SILVERTON — For more than 50 years, third-generation miner Terry Rhoades has mixed blood and sweat with sheer grit and determination to tear into the hard rock of the San Juan Mountains searching for the mineral riches that lie within. Rhoades, like many other descendants of San Juan miners, keeps this mining legacy alive through the Hardrockers’ Holidays, an annual celebration held in a town named for the precious ore, which was first discovered here in the 1860s.
Rhoades, 69, said the Hardrockers’ Holidays is his favorite weekend of the year, and has competed in each year’s competitions since 1974.
The Hardrockers’ Holidays celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and festivities were held Aug. 10-11. The weekend-long holiday featured competitions that emulate work deep underground in active mines. Men and women of all ages compete for cash, prizes and bragging rights following a contests that tested the mental and physical limitations of the competitors.
In the Single Jack, men and women must hold a single driving spike in place with one hand, and use the other hand to drive the spike into the rock using a heavy hammer. Whoever reaches the greatest depth at the end of 5 minutes is the winner. In the team event of Double Jacking, one person holds the drill’s steel spike in place while the other uses their full force to swing a 10-pound sledge hammer to drive the dill spike into the rock.
There isn’t much room for error. Missing the steel with the hammer could mean broken bones, muscle contusions or the loss of fingers. In past years, injuries were so severe competitors needed immediate medical attention. Other minor injuries are treated with cold beer, laughs, camaraderie, or by rubbing a little dirt over the wound.
Mining is an identity for many here, and while the business of mineral extraction may be shut down in these mountains for now, the legacy of hard rock mining in the San Juans is as deep as the ore veins that still run through them.
And the techniques to drive steel into hard rock, or mucking loose rock and debris from mines are skills passed down from generation to generation. Like the ore veins themselves, this heritage has solidified into a legacy that the locals here keep close to their hearts. For some of the old timers, just having these competitions going is reward itself. For the younger competitors, having events like Silverton can be used as practice and qualifiers for other larger events that are held around the country.
There is a saying that has even become a popular bumper sticker in Colorado: “If it’s not grown, it’s mined.”
Long before the mountain towns of Colorado became destinations for million-dollar homes, ski hills and film festivals, the first prospectors traversed these towering ridgelines in search of gold, silver, zinc, copper and lead. Years after silver was first discovered here, the town of Silverton was formally founded in 1874 by mining entrepreneurs Thomas Blair, William Kearnes and Dempsey Reese.
Fueled by the silver boom of the 1880s, Colorado at one time was one of the richest places on Earth. And Silverton would become one of the state’s most productive gold and silver communities well into the 20th century.
The Hardrockers’ Holidays, formally known as Sheepmen’s Days, was first held sometime in the 1930s. By 1953, mining was shut down and the festival was all but forgotten. By 1955, the town’s last hospital closed due to a lack of patients, according to Silverton native Tom Zanoni.
“The heart and soul of the town was mining, and to lose that was hard,” Zanoni said.
Sometime in 1973, Tom and his brother Zeke, who passed away last year, began an effort to revive the games. In 1974, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the original platting of the town, this group of citizens revived this cherished local celebration.
“It brought back some healing to the community, it allowed us to show our pride again, to celebrate our history and who we are, so that’s why we brought it back,” Zanoni said.
Rhoades said preserving the Hardrockers’ Holidays is important to maintaining the identity of the greater San Juan region. Following the Hardrockers’ Holidays, Ouray hosts its own Highgraders Holiday in Ouray Miners Park, Aug. 23-25. In Colorado, there are only four of these events still operating, with the other two held in Leadville and Creede.
