, hard to believe people lived there. They weren't like this, abandoned earlier, 1800s. 4 wheel drive a must, usually followed by a long hike in on foot. Took some real effort to get to them. These places weren't tourist attractions. When you got there there was nobody around, I mean nobody. Definition of "middle of nowhere."
Hello, I'm from Vietnam, which country are you from?
@@huetuyenquang5518 I'm from Nunyo
Could you tell me the places you visited? I'm always looking for more places to Urbex and film. I've been to Gilman, Red Mountain Town, the Vindicator Vally Trailhead, and I'll be making my way to the Skagway Power Plant soon.
@@Poppilion I really don't remember names. That was a long, long time ago. I recall we had a book, don't remember the title. That would point you the general direction to go to some of them. I don't remember even seeing any posted signs for a name of the places. Getting to them was quite a trek. I remember leaning up hill in an open top jeep with a couple of others putting weight on the uphill side of a very slanted "road". Hoping we wouldn't roll. Like in a sailboat. Sorry I can't be more help. Have a great time while you're at. It's a lot of fun. ;0)
@@bintheredonethatWhat is this Holy Cross City place you’re referring to? I’m a Colorado native, currently in Glenwood Springs. My friends and I are always looking for new places to explore, I’d love information if you remember. Thanks!
What an amazing place! I love it when a place makes you feel small. Even on a video when I'm miles away it gave me that effect.
Good to hear! It’s really hard to get these feelings on video.
What a photogenic and potentially dangerous place! You boys climbing up those wrecked stairs with bags in your hands sure shows commitment - thanks for the effort and great footage! 🥴
What a nice video! You inspire me to make videos aswell, keep on exploring! ✌🏼 :D
Another outstanding job, the editing and inserting the drone shots, very nice. I am amazed at the places you lug that drone but I am grateful for your dedication.
I explored Gilman and it was interesting. I'd love to do it again, but I won't. Because the EPA, which is part of the federal government, ordered all Gilman residents to vacate the town in 1984, entry by unauthorized persons is prohibited. Anyone caught trespassing can be charged with a felony in federal court. It's just not worth it.
Bastards have no rights to tell us where we can go and what we can do!!!
This isn't the United States anymore it's 1940 Germany!!!
They have to catch you first!!!
If the road is not gated and posted, then public entry to the town is allowed.
@@FRLN500It’s posted everywhere. I’ve been there.
One time I was on vacation and I was looking at the upper abandoned town Gilman from up the road. A guy with his wife near us pointed out the now abandoned house he lived in when he was a kid. Gilman is cool to look at. We also saw a mountain lion right before we stopped to look at Gilman. Colorado rules!
O that sounds crazy. A mountain loin would have been the cherry on the icecake, haha. NExt sunday we venture inside an underground mine and after that we go back to Gilman to explore the upper part :)
By any chance r u referring to Minturn (north of Gilman) & this is a long chance but was this old childhood house right off the busy st. & in the back was a trailer that they lived in? & do u remember if his name was Leroy? Cause that would be too weird!
& his wife had long hair named Sylvia?! I keep reading your comment & I’m thinking it can’t be but is it??? If so that’s my aunt & uncle & the house in the front still stands today & that is we’re my mama & her siblings grew up until my mama was 5!
Great video, I really love it.
I am pretty sure I saw a lot of asbestos - the roofing plates and insulation rope on the pipes.
It is all dry, and the dust will hover in the rooms.
Yes, walls and much of the roofing looks like asbestos...
22:20 is pyrite. I'm a miner myself, and have found kilos upon kilos of this. It's really common, but can also be really pretty. Pyrite can form cubic crystals, as well as triangular. These can become symmetrical, making some interesting speciemens which can be worth a lot of money.
It was also really interesting to see a skip-track and tressle out in the open like that. As you say, it was probably used as stairs, but I think the main function was a skipcart moving ore the to mill at the bottom. You can see some of these drifts along the way towards the top. You can see multiple waste rock piles when using the drone. Kinda rare from my knowledge, as most are dug inside the mountain.
Keep up the amazing work!
Everybody is an expert and they let you know it.
@@rogertemple7193I’m glad we have an expert here to explain that to us 😂
Welcome all! I moved to CO in my youth, about 40 years ago. Its due to the beauty here that I decided to continue on as an adult. This video is very good. The replies that followed were beautiful to read, thank you all for sharing from your heart. Love the fact that you left no trace to keep CO beautiful. ✌️
If memory serves me correctly, wasn't that event where the river turned orange caused by the EPA themselves by breaching the mine and releasing the contaminated water from the mine? Never heard of any EPA people ever being prosecuted as a result of the pollution.
EPA is above the law
There's definitely a double standard here in America if you're rich you can do anything just look at Biden, he stole the presidency of the United States and nothing will ever happen to him until he stands before God and spends eternity in the lake of fire!!!
That was the animas river you speak of
its only illegal for us to break the law not the government. don't be silly
Man Bob, that place is epic. I really wish you could have done some more footage of the power house and the equipment. Can't believe after watching abandoned mine videos for the last couple of years that no one has documented this place that I have seen at least. Hope your stay in the States is a good one. Thanks from AZ.
Next week you'll be amazed ! :) This was just a nice side catch. And sorry for that ! The place was massive and we had to continue. I had a good time there :) Arizona is still on the wishlist to visit. Only have been there as a kid :)
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath No worries, just cool to see it. Thanks for all that you do. Love watching your shows.
I love how you're increasing the production value. This is my favorite urbex channel by far. Just one small criticism - the new microphones are perfect, but please don't pan them hard left / hard right in the edit!
Thanks James ! I think I might have to convert these audio files somehow, believe the mics record L and R seperately.. This sunday an amazing episode is coming up. The best abandoned underground mine I've seen in my life. I'll make sure to fix the audio problem asap :)
Nothing like some pretty sulfides in Colorado. Welcome to Colorado. Silverton Colorado is a lot of fun too
This was so cool !!
It’d be nice to find out what each piece of machinery was used for and how they operated !!
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY !!
My daughter lived in Colorado for a number of years !!
She’s wanting to return there !!
I remember driving through the little town in my younger days when it was still inhabited, nice to see the insides of those structures down by the tracks and all the old machinery...
Wow, amazing episode. I've been to Colorado but it is a long time ago. Beautiful landscape. Looking forward for the next ones :)
For me it was also 20 years ago ! The next episodes are going to be amazing. Next sunday an amazing underground mine.
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath Yeah...cant wait👍 20 years...about the the same for me
Great video! I'd not dare enter those places without full length pants and 8" steel toe boots. So many sharp and rusty edges. Glad you made it in and out safely.
Such a gorgeous area! That bridge is breathtaking💜
It is Brenda, such a big difference in the landscape :) Really added to the adventure. Thanks for checking out again :D
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath You're welcome😊
Wow…thx guys, feel like I am exploring right alongside you! I’ve always admired the old mines fr the roads as a lil girl.
Glad you liked it, I have some more episodes from this area🙏😃
Gilman had a school at one time. Its gorgeous country up and down around there outside Gilman. Its one road to take to get to Vail. You can get to Aspen in the other direction via Independece Pass. Its just unbelievable. You get to view Buena Vista mtn range. Colorado has everything and many people cant move away it is so nice once you visit. I lived there over 40 year span..1973 to 2012. So many wonderful memories.
'a hardhat would be good in here' - yes why aren't you wearing one?
With a hardhat and a clipboard you can get almost anywhere without raising immediate suspicion!
As you could see we already had a lot of gear with us. Dragging all that around is no fun😅But yes.. in some places we should
I'm 73 and can only imagine how much more beautiful Heaven will be I think Colorado is just a glimpse of God's beauty. WOW!
Many of those shots look like they could have been of a model railroad. Superb location.
I clicked on the video thinking it just might be an ultra fine scale layout.
The tracks in the video are former Denver & Rio Grande Western RR trackage. They were left there when the UP bought the DRGW and abandoned the so called Royal Gorge Route
That was the part I was really interested in. How the rails connected in to serve the plant and how it was loaded. It's all interesting. From a former industrial archeologist
That was the D&RGW main line from Denver to Salt Lake City before the Moffat tunnel was constructed. The portion of the line you saw is not "abandoned" - it is considered "out of service", still owned by the UP. The eastern end of that line is still active. The UP owns as far as Canon City and a scenic / tourist railroad owns and operates the portion through the Royal Gorge, also freight trains haul rock mined from the quarry at the west end of the gorge (UP retains trackage rights through the gorge should they ever want to restore through rail service.) I recently read that UP had leased the out of service portion to a short line railroad which apparently intends to restore service on at least some portion but could find no more information on that.
@@evanstauffer4470 yeah am well aware of the history; but like the visual detail. As a modeler
that kind of stuff is priceless. And I love mining. Re: the shortline, there is info on TrainOrders a membership railfanning site. (the oldest one) it's called the Uinta Basin and is building an all new line to near Vernal UT to access the oilfield there. May also move some of the Phosphate mined there. They want to re-open Royal Gorge but, this is really iffy right now. There are a lot of complications.
@@evanstauffer4470 Though I'm retired in Australia I'm from Golden so I know the area well. I was happy to hear you say the line is disused but not scrapped which is what usually happens both to save tax money and for the scrap value. They dude who runs the Gorge tourist train, Lindsey Ashby, used to have the Georgetown Loop line. With the tracks in tact I can see a tourist train all the way to Tennessee Pass but I guess no one else with money has.
@@evanstauffer4470 Is one line standard gauge and the other 3 foot?
Can’t wait for the next episode! Breathtaking location along that river!
kind of like a real life Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain set. Great video!
Ah another classic explore, I watch every second of each video and is always exciting whenever a new one is uploaded, thank you for the exploration!
They turned off the pumps and the water filled the mines overflowing into the river poluting everything with arsenic, lead and other horrible materials...
I worked for a company that would clear the storm and water lines after every season. We had access to the valley right next to the tracks. The old timer giving us the rundown told us that the kids in Leadville had a game to see who could send a car the furthest down the hill. They would buy old cars to launch them over the cliffs. It’s a drive very much worth taking, I was blessed to be on the bottom side, even though I was working, I stood and took a piss off of an old bridge the train would use, (into the river, sorry) It’s such a trip imagining how a train was roaring by at one point. I find myself riddled with anxiety. History really helps me, because it can’t change, I was blessed to talk to an old timer about this part of history. Absolutely Blessed
You guys are awsome. Best urbex channel on TH-cam by far!
Not even close there are a lot better people that know way more
@@nicholas4839 If you only knew what I all saw in the past 20 years ;) 99% of the places I don't make an episode. ( And keep a lot of stuff totally offlince) If you know anyone who discovers of lot of epic abandoned places.. I am curious who you will name.. There are not many on TH-cam.
Thanks Duncan. Next week's episode is going to be a real highlight.
@@ExploringtheUnbeatenPath you are good but not the best like they said your knowledge is decent but not the best I have seen the proper people do a lot better not trying to put you down or anything but I call people out when they say best if they are not and don't get me wrong the proper people are not the best I can't say who that is but they are more knowledgeable then what you show on your videos
@@nicholas4839 Ah you mean it in another way. That could be yes. I have a busy life and have to do a lot of assignments because YT is not my fulltime job. So I can't read a lot indepth information where I go... But .... Places where we go are more unique and exclusive and often never explored before. I often risk my life literally. (In September I have to go to court because I'm charged for "having state secrets" because of a never explored before bunker...) That's another reason I can't prepare a lot.. Many places I try fail. I'm a guy who just shows the places and give some basic info.And English is not my native language and talking very specific about things is pretty hard too I can tell you.
Such a beautiful location. All that equipment can easily be used again. All the abandoned and wasted hardware in that supply office makes me scream. Great video.
Thanks for checking out! Did you also see the latest episode where we explore an underground facility? That one was way cooler😎
Fun fact: The front facade of this town looked familiar to me so I did a little digging, no pun intended... This town was featured on a movie from 1995 called Under Siege 2 Dark Territory" about a group of terrorists who hijack a train, it passes by the town on those tracks, at that time still in use. The town is close to the end of the movie, you don't see much of it, they only pass by it, and IMDB calls it "Eagle Rock" but it's the same town. I loved the part where you zoom on those manufacture plaques, last abandoned building I personally explored was an abandoned power plant, it was part of a larger complex to a textile mill. The assembly blocks were demolished in 2011, but it useta be huge. I first explored it in 2009 with a couple friends, then again on my own a couple years ago, the only thing standing is the power plant, which was also tagged, but by filthy garbage that made what you have in the video, look like art. I blacked out the grafitti on my video, but when I got home I found myself researching Babcock & Wilcox steam turbines, Detroit Rotograte Stokers and other equipment I found.
Part of the movie Tall Tale was filmed at the mining site. They repainted and repaired some of the buildings for the set. The steam engine used in the film was a scale model superimposed on the site. Got to watch through the camera as it was being filmed.
Your videos always are wonderful to watch. You manage to find the most interesting places to explore. Thank you for your efforts. Can't wait to see the next installment!
Thanks for checking out Sam ! I'll keep them coming :)
Fool's gold is actually very extremely easy to find but yet real gold is actually very extremely hard to find. Pyrite (fool's gold) will actually have an odor, smoke, and changes color when heated, real gold won't do that.
These areas are so fascinating. I have been in a mine here in PA and I honestly don’t know how the miners did it. They drill in all directions not just front back side and top. It was very disorienting looking at all the areas they had worked on. I really enjoy your videos!
Pretty sure the scene where the train in the movie passes a ghost town and switches track in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory was filmed here. A mid 90's classic.
Glad to see its to be continued the town at the top of the hill was for sale at one time. Look forwarding to seeing your explore of that!
Living in Colorado, I’ll never be able to get over the environment. Such a beautiful place. Going into that mine made me claustrophobic! And I’m sitting on my couch with a fan on me.
Colorado native with many of my mother's family still living in that area. The road going to that bridge and Redcliff Colorado is Battle Mountain Pass. As someone else pointed out you can continue on up the road to Leadville and a small ski area, Cooper Hill. Gilman Mine is on the Eagle River which runs through Minturn, Avon, Edwards, Eagle and into the Colorado River. Years ago, one of my dumb cousins and his friend blew up a house in the town of Gilman that sits high up on that cliff off of Battle Mountain Pass Road. My younger brother lost control of his car on that mountain road and decided to ram into the mountain instead of plummeting 1000 feet below. It saved his life (black ice was the cause). It's a gorgeous, gorgeous area, but very, very expensive to live there.
My home state. Some of those mines are extremely haunted too Bob
O, you will love the next episodes then :) The underground parts were creepy for sure !
very interesting and thank you for sharing your experience. we just start our gold mine legal preparation here in Sumatra Islands. Seeing the land and geographically that gold mines was really difficult place rather than in our country.
It always amazes me how much gets left behind in cases like this. You have to think how much all of that equipment cost originally, it kind of boggles the mind. Did they expect to come back one day ?? Was it just to expensive to remove the machines ??
The EPA closed it and evacuated the people. I think also because of the location it's hard to get everything out there. You also see it in the Arctic. And with the equipment. Often rich companies leave locations abandoned like this. They had their profit and often don't care about the place anymore.
I can’t comprehend why a company would buy the equipment, pay for technicians to install it, and electricians to finish the wiring but won’t pay for it to be removed.
@@Velo1010 It happens all the time Velo... especially in remote places. But even in the US and Europe a lot of facilitiest are just left to decay...(often with expensive stuff left behind)
@@Velo1010 Because the cost of removing heavy old equipment like that would be more than it is worth to just buy brand new better stuff today. Think about it, the logistics alone would take dozens of people, heavy machinery, trains, lifts, the logistics alone would likely be tens of thousands of dollars, and what do you get for that cost, old used machines with lots of wear and tear.
@@-Zevin- An example why just leave behind is more economical is the Camp Shorabak (Camp Bastion), a British base in Afghanistan.
"Cost £50m to fully build in 2006 and a further £300 to wipe it clean of British assets eight years later. "
A professionally done video! Many thanks to you guys!
Another neat & abandoned ghost town y’all need to explore is Animas Forks which is around 10-15 miles from Silverton in the San Juan Mountains. My dad, uncle, cousin & I walked around the ruins for a couple hours while taking Engineers Pass from Animas Forks over to Lake City close to 15 years ago. It’s a part of the 65 mile Alpine Loop trail which goes through Lake City, Ouray & Silverton. Beautiful part of Colorado to explore. I would love to go back & hit Cinnamon Pass next.
Just to add: I’ve driven by Gilman on the way to Vail, but never had the chance to stop there. I’ve wondered what the place looked like up close so thanks for taking the time to get out & explore this area for yourselves. Y’all did a fantastic job filming this video. 👍
@🔥The Eternal Flame 🔥 Thanks for checking out ! In the next episodes we'll explore more in this area (and more of Gilman) 😀
Animas Forks we had on our list, but we only had limited time so we had to make choices :(
@Exploring the Unbeaten Path Understandable! You can only see & do so much within a limited time. I’ll definitely checkout the next video y’all post of y’all exploring more around the Gilman area.
This is the best!I especially love abandoned power houses with vintage machinery.
Guys, you are always go to amazing places! Keep up!
Thanks airing and sharing the outstanding video Narratives.Endeavors are preponderating. Bliss
Thanks for the comment Rol, did you also see the underground mine of the series? that one was a real untouched gem :O th-cam.com/video/nG9K-a0occE/w-d-xo.html
Very interesting video and a sad reminder of our once mighty industrial past. I appreciate the environmental impact but one can only imagine how many jobs were lost and families broken when most of the USA's ore mines closed.
A worldwide phenomenon. Still happens often in the steel industry
I often reminisce about this past and like to think we could have a green energy industrial revolution if we really put our heads together - it's a little weird and disappointing that we apparently won't, or can't.
Amazing footage, great video fellas ! It's plenty dangerous and just a lot of accidents waiting to happen on someone who dares to challenge such an environment.
Dealing with the noise that was produced in and around that equipment all day would have been a daunting task at times, in itself.
My grandfather worked in the mine there I'm guessing around the 40s or maybe early 50s, they say that all the miners records are still in one of the mine buildings it would be interesting to check out that rumor.
The hospital has hundreds and hundreds of x-rays all over the floor, so it's entirely possible!
Never expected y'all to be in my part of the world! Lots of very cool mining stuff from the late 19th and early 20th century in the Rockies.
Well.. stay tuned! All next episodes are shot in Colorado! Amazing area🤩
Cool video. This place looks like it would be creepy at night.
Guys, you should ditch those bags and get bigger backpacks. This way you have both hands free and don't look like you went grocery shopping.
I chuckled when I saw them with those bags haha
They look like they are going to the beach
Welcome to Colorado guys! We've explored a lot of mines and a lot of them are intact and extremely cool. Have fun gentlemen!
Try not to walk on those broken corrugated sheets I believe they’re asbestos.
That was a good point about all of the abandoned hardware around the world and how much of it there is. A lot of things were produced to make a profit and now just sitting as junk somewhere.
Een kleine "tip" van iemand die met veel regelmaat naar Colorado gaat. Als je gaat hiken, zorg voor dat je stevige hoge schoenen/laarzen draagt. In het gebied waar jullie rond liepen stikt het van de rattelslangen en je zult zeker niet de eerste of laatste zijn die er door gebeten word. Kijk trouwens s'avonds ook uit voor coyotes.
As 'n mens jonk is doen jy mos maar sulke dinge. Hier in Suid Afrika gaan loop die mense ook sonder die regte skoene. Dit is lekker om iets in 'n taal te lees wat amper soos jou eie klink.
I have lived in Colorado for over 50 years.
I’ve never encountered a rattler. Coyotes are getting more brazen with human encounters. Wildlife no longer fear humans.
Carry a .44 magnum for bear and possible human encounters. You can legally open carry in most counties: Denver / Broomfield being the exceptions.
I’ve lived at that altitude in Colorado for nearly 40 years, have done a *lot* of hiking, and have never seen a rattlesnake up here. At lower elevations, however, they’re quite common in some areas, like along the Mt. Sanita’s trail in north Boulder.
As noted by other commenters the Union Pacific still owns this line and it is considered "out of service", not "abandoned." I did some legal work for the counties along the route and when I spoke with the UP they said that they are keeping it as an alternative to the Moffat Tunnel in case traffic becomes too heavy (the Moffat Tunnel can only handle X number of trains per day due to ventilation issues). I was also told that it would cost about $1million+/mile to bring it back into service due to rehabilitating trestles, bridges, signal equipment, etc.. I suspect that it would take at least a year of work to rehab the line once a decision had been made to do so.
I used to live next to the tracks in Fraser. The trains would stop and wait on the siding there for the tunnel to clear before proceeding. It’s a fairly high traffic route, but the Moffat is a major bottleneck.
This video makes me miss Colorado.
For those with hopes of going. It’s immediate jail time if you are caught
I love this part of Colorado , that railroad track used to be a main line of the DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN. Railbanked by the UNION PACIFIC. The trains thru here were epic to see . Four and five engines up front , then four mid train , just howling up the grades. Now just a silent , rusty railbed. Good job guys !
That's not gold, that's Iron Pyrite.
Wow that was amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks! Did you also see the underground mine/factory in Colorado? That was a crazy one😎
Not gold, pyrite, or fool's gold ;)
They have established by now that it is pyrite but they need to be told by the Pyrite experts.
@@rogertemple7193 I think the channel owner(s) are more than happy to get comments on videos, boosting their engagement.
I've lived in Colorado for the past 3 yrs . This was exciting to watch. I travel all over the USA an stop at places like these or just very tiny towns. I love to explore. This was awesome an great excercise I'm sure lol. Thanks for filming.
Iron Pyrites mate.. otherwise known as Fools Gold. :)
Brought to you by the Pyrite experts.
Hi Guys, I grew up in North Wales (Llandudno) and am pretty familiar with exploring the N Wales mountains, mines, crashed planes (ME-109 etc above Llyn Dulyn).
The Dutch accent got my attention straight off (I moved to Germany at the beginning of 2000 to work for the Dresden Field office (of your famous Semi-Con Stepper / Scanner company), then one of you said we have things like this in Wales, that focussed my attention into Hyperdrive.
I've been subscriber of yours since I can't remember but I just ticked to bell for notices too now.
From the age of 8 I was exploring the Great Ormes' ancient Copper mines (in my Home Town). They commercialised the top entrance and made it into a business now and you only see a few small chambers but the old way in (now gated and Padlocked) was through through the railway Adit, fantastic to have seen the original workings and you can make your way to the bottom of the ventilation shafts (and have to be extremely careful of people dropping stones through the bars of the grating at the top).
They used to be lead mines in North Wales too. There is one at Trefriw; not sure if they closed off the older workings to the Public though.
THIS GHOST TOWN WAS PART OF A SCENE IN DARK TERRITORY. WITH STEVEN SEAGAL.
I think that is the filming location for Under Siege 2. Train scene where they switch the track to the inside in the old ghost town.
That's pyrite. We call it "fool's gold".
This is brought to you by the Pyrite experts.
Breathtaking place, amazing footage
Lugar sulreal top demais... Paisagens incríveis... Túneis magnificos... Fico imaginando eu explorando este lugar, seria maravilhoso... Parabéns excelente trabalho obrigado por nos mostrar... Tmj... Abração do AVENTUREIRO PAULEK!