Weekly Register-Call/ Gilpin County News

Mining skills competitions

One hundred forty years ago silver was discovered west of today’s Nederland in the Caribou District. By 1872 Nederland (then named Middle Boulder) was home to the largest silver processing mill in the area. Gold followed in 1899 with deposits found around the town of Eldora. From 1900 until 1918 Nederland was by far the United States leading producer of tungsten which is used mainly in the hardening of steel. Local miner, Tom Hendricks, still mines gold and silver at the nearby Cross Mine in an environmentally responsible manner. Nederland has survived many booms and busts throughout the years. Last Saturday and Sunday the city celebrated some of those times in the way of Miners’ Days.

In honor of Nederland’s heritage, Miners’ Days is an exciting two day event comprised of competitions testing professional and amateur miners’ practical mining skills. The contests (complete with prize money) included: Spike Driving, Hand Mucking, Jack Leg Drilling, Single Jack Drilling (hand drilling), Team Jack Leg Drilling, and Bow Sawing.

In the Jack Leg events, competitors had to bore two lengthy holes into solid granite using a hydraulic drill. Lifting the tool into place looked difficult enough before the men began jarringly drilling deeper into their target. Along with the heavy machinery came high decibels and I noticed that not a single “Jack Legger” went without earplugs.

A quieter event, but in my opinion just as strenuous, was the Hand Mucking. With a flat-nosed shovel, contestants scooped ore into a cart as quickly as possible without bursting their hearts! When filled to the prescribed level they pushed the ore cart a short distance for the best time. Grady Colby, last year and this year’s overall champion, won the Men’s Mucking with a lightning fast time of one minute and twelve point three eight seconds. In the Women’s Mucking where the cart is filled halfway, Carrie Jo Saunders edged out Tina Robinson by a mere 15 hundredth of a second with a time of 57.47 seconds.

Truly a test of strength and endurance, the Single Jack (short-handled hammer) entrants drove hand steel as far into the rock as they could during the allotted time. By rotating the steel bit an eighth of an inch (shaking the steel) after each hammer blow, they prevented the steel from jamming. Emmit Hoyl with his 1st place finish at last year’s World Championships in Carson City, Nevada blew the competition away here by penetrating the steel a total of 6-7/32” into the stone. Hoyl is currently the youngest world champion on record.

Bow Sawing is another event that Hoyl excels in, as he took top honors in that competition as well.

A giant inflatable slide and trampoline kept children merrily occupied during the day, as did an impressive climbing wall. A watermelon-eating contest, sawdust pile containing treasures, parade, water balloon fight, and face painting rounded out the fun and Kid’s Mucking was a highlight with ribbons awarded to all the participants.

2009 Miners’ Days Results:

Men’s Spike Driving

1^st 15:39 $200 Grady Colby

2^nd 16:32 $150 Marvin Blackmore

3^rd 16.72 $100 Jesse Pattridge

Women’s Spike Driving

1^st 28.44 $120 Sherry Graham

2^nd 31.78 $100 Melody Loar

3^rd 31.94 $80 Carrie Jo Saunders

Men’s Mucking

1^st 1.12:38 $220 Grady Colby

2^nd 1.17:32 $170 Emmit Hoyl

3^rd 1.21:38 $120 Jesse Pattridge

Women’s Mucking

1^st 57.47 $126 Carrie Jo Saunders

2^nd 57.62 $106 Tina Robinson

3^rd 1.07:20 $86 Sherry Graham

Men’s Jack Leg

1^st 2.55.06 $280 Rick Thomas

2^nd 3.05:43 $180 Cliff Jaramillo

3^rd 3.18:47 $155 Grady Colby

Women’s Bow Sawing

1^st 51.19 $106 Melody Loar

2^nd 1.00:69 $86 Belinda Binette

3^rd 1.04:16 $66 Carrie Jo Saunders

Men’s Single Jack

1^st 6 7/32” $250 Emmit Hoyl

2^nd 4 29/32” $150 Grady Colby

3^rd 4 7/32” $124 Eric Clifford

Women’s All Around

Carrie Jo Saunders $200

Men’s Bow Sawing

1^st 22:16 $205 Emmit Hoyl

2^nd 28.78 $155 Rich Tedesco

3^rd 29.16 $105 Grady Colby

Men’s Team Jack Leg

1^st 2.47:75 $340 Clifford Jaramillo & Clint Rhodes

2^nd 2.50:47 $290 Grady Colby & Rich Tedesco

3^rd 3.00:97 $240 Rich Tedesco & Grady Colby

Men’s All Around

Grady Colby $400