page_title: White Pass
section_title: Gold rush years
hierarchical_section_title: White Pass / History / Gold rush years
caption_attribution_description: This picture was taken on the White Pass Train as we went from Skagway, Alaska to the Canadian border. Taken in summer 2002.
context_page_description: White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail, is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, Alaska, to the chain of lakes at the headwaters of the Yukon River, Crater Lake, Lake Lindeman, and Bennett Lake.
context_section_description: The White Pass trail was one of the two main passes used by prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass was an easier route to Lake Bennett than the Chilkoot Trail a few kilometers to the west, but it harbored a criminal element that preyed on the cheechakos (newcomers to the Klondike). These con artists were believed to be members of the infamous Soapy Smith gang from Skagway, Alaska. In 1898, Smith was killed at the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf and his gang were run out of Skagway and the White Pass. So many horses died during the gold rush, the trail became known as the "Dead Horse Trail". The trail ended at Lake Bennett, where the prospectors built or purchased rafts or boats to float down the Yukon River to the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City.
   
  The White Pass and Yukon Route (W.P. & Y.R.) narrow-gauge railroad was built 1898-1900 through White Pass. The southern end of the Klondike Highway also uses the White Pass and parallels the railway.
  The Skagway Historic District and White Pass is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
  Due to the harsh climate, grueling conditions, and length of journey, travelers on both the Chilkoot Trail and White Pass suffered from widespread starvation. Many of the starving people on the White Pass made meals of dead horses they found along the road. Furthermore, some travelers were known to go insane, most likely due to rotting of bodies in the snow.
caption: White Pass summit seen from train, 2002
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