The Deadliest Rockslide in North America - The Frank Rockslide of 1903
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ค. 2024
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This massive field of hard, limestone rocks are what’s left of the deadliest rockslide in North America, after 110 million tons broke from the unstable Turtle Mountain, sweeping down the mountainside and pummeling part of the mining town of Frank, Alberta.
In this video, we’re exploring the site of the disaster, looking for what is left behind of this once booming town, and visiting the Frank Slide Interpretive Center to see what stories we can learn and remember. This is the town of Frank, Alberta, in mid-west Canada, and this is the story of the terrible Frank Rockslide.
I’ve explored several ghost towns across North America, but this town’s history ranks among the most dramatically gripping stories I’ve looked into, right up there with the underground fires of Centralia, Pennsylvania- a video of mine that you can watch here: • CENTRALIA, PA - Americ...
Thank you to those of you who suggested this town! A huge thank you as well to my friend Scotty Martin for putting together the sweet new channel intro.
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:21 - The Founding of Frank, Northwest Territories
5:08 - The Unstable Turtle Mountain
7:39 - The Town
11:49 - Moments Before the Disaster
15:43 - The Rockslide
19:27 - The Destruction
25:30 - The Miners are Trapped
27:35 - Finding the Frank Mine Today
32:54 - The Aftermath
35:12 - Charlie the Horse
37:26 - Walking Trail through the Rocks
38:44 - The Town Lives On
43:01 - The Cemeteries
44:39 - Lime City
47:20 - The Leitch Collieries and Conclusion
My Great-Grandfather, Dr. George Henry Malcolmson moved to Frank in 1901 and opened on of Alberta's first rural hospitals by building an annex to his home in 1902. The slide narrowly missed his home. All of the injured were sent to his home and survived under his care. He was also Alberta's first radiologist and one of the first in Canada bringing the first x-ray unit in 1906 and the first radium for cancer treatment in 1919.
Very cool
Wow!! That’s amazing that you have such incredible family history!!
Respect to your Great Grandfather!
Wow! He must have been quite a fellow!
Thank him for me
As a southern Albertan I’ve driven the pass many times. And every time I have no words to describe the feeling going through Frank. It’s essentially a tomb. Those people who didn’t survive are frozen in time. It’s a very humbling experience.
It really is. I have been through the area a few times MANY years ago. There is a haunting, somber feeling as you look over the slide. Hard to describe
Ya it’s Erie for sure
yea.. we used to camp just outside the town when I was young.. always thought about how this place was basically a tomb.
@@brendapatterson7123are you a friend of Linda Huebner McMillan from Edmonton Alberta?
I live near both Farmington and Monongah in West Virginia. Same feelings.
The fact that you found the original mine entrance and the hole where those miners escaped from is amazing. Bravo to you
Incredible
I can find it on Google maps.
You just need time to go there, it's not hard or hidden.
My grandfather, Russell Evans, worked there and rescued a baby girl from the slide. They wrote to one another until he died in 1939. It is a haunted feeling place.
This video should be recognized with an award or something. Excellent storytelling. You brought us back in time and brought the town and its people back to life.
I agree. Well done. Soft music. A good speaking voice. Excellent details.
In 1903 the rock slided. Now can you make a 5 seconds Tok-tok video of it?
No one is truly dead ,till the last person quits saying your name. Proff ... Who is Jesus Christ, a man who actually walked and lived on this earth ❤❤❤! Seems kinda funny if he were just a great teacher. Why does his name generate so much controversy? GOD IS SO GREAT..IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR GREAT "LORD AND SAVIOR. I SUGGEST IF YOU ARE READING THIS,AND YOU DON'T THINK HE IS THAT IMPORTANT. Than THINK IF YOU ARE TALKED ABOUT IN 5000 YEARS? God and his Son ,our only SAVIOR will Soon be Returning to the Earth, to collect the people who BELIEVE, Trust and Love him so much that all things happen to you that is good. Is because Jesus, died a Horrible Horrible death SO YOU CAN live a WONDERFUL life forever!!!❤❤❤ DON'T get caught up in this World, for this one is going to be destroyed and everything on it and Jesus is building a NEW one just for you! He has been building oñ it for over 5000 years!,!! I believe it must be quite the HOUSE and a NEW EARTH! WOW. THERE IS A FEW SMALL THINGS THAT YOU MUST DO TO GO THERE. YOU MUST TRUST HIM AND BELIEVE IN HIM TO KNOW HE LOVES YOU SO SO MUCH,FOLLOW OÑLY HIM, NOT ANYTHING OR PERSON! Read the Bible and follow the 10 commandments.,AND Love your NIEGHBOR, plus FORGIVE YOURSELF AND ALL WHO HAVE HURT YOU. IF YOU DECIDE TO TAKE THE CHALLENGE. YOU WILL FIND THAT YOU WILL WANT TO KNOW MORE AND MORE. IN TIME YOU WILL LOOK FORWARD TO READING MORE. JESUS IS TRULY THE GREATEST BLESSING GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER EVER GAVE US! EVENTUALLY EVEN THE JEWS, WILL REALIZE, JESUS ALREADY SACRIFICED HIMSELF. THE WORK IS DONE. I PRAY THIS DAY YOU WILL ASK GOD,😊 "YAHSUWA,IMMANUEL ",TO COME VISIT YOU. JUST ASK....PLEASE...❤❤❤❤❤ I LOVE! 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Kinda like Sodom and Gomorrah...
Yes he is even sporting a mustache from that era lol
I have 2 family members still entombed in that mine. I haven’t made the trip to Frank, but the time is coming soon. I am anticipating it and yet I have mixed feelings to know my grandfather’s brothers lie below the ground.
I have similar feelings about 2 of my own Great Uncles who died in WWI.
One, Abel died at Gallipoli in 1915, which we French called the Dardanelles.
The other, Jean, died in Albania in 1917.
May our Great Uncles rest peacefully!
👋🇨🇦🍁
@@abelis644jj Jo Jo oh
My brother lives nearby, on the BC side. I have to say, this is an utterly extraordinary documentary. This is a masterclass in storytelling. Your coverage of Centrailia was superb. Here, you have outdone yourself.
Yes, well done. Thank you.
Right! 💁🏻♀️ My late husband was a high school history teacher, & took this fun/interesting approach to his trade! Not many kids booked off during his classes! There's a lesson in that alone!...
I live all of 90 mins from Frank and have driven through there (and stayed at Goat Mountain Resort a LOT) an uncountable amount of times. The Frank Slide Interpretive Center is worth the visit, as it just exploring the entire Crowsnest Pass. I first visited Frank somewhere in 1986 and have been back to the area a LOT. Really glad to see this and posted, so well done. There's an incredible history in the area - not just Frank - and for those who are local, be a tourist in your own area and visit!
On a side note, if you want to pronounce 'Kootenay' like a Canadian, it's not how you pronounce it in the video ('Koot-eh-nay'). Us local types pronounce it as 'Koot-nee', in typical 'muck it up and make it blurry' Canadian fashion.
I love that “muck it up and make it blurry” fashion. I’m from the Appalachian coalfields in Southern WV in the US. There’s a lot of that around here mixed with that old school “high English” that only really exists here (and is mostly dying with the elderly). The town I’m from is called Fayetteville. Intended to be pronounced like it’s name sake - the Marquis de Lafayette - either phonetically or “Fee-ette”, it’s not lol. Many non-locals pronounce it “F-eye-it-Ville”, us locals pronounce it “fetvul” as quickly and close to one syllable as you can get.
I love that 🤣 guess it must be how we went from Cal-GAR-ree to CAL-gree and from TOR-on-to to TRON-no 😂😂
CRESTON BC HERE!!! :-)
@@ryananderson5202 Hey Creston! I'm up in Red Deer for work right now - finally no snow!
As a fellow, Albertan, I’m so glad you got to come check this out and also make the video to let others know the story of Frank’s Slide.
"As a fellow Albertan, (LOL) I wandered through the debris field in the early 80's, I couldn't and still can't comprehend the massive destruction of the actual slide. As a side note the relocated hotel was renamed the Savoy and is currently teetering on the edge of restoration or destruction. Personally I think it is being torn down slowly.
As a Saskatchewanian, I'm embarrassed to say I thought Frank was in B.C.
Apologies!
@@rodglen7071 no apology needed! :)
@@AutoCrete I didn’t know that about the hotel. Thanks for sharing.
@@rodglen7071what a great example of a good Canadian conversation eh?
Berta born and raised I also forget how much of the Rocky Mountains 🏔️ are in Alberta too ❤
Wishing all you good Canadian kids the best
Frank resident of over 20 years here. Thanks for highlighting the heroism and stories of survivors along with the tragedy. I hike up Turtle Mountain at least once a year, and the cracks at the top are something to see. One time when I was up there, you could hear rocks falling deep inside the mountain. It was an otherworldly, eerie sound. I skedaddled back down the mountain. Ha.
Another time, I was running along the dirt road that goes through the slide, we call it the Old Frank Road and I heard a weird rumbling in the mountain, looked up and saw a puff of dust where some rocks had skid down. Mini rockslides are normal but this, like the experience at the top of Turtle was strange. The sound was just so weird as it's coming from inside the mountain.
For years, there was monitoring going on up at the second summit of Turtle...all kinds of metal pipe things spray foamed to the rocks and a whirlygig thing with a fan. Apparently this stuff was measuring the cracks or movement of the mountain, not sure.
Fantastic video, it's a strange experience to see your home discussed on a TH-cam video!
they have extensiometers on the mountain that warn of any movement.
@@demos9677 Thank you both for that interesting info. I hate all the myths (read LIES) that people put forth here. But your info is believable, like this OP's.
He did a very good job of explaining a lot of it. @@cattymajiv
I love reading comments from people who live in or lived in places are highlighted in documentaries.
Thank you!
Far as I know there is still a permanent seismic measure to keep track of movement.
I’m from Edmonton and have been through the Crowsnest many times heading to BC and the eerie feeling you get when you walk through the rockslide and coal mine is something I can’t even begin put into words. It’s sad to think how many lives have been lost here. 😞 I follow you because of Titanic and other Ocean liners but it’s very neat to see you cover some of our Alberta history. 😊
Witnesses claim to have seen you eating a Big Mac on the ridge the evening of the tragedy. You should be held accountable.
As an Calgarian, I have driven past the town of Frank many times in my life when returning from the US. I've learned far more from this documentary about Frank than anything that they taught us during school. I'm very impressed with your level of dedication to exploring abandoned towns and shipwrecks. Another absolute masterpiece of a video. Great work!
Visited that area several years ago. It was an incredible sight. Must have been unbearable knowing there was NOTHING to be done to rescue so many.
The original town and all the bodies are still buried under all the rock.
@@billkikstra2225 Yes, I too get a bad feeling whenever I go that way, Turtle Mountain still moves. It's like you breathe a sigh of relief when you're on the other side.
Even today. Being able to help people in a slide like that is impossible. I pass by the Hope slide all the time. Its chilling to know that there are bodies that were never recovered.
Not only that, but it happened so fast, that it was over before anyone realized what was going on.
@@billkikstra2225same vibe I had.
Great documentary! No loud obnoxious dramatic music. Just calm and steady story telling. Nice work. I'm looking forward to watching many more of your videos.
This channel is such a treasure. Congrats on finding it.
@@MoonlightCircus thanks!
It blows my mind one or two people can put out content that is higher quality than any television network ever has
@Roddy556 with the proper camera, proper mic, and the right editing software, you can produce high-quality videos.
I agree wholeheartedly! The need for screaming. headlines, unnecessary and annoying sound and/or music is a feature of today's social norms. It's as if people can no longer sit and listen without some 'entertainment component.
Grew up in Hillcrest, very close to there. Poked in and around the slide my whole life. As others noted the fissures on top of the mountain are huge, deep and frightening. The mountain has a lot more moving to do. The entire Valley has had its share of tragedies and I'm so impressed by your video it would be amazing to see you cover them all. We all grew up with the "ghosts" of the past living in the pass, but i wouldn't have traded it for anything.
Hey are you any relation to Rudy Rossi?He was married to my Aunt Ollie and they lived in Bellevue
Wasn’t there a mine explosion in hillcrest just a few years after the slide?
I have been here a couple of times, hiking the rockslide is an experience that really puts into perspective how much rock actually sits inside of a mountain.
My great great grandfather and his brother moved to Canada from Austria. They were supposed to move to Frank a week before the slide but they were delayed up north in Edmonton. I always think of that story of those guys who lost their tickets to Leonardo DiCaprio in the Titanic. Sure at the time it sure sucked having that delay but shortly after. It was a huge relief I am sure. These brothers decided to not press their luck and just stayed in Edmonton.
Talk about being extremely lucky 😱
*WoW!*
I enjoyed your reference to the Titanic movie. I guess most people have seen that movie. If not, you should watch it. It's one of the best movies ever.
“Wheres Sven?”
Thank you so much for the amazing video! The baby Fernie Watkins was found by my great grandfather Edgar Ash, so it's always very moving to hear the stories from the Frank Slide as some of our family was there on that fateful day.
Great story👍🏼
Wow! He must have teared up finding that baby!!!
Thank you for this informative story! My brother used to live in Blairmore, and I drove through the Frank slide around 1978 or thereabouts. It's a feeling that you just don't know unless you are there in person.
The way my brother told the story there was only 1 little girl who survived and the whole town was wiped out. So it's nice to get the whole story...😉
I live in Alberta & have been there and driven through it a ton. Very tragic, they had no warning. The bank is still there, full of peoples money buried under all that rock. You’d never know there was a town there at all either , it just looks like everything else around it on the mountains, it’s crazy actually 🙌🏼You did a pretty good job on this, thanks for sharing! 😻✌️
They literally did have warnings as they were foolishly mining into the mountain which caused the rock slide.
The bank being buried is myth
27:20 picture of the town right after the slide and the bank is on the right side of the street, completely untouched. Only the eastern edge of the town was caught in the slide. Main Street and the other 90% of the town survived, narrowly avoiding being caught in the slide.
@@robertross7666 oh well thank you, I’ve always thought differently as when I’ve gone there, there was a sign that said that!
@@LoneHowler seems I was fooled by a myth….but there is a sign there talking about the bank
As some of the other albertans have already said, thank you so much for covering this. So much of the history of the Rockies, things like the internments during the wars, the hunt for the Mad Trapper of Rat River, and of course the Frank Slide, is simply just unknown to the wider world, or Canada even, and it’s nice to see this topic taken and interpreted with such care and depth.
Where might I find more on these events? Thanks!
The first time the Frank slide came into my conscience was when I had already lived in Alberta for 29 years. I was driving by it and remarked to my mom how strange the landscape looked, almost like a giant rock slide happened. She laughed and couldn't believe I had never heard of or seen the Frank slide up to that point! It's been 2 years since then and I still haven't learned much about it beyond the Wikipedia page, so thank you for making such an engaging and informative video!
I am born and raised here in the Crowsnest Pass. This video has informed me immensely on the history. Thank you.
Thank you so much for covering this - you did a fantastic job! I was born & raised in Alberta, and even though I moved out of province a few times through the years, I returned for good back in 2002.
I was a very young child the first time my family and I travelled to Frank during a summer holiday, but it left a lasting impression on me & I returned several times throughout the next 54 years.
I was in my early 20’s before I found out that my paternal grandfather had worked with & was friends with a couple of the workers who died in the slide. (He’d worked as a conductor and Railway Engineering Officer for CN for most of his life following the end of WW2).
It’s an important part of Alberta’s past & IMHO should always serve as a reminder of the devastation that man’s greed often causes in its wake.
This town occupies a strange place in my life. It was the place my family drove through time and again on our way to my aunt's place, and we'd always stop there before going through the mountains. The story of the slide I'd heard many times, but this video plumbs so many other stories I had no idea happened.
If a skilled enough filmmaker put their efforts to it, there's easily a great film to be made from this.
I’m an Albertan and I’ve driven past this place before. It’s so sad what happened, so thank you for covering this story. ❤
@@VeeSee74 booooooooo 👎🏻
Alberta is the best part of Canada!
@@VeeSee74yes , somebody does .
Crazy. My friends and I made a trip last year to this town, not aware of its significance. We managed to find Frank mine entrance after some goofing around on the big rock in the river. I never knew it was THE entrance. It makes the few pictures we took that much more meaningful. Thank you for this outstanding video.
I've lived in Alberta and BC my whole life and while we all know about the Frank Slide, this is by far the most in depth story I've ever heard about this place. Thanks for sharing!
as a Calgarian for the majority of my life, the tragedy of Franks Slide is well known. Very glad you got a chance to visit it and tell the story for many more folks to hear! It is a truly awesome sight (in the literal meaning of the word, not to imply the place of such a tragedy is a positive thing to view)
As a local who grew up in the Pass, I’m so happy to see this story from home finally be told by one of my feeds. Thank you so much for covering this !!
Agreed!
This is why I love TH-cam.
Learning new things every day, and the high quality of this documentary puts mainstream entertainment channels to shame imho.
Excellent work! 👍
I'm from central Alberta, north of Edmonton. Whenever we needed to go to B.C. for whatever reason, my family would drive through Crowsnest Pass, and we'd always go past Frankslide. I knew of the tragedy, but never really gave it much thought. Thank you for sharing this history that not many outside of my part of the country know.
Visited as a kid. What a wild place to see. Also, this isn't 'mid west Canada' it's straight up western.
@@VeeSee74accuracy matters in historical context. Respectfully intended, as I assume was the o.p. correction.
@@VeeSee74 Possibly those that live in the west might.
There is nothing wrong with how the OP shared the information, it is all about learning isn't it?
After all, that is why we watch these well done videos!
"Midwest" is indeed an American expression. I'll take it, though, as there are far fewer provinces than states and most are huge in size. Alberta lines up roughly with Montana longitudinally. Even if Montana isn't considered Midwest, it's directly adjacent to North Dakota, the Western edge of "The Midwest". For anyone not familiar with Canadian geography, the term may give a frame of reference for a region West-of-Center, but far from The Pacific Ocean. Anywhere in Alberta readily fits this description, even if Saskatchewan and Manitoba, plus a chunk of Ontario do as well.
Albertans certainly take their 'western' status seriously as they have a great disdain for anything Toronto or Ottawa. As someone who lived in Alberta many years, and then moved to Vancouver, I would take a snide pleasure in asking my family out in Alberta how things were 'out east'.
@@perryelyod4870 Right back at ya, cowboy broke back.
I’m often working in the Crowsnest pass and there is a wealth of history there. The frank slide is only one of many events that happened in this area. A person could spend a long time exploring everything that is in this valley. This documentary is very well done and goes very in depth about this event. Great video. 👍👍
A very sacred place. Walk softly. Be silent. Have respect. It’s a huge burial ground. 😔❤️. Thank you for this wonderful video. 🙏🏼
Lololol
I went on vacation with my grandparents from Spokane Washington up through Canada summer of 1974,in their new camper. We stopped here and that's the first and only time I've seen my grandpa actually cry quietly 😢 🙏❤
As a Calgarian we have driven through Frank on the way to BC. We have always stopped. The first time was probably about 40 years ago and it is so shocking to see so much of the rock still where it stopped after coming off the Mountain. It looks in a way that it only happened a year or two before. It is very shocking to see. Thank you for your in depth report of everything relating to the Slide. We only knew parts of the story.
As a native Nova Scotian, I was astounded to learn about the Frank slide when I moved to southern Alberta in the '90s. I couldn't believe such a tragic event was not more well known all across Canada. Thank you for telling this story and all the other stories of places that have been buried beneath the rubble of time.
I as well from Nova Scotia was through there amazing history
@@TheSpyder1960me too. I lived in Sydney from 85-2000 even though I'm a "mainlander" 😅
Yeah, growing up in British Columbia we're very well acquainted with the Hope Slide, which happened in southern BC in the 1960s. But the Frank Slide is admittedly kind of seen more as "oh yeah, that other slide". I even had no idea that the Frank Slide was actually centred around a mine! I'm so glad to see this story being shared, and to have learned from it myself (especially as I currently live in southern Alberta, so I SHOULD know this 🥲).
@@patb5266great to see you on another channel ! I’m on Alexander’s geopolitical channel regularly and have read many great comments you make . I’m a mainlander too, currently in the Annapolis Valley.
bruh you're not native
Hi Tom. I believe the pronunciation of Spokane, the ‘e’ is silent. Spo-can. Tom.
I came here to assist with the pronunciation, too. _Waves from Olympia_
I'd also like to add that Kootenay is pronounced more like "KOOT-nee".
(Though the Kootenay one is so common I actually just posted this same pronunciation correction on a video about a totally different subject by a different creator yesterday 😅)
Yes! I grew up watching the American channels from Spokane!
I've been to Frank slide many times but your research and story were so much more compelling than anything I've ever heard about it! 🙏💞
This is a great video with masterful storytelling. I have lived in Lethbridge most of my life and driven through the Frank Slide on many occasions, but you have revealed things about the events of that night and the inhabitants of Frank that I was not aware of. Thanks for sharing this historic, yet tragic story.
Hope we get more from the Crowsnest Pass area. So much interesting history there, and so much of it is still standing albeit tricky to access.
I have lived in Alberta for 65 years and although I only saw Frank once as a child it was haunting. Your information is so interesting and personal, not just dry facts. The photos you show, then overlaying with more current maps and photos really bring this to life. Your delivery is very enjoyable to listen to!! I learned so much I never knew before! I now plan to visit the area and hope to see it as you have. Thank you!
While it's incredibly unfortunate and sad so many lost their lives and livelihoods, I personally find the area after the slide incredibly beautiful. There's just something I really love about the look of the rocky terrain with the trees coming up out of it. If only Frank was set up after instead of before.
I live a few hours from Frank (my grandma is actually buried there) and as a kid in elementary we had to sing a song about this place in music class. the song went "Frank was a little mining town in 1903, when Turtle Mountain turned the town into a tragedy. On the morning of April 29th, huge rocks came tumbling down, crashing homes and businesses on the edge of town."
the song had really creepy music and singing this as a kid was really scary and I was always scared to fall asleep at night thinking a mountain would fall on my home as I slept.
As a Brit , I knew nothing about any of this. Thank you for educating me, and doing it in such a respectful and sensitive way.
I live in Alberta moved here from the UK , been to Frank slide a few times is a very eerie place .
My great grandfather was a miner in the Frank mine (off work at the time it happened). My grandmother was born in Lille in 1908. I got to visit once - the interpretive centre is very nice. Great video!
A fascinating and very interesting historical documentary. I truly enjoyed all the facts, the photography and your presentation. So well done and professional. The story about the trapped miners and how they escaped is incredible. Thank you for taking the time to make such a detailed account of this devastating event!
Really well written and produced. Very thoughtful and mindful of lost loved ones.
Errata: I mispronounced Spokane, Washington.
And yes, the machinery by the mine is indeed a fan, not a hoist as I speculated.
You also mispronounced Kootenay ;) But no bigs. Great video!
It's a very common problem. Joe Rogan even says it wrong 😅
I missed the part were he mispronounced Spokane, did he say, Spokaney 😂😂😂!?
Great video thanks
@@KrazyMitchAdventures why are you so mad? he just mispronounced a name not piss on a grave, mate.
My husband and I drove through the area this summer on our way to Waterton Park. I had forgotten how devastating this looked, haunting really. Thanks for the wonderful and respectful way you told this story of loss and heartbreak. May those who are forever lost in this massive grave find eternal peace.
Thank you so much for taking the time to "line up" and do a physical comparison with old photographs. Your re-telling of the slide was _excellent,_ I was gripped to your every word. And I love the jabs at the paper, the little detail "with its spelling errors" and everything.
You told the story very well. You had my interest the whole time. It has been a long time since I have been there. Thank you for the history lesson. ❤
Thank you! Driving from Vancouver to Edmonton as a child in the 80's made such an impression on me. We stopped there and my parents explained what occured. The placards. Everything. Thank you for this coverage of such a quiet disaster. ♥️🇨🇦♥️
Hello from Virginia. My husband and I really enjoyed watching this. A very sad story!! But you covered it in such respectful detail. To think what those people went thru is heartbreaking. … side note- great intro!
In 1976 , I saw damage and destruction that was once Frank. I had just moved to Edmonton from Southe5n Onatio . The wide open spaces and the mountains left me speechless. What happened to the town of Frank blew my mind. Thank you ! Your story telling is excellent.
Wow! Incredible work here! I am from Calgary and passed through here for the first time in a while this summer and it triggered a drive in me to learn more on the slide. It was hard to find some good contemporary takes on it but your video really hit it out of the park here. Thank you for your work and helping to protect this history!
Great new intro, Tom! Your production and narration has elevated your channel to Ken Burns-level documentary territory. Wonderful job telling this sad and fascinating story.
Went through here on a bus to Fernie on 2 separate occasions. The the man in charge of the trip, Ray, made a point to quiet the bus down a few kilometres before Frank, to mention the story. The bus went from a party to absolute silence, both times. The shear scale of the disaster is beyond belief. Some boulders larger than the Greyhound we were on. Can't wait to watch this, thank you.
This is perhaps the best example of thorough research, great videography, and excellent narration that I have ever seen on TH-cam! I thoroughly enjoyed this! Very educational too! Thanks for all your hard work. I see a future Ken Burns here!
Thanks for bringing this tragic story to us. A bit of good detective work, as well, finding the mine entrance & the trapped miners' exit hole.
We absolutely love how you tell these stories. We appreciate how respectful you are of the lives within them.
Thank you 🍁
It’s rather interesting how the Benson home was picked up and moved by the rockslide instead of being completely crushed
Yes indeed, rather an extreme way to take up surfing. A miracle that the occupants survived.
"You all laughed and said my house needed a sturdier foundation! Well who's laughing now?"
That was some quality craftsmanship. Modern suburban houses would've most likely folded like paper
I know a woman who's car was lifted and moved by a slide near Marble Canyon, BC
Your journey in Frank must have been bittersweet. So cool that you found the escape tunnel from the miners. It gave me goosebumps. Thanks for your fantastic show!
I lived in Lethbridge, Alberta growing up and drove through the rock slide several times. I've visited the interpretive centre too. As a kid I never fully understood the gravity of what happened there. I hope to go back soon, it's awe-inducing to see the aftermath and really fascinating that you can drive right through all the rocks that fell.
The new introduction is fantastic. And once again, you delivered another well-made video. And again, we see how well the warnings were headed. The natives know the area and had, for obviously centuries, determined that Turtle Mountain was unstable.
I wonder if the mine horses were giving off signals that day that went unheaded? One thing I really enjoy about every tale you compile is that there are always questions you ask yourself. But fate doesn't reveal the why's, the mystery is what makes each story so interesting.
You really have to wonder about how many disasters could have been averted over the eons by simply listening to the locals. So many documentaries end up being about places the local call the mountain that walks, or moves, or has a monster sleeping under it. Then a more "advanced" and usually European group comes in, builds there, and is just totally shocked when it turns out to be a bad spot to put anything.
@MeduseldRabbit well, who would listen to the silly "savages" and here we are, watching naked and afraid they would have been sheltered and clothed sitting by the fire within days. But we're smart and civilized.... yep.
What the hell does "unheated" mean? Please check your second grade spelling book.
Unheaded.
Unheeded
I appreciate the hard work you put into this. As a resident of Blairmore - a mere 5 minutes up the road - I am pretty well-versed in a lot of the info you've laid out here... though I must say, you've summarized it as well as any might. I work in engineering for one of the modern mines about 30 minutes west of this site where we mine metallurgical coal for steel-making purposes.
A truly exceptional job and hopefully the $25 helps to further your future endeavours.
Thank you part time explorer! I appreciate everything you do!!!!
Tragic site. Thank you for sharing this story in such a thoughtful and compassionate manner.
Your videos are extremely interesting and impeccably executed, I am much gladdened to have had the honor to meet and converse with you in September, Tom. I am currently binge watching all your videos that I should have been watching for years.
Fantastic video, great editing and production! Excellent story telling Tom.
Great job Tom and Emma from some old guy in England who really appreciates what you do. Thank you.
Me too (old guy from England!) I love the high quality production values and the way the tale is told. Puts lots of other pseudo- dramatic channels to shame.
✨My parents immigrated from England to Calgary. Summer holidays consisted of camping trips to BC and thus I have been through that section of the Rockies several times. It was absolutely fascinating to learn the details, the names of the people, size of their family and businesses in the town. I can’t believe that there isn’t a plaque at both locations where you found the entrance and then the exit that’s survivors used to save themselves. Such a shame it makes me want to reach out to the interpretive centre and suggest that they do so in honour of all the lives lost. As I have matured into my 50s I can’t get enough of history particularly England and North America. I don’t recall learning anything much of history in school and so now I find myself at such an age learning how close Italy is to Africa, The Mediterranean sea has so many beautiful countries around it and so on and so on. I’ve been to Australia, England twice, Hawaii 4 times and LA three times. I wish & pray that one day I could see the Appalachia mountain range and meet some of the wonderful people people there! Peter Santenello has an awesome channel and just did a series on the Appalachia,,, definitely going to subscribe and binge this weekend. Thank you for your hard work and very pleasant presentation style!
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This was absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing.
I’m from Vauxhall alberta and our school makes it a priority to make this a trip for all students to see and learn from. True Canadian history right here
I can’t say when I have had such a thoroughly enjoyable experience, watching this video. Having visited the frank slide many years ago, you brought such depth and insight as to what actually happened to these poor people, and the bravery of the minors and their families. unbelievable thank you so much for bringing this information out. This is amazing
What a great program.
Thank you for exerting all the time and effort.
FASCINATING! Thank you, I enjoy historical documentaries like this. Keep 'em coming.
This was literally one of the saddest, most riveting and well put together documentary I have seen on here… Great Job! And great job telling the story… Well done!
This was an haunting place to visit, almost haunting as visiting the Hope Slide in BC, I would suggest if you visit British Columbia, to explore the Hope Slide.
I just commented the same thing. Didn't se yours. such a good story teĺler/historian he is.
We need a video on the Hope Slide as well, including the many comparisons that will inevitably be made. Amount of rock that fell, the area covered, number of homes lost, number of lives lost, years the slides happened, any warnings of either slide, any moniterring done now, etc.
Excellent! Thank you so much. I have been a visitor to Bellevue several times and saw Frank Slide. It left us speechless!
Excellent production. Thank you!
Anyone who has climbed/hiked certain ridge/peak regions in Colorado has carefully walked upon the small, loose, broken rock makeup of some of these higher regions. The area north of Telluride, CO, is 'covered' with huge 'recent' rockslides and they are very visible on Google Earth. Actually the one that first caught my eye was up near the NW corner of Rocky Mountain NP , just south of Cameron Pass, a peak called Nokhu Crags, where all the broken rock flowed away in both directions leaving just the craggy core of the mountain remaining, quite a remarkable sight on GE... I also recall the Madison Slide, near the NW corner of Yellowstone NP, that wiped out an in use campground when I was a child...
Great read and great info, thanksn
A somewhat similar geologic energy event was the Alaska fijord event - sorry can't name- that created such a tsunami where luckiy few persons and boats were located. One boat "surfing" out of danger.
Another great program! You never disappoint and always educate. Thanks so much for all you do. I’m sure there’s a ton of work that goes into producing consistently excellent, historically accurate documentaries! Very much appreciated.
Fascinating story, well researched and delivered. Nice work.
Excellent storytelling! Thank you for this post
I remember finding out about this years ago and realizing it was in my province. Last year I finally got a chance to get out there and it is breathtaking. Photos and videos do not do Justice showing you the scope of just how HUGE this tragedy was. The rock field goes on and on. Some of the boulders are the size of a house. Such an amazing experience going here. Highly recommend.
Thank you for covering this special place. It's been a favourite spot of mine since I was young, great to see another take on this beautiful town
Excellent video, thanks so much for this!!
A very well told story and a snippet ofCanadian history. So many lives and live stories intertwined with this event. Well done!
That whole area is full of incredible history. Hillcrest mine memorial , Canada's worst mine disaster is a must stop. Getting away from the highway is also a must. drive through some of the smaller roads and see the size of the rocks that came down. The ones by the highway were all busted up to move them. some of the real rocks are the size of very large buildings. I went to the visitor centre shortly after it was built, They have a slide show and when they show the avalanche the sound was so loud and shocking that they had to lower the volume because it scared the crap out of a lot of little old ladies.
This video made me emotional. Thank you for such a great video and sharing the story that happened to these people. They have not been forgotten ❤.
As many have already pointed out, your coverage of this particular incident is utterly amazing & very comprehensive. You quite obviously researched the topic very well and presented said information in such a clear & precise manner that made viewing and following the story that much better and easier than some other documentaries. Well done, sir!
Driven through Frank many times. When I see the massive boulders on either side of the highway and then see the enormity of the slide and the area it covered, it just hits me how tragic it was. 😢 It’s shocking
I like that new intro
Incredibly thorough and well-researched. I don't think I've seen a video of this sort that dives so deeply into the everyday residents who lived there at the time. Thanks for uploading, I learned something fascinating today.
I came to the pass many times as a kid, what with school field trips and camping in the summers, and I really started to take the gigantic rock field for granted. At one point, I even worked on the interpretive center doing some repairs and was tormented by the recorded tours playing on loop for 10 hours! I actually went fishing in the southern Livingstone range just a few weeks ago. This video has made me reconsider and newly appreciate the history as you covered so many of the topics I was familiar with, and a few I didn't know about. Living here all my life, the history became normal to me. I'm very glad that you can tell the history of my province to a wider audience than I could reach myself, and in such detail and with such respect. I've been watching your videos for a long time and it was a very pleasant shock to see the Frank slide in a thumbnail! Keep it up!
I grew up in the Crowsnest Pass! It was an amazing place for so much exploring as kids! We walked the railway tracks through the Frank Slide, very beautiful! In Blairmore there were coal slags we used to slide down, Mom regretted us coming home very dirty😇. Many great stories as a kid! Wonderful documentary and well put together, thank you!!!
Was there earlier this year. The shear volume of rock still blows me away. First visited the site in the early 50's and it still had me in total amazement as to how far the rock flew up the opposite mountain. Thank you for the wonderful telling of this disaster. Many people don't know about it. Thanks again. God bless. 😊🤗❤🙏🇨🇦
Beautiful, respectful work.. thank you.
Congratulations on new intro! Finally glad not to be late for a great video.
Love from Russia ❤
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If you are ever in Virginia, there is a series of towns along the New River Trail that are virtual ghost towns since a flood wiped out the rail bridge that supported them. The location of the rail line has been turned into a state park, and there are lots of abandoned buildings and factories in what used to be boom towns. It would be really cool to see someone dive deeper into the history.
Your appreciation for history and the stories of those that came before us is commendable. As a fellow historian I salute you!