On a recent ski trip into the Talkeetna Mountains, my partner and I pondered what the story actually was with the well-preserved mine buildings smack dab in the middle of one of our favorite backcountry zones. Turns out Independence Mine dug 140,000 ounces of gold from these granite mountains in it’s hay day. Over 200 people lived and worked up here in the early twentieth century; a tough existence mid-winter. Can’t help but wonder if any of them ventured out on skis.