MOUNT 7 – GOLDEN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Mount 7

Take a flying leap off a mountaintop Updated June 2022

Mount 7 is a mountain near Golden, British Columbia. It is so-named because of the giant number seven, made of snow, visible on the side of the mountain in the spring. However, you cannot see the seven in the summer because the snow melts, and the whole mountain is white with snow in the winter.

View of the Columbia Valley from the top of Mount 7

Hang Gliding

By coincidence, it also happens to be the seventh best place in the world for hang gliding and paragliding. The wind is perfect in the Columbia Valley for this sport. Gliders jumping off of Mount 7 often travel great distances. There are landing sites in the valley below, but I have seen some people landing about 20 km down the valley. One person travelled more than 330 km.

• Running down the mountain to fill the chute.
• The big Jump
• We have liftoff
• Click the first photo to enlarge and then scroll to the next photo.

To access the Mount 7 road, turn left just south of Golden, between the town and Reflection Lake. The road is gravel and filled with potholes and ruts. It is also very steep, narrow and windy in places suitable for only one vehicle. It is safe if you drive slow and cautiously. Still, inevitably some people drive too fast for the conditions making it somewhat dangerous, especially if you are descending on the outside of the road where, in some places, there is nothing to stop you from going over the cliff. When descending, if possible, use a lower gear to prevent overuse and overheating of the brakes. If this happens, find the first place to pull over and stop while the brakes cool down.

There are several hiking trails along the road if that interests you, but most people just want to get to the top.

Mount 7 is also very popular for mountain biking, although the bike trails I saw look somewhat suicidal. However, that seems to be a common feature of this sport on other mountains.

You don’t have to jump off the mountain to go there. Many people go for the spectacular Columbia Valley view and watch others take a flying leap off the mountaintop.

Soaring over the Columbia Valley

We were lucky, and as we arrived at the top, two people were getting ready to jump. We watched them prepare their equipment. They often looked at the windsocks to keep an eye on the wind speed and direction.

When they were ready, they ran down the mountainside until their parachute filled with air and lifted them off the ground. We watched as they travelled down the valley and out of sight. Looks like fun.

Gliders often travel long distances. This one is landing 20 kilometres south of Mount 7.

Photo Credit

All photos are copyright and property of My Thatched Hut except the photo of Mount 7, which is used with the kind permission of Andy Brown of Golden, B.C.