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STILL LIVES IN NOME

science, part patience, and part instinct.
“You put the dirt and gravel in the water and
turn it into a slurry,” explained Augie Krutzsch,
owner of AKAU Gold Resort outside of Nome.
“The gold is heavy, so when you shake it, all the
At the turn of the 20th century, newspapers heavies drop to the bottom while the lighter historic tours and fishing adventures targeting
across America were selling more than headlines— material comes to the surface.” salmon, trout, and Arctic grayling large enough to
they were selling dreams. Stories of men pulling Then comes the motion prospectors know by make fly fishermen weak in the knees.
fortunes from the frozen ground of Alaska muscle memory—the gentle forward-and-back Today, the tradition continues with his 25-year-
splashed across front pages with the kind of frenzy rhythm that mimics waves washing onto a beach. old son, Tyler, who has developed his own modern
usually reserved for war or politics. The lighter sand slips away while the heavier spin on finding gold. “He uses a metal detector,”
Reports from Nome painted the remote material stubbornly stays put. Augie said with a laugh. “He’ll look for somewhere
settlement as a place where gold could be “A lot of people panic because they think that looks juicy, like the side of a cut of earth, and
scooped up by the handful and where ordinary they’re washing the gold out,” he said. “But you run the detector along there.”
people could become wealthy overnight, and can’t be afraid to let the light stuff go.” Somewhere, old-school prospectors are
all you had to do was get to this remote Inupiat There is a rhythm to gold panning. Water swirls. probably rolling their eyes. But in Nome,
fishing village on the edge of the Bering Sea. The Gravel dances. Time slows. Then suddenly, there innovation and tradition have always existed side
sensational coverage ignited a national obsession. it is—a tiny flash of gold catching sunlight in the by side.
Men abandoned jobs, families packed their corner of the pan. The Thing About Gold Fever
belongings, and tens of thousands set their sights And just like that, you understand why people If you think Nome’s gold rush days are over—
northward toward a treeless strip of tundra. crossed frozen rivers, sailed dangerous seas, and think again.
Today, the spikes in gold prices have sparked abandoned ordinary lives to come north chasing “Gold really gets people’s hearts pounding,”
a national obsession that still pulses through the this feeling. says Augie.
tundra, as if it never really left. In Nome, the dream Generations Written in Gold That excitement spills across Nome’s beaches
of striking it rich isn’t confined to faded black-and- For Augie, mining is not a hobby or tourist and rivers every summer. Visitors still pan for gold
white photographs or stories from the Gold Rush. attraction. It is family history. directly on the beaches along the Bering Sea,
It is alive in muddy boots, swirling water, and the “My father came up during the gold rush in the where fine gold continues to wash ashore. Venture
unmistakable gleam of something shiny resting in 1930s,” he said. “He was a gold miner up there. So farther inland, and the pieces become chunkier,
the bottom of a pan. it’s been multi-generational.” proof that the land refuses to give up all its secrets.
The Art of the Swirl Augie eventually became a professional miner With gold prospecting, it’s the anticipation. The
To outsiders, gold panning can look deceptively himself before transforming the operation into an possibility. And the hope that riches are just one
easy. Dip the pan into the water, shake it around, all-inclusive gold prospecting resort where guests swirl, one strike, one dig away.
and suddenly, treasure appears. In reality, it is part can experience Nome’s mining culture along with In Nome, that feeling never gets old.

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