The Mowhawk Tipple

Located just off the Crowsnest Highway in Southern Alberta is this beautiful structure. It doesn't look all that tall from the road (about two stories or so..), but it's actually huge. Standing on the lowest level, it appears to be about 8 stories tall (what's left of it) and is now little more than a massive concrete skeleton built into the side of a hill.

My first experience exploring this place was when I had planned a road trip with two other photographer friends (Jeremy and Bobby) in the beginning of April, 09. I had seen the structure long ago and numerous times and had always been curious about it. It always emerged ominously as I was driving by and my eyes would wander dangerously from the road to fixate on it.

One day I was reminded of that building (don't remember even how) and I started doing some Google searching to see what it was exactly. I now know it as the Mowhawk Tipple, part of the old Hillcrest Mine.

I contacted my friends to invite them along, and it turns out Jeremy's parents actually live in nearby Coleman. We had somewhere to crash! We headed out early on a Friday and began exploring stuff and photographing on our own. I was the first to make it to the tipple at around supper time. I had been exploring a previous location that morning which I'll post at a later time (it's a good-er).

The building was sketchy, at best, with nothing inside it except a few, mostly wobbly, steel walkways with no handrails and some crumbling brickwork. It didn't really matter to me that the building was pretty much gutted, because that was part of what made it so beautiful. It was a towering ruin; a limping testament to a dying industry. Walking around inside the building, it almost felt as though the whole thing would crumble at so much as a fart... but I still had to explore every nook and cranny. It wasn't long before I had gained faith in the building and it started to feel solid. The sketchy steel walkways didn't help, but still knowing that the structure has survived countless storms, winters and the ever present winds of insanity that go whipping through the Crowsnest pass all the time gave me confidence that my careful steps would do no harm.

I went through the building for about two hours alone and scaled the steep hill, clutching my camera equipment the whole way. There was so much to look at, and a pile of night photography ideas whipping through my head. I left the location with several shots in the memory card. My next stop was to get some food. I hadn't eaten anything in about 10 hours! Mmm... Subway.

I got a call from Jeremy and we met at Subway. After a quick bite, we headed to his parent's house to drop off some of our junk and then we headed out again to the tipple for some night shots. Jeremy was really excited about the building because he had always seen when he was younger, but this was the first time actually going inside it.

Night photography is ALWAYS more dangerous than during the day! I felt a few moments of panic walking along the steel steps and catwalks, but luckily didn't fall or drop any equipment. We took a few shots that night, but only a few were keepers. We went to bed at around 2:00am, and headed out again the following night with the other friend Bobby, who we met (while exploring yet a different location that I'll post later) that noon.

The second night was FAR more productive. I took home quite a few great shots and once again, didn't die. Bobby was having some bad luck. While he did get some great shots, he managed to put a tiny chip/scratch on his super expensive camera lens after bumping into something in the dark. After we were all done photographing the tipple, we headed back to Coleman to call it a night. I couldn't stop though... I didn't want to finish for the evening, so I headed out alone to another location (yes... I'll post it too at some time!) for some more night shots.

As part of our Crowsnest Pass adventure, the Mowhawk Tipple was probably my favorite place that we stopped at. Being one of those places that seems to stab you with curiosity, quite aggressively at that, I was extremely satisfied that I had not only quenched my curiosity, but came back with some pictures that look lovely framed.