History of Mt. 7
The Mt. 7 lookout was built in the 50's for forest fire observation by the
BC Forest Service. The old road (jeep road) to the Lookout was steep and
narrow. Over the years the road was modestly improved for logging trucks
and equipment a few kilometers at a time, and this made parts of the road less
steep and somewhat easier to negotiate. Despite these adjustments, the main
road access to The Lookout, taken as a whole, remained a challenging 4X4 or
heavy vehicle-only forestry track. The first significant improvement to the
road occurred in mid-1990 with plans to reroute and re-engineer the road to
serve as a forestry trunk road to connect to various higher level branch
roads. The plan and intent at the time was to access and harvest desireable
stands of timber at various locations on the north shoulder of Mount 7.
Mt.7 Flying Site Involvement
In 1990 Willi Muller taught Golden resident, Peter Bowle-Evans how to hang
glide and advised him on solidifying Mt.7 as a significant, foot-launched
flying site. An enthusiastic Peter embraced this concept fully and
proceeded to secure the Lookout site by obtaining a government issued
Special Use Permit. As partly documented below, Peter then proceeded to
initiate major improvements to the site and was at the forefront of
developing flyer-friendly relationships with authorities in town and with
land owners at the landing zone as well as land owners down range. Peter
was among the first to envision the potential for Golden to become a
broad-based "adventure tourism" destination with attendant financial
spinoffs for the community.
By the mid-1990's, Peter Bowle-Evans, a very community-engaged and
enthusiastic hang glider pilot had, for about 5 years, been the defacto Mt.
7 flying site development leader and main Forestry liaison person. Through
his job with an engineering firm in Golden he was in constant contact and
working with local Forestry officials on a weekly if not daily basis.
Peter, was instrumental in making sure that the interests of the Mt.7
flying community were brought to the forefront of the planning &
construction of the "new" Mt.7 Lookout access road. As the 90's drew to a
close, the last logging cutblock was laid out and the new road ended at
11.7 kms. At the time, Peter Bowle Evans, negotiated to extend the new road
all the way to The Lookout site. In fact, the final 3 kilometers of the
road were only completed because Peter cajoled Forestry officials
ceaselessly and brought to bear a significant financial contribution from
the Mt.7 Flying Site Fund. At the same time Peter coordinated and
contributed Flying site funds for the use of heavy construction equipment
to grade and improve both the south and north side launches at The
Lookout.(the south side was formerly a rocky cliff backed by a steep rough
slope) All of this was completed by the end of 2000.
Later Peter worked with Forestry to approve and acquire the components for
the top outhouse. To get this facility built, Peter recruited a
construction party made up of volunteers - four pilots and 1 local mountain
bike enthusiast. The materials were trucked to the top by local businessman
& paraglider pilot, Flec Demmon, who owned Golden Truss Products and a
crane truck. Since the road completion in 2000 and other subsequent
improvements, there has been a huge increase in the number of visitors to
The Lookout (vistors of all types - wedding parties to tourist sightseers
in addition to pilots and mountain bikers.) Beyond the new road
construction it should be noted that Peter Bowle-Evans continued to lead
development of the Lookout for many years until his untimely death in an
avalanche. In recognition of his nearly 20 year involvement and
contribution to the Mt.7 Lookout as an important attaction/asset for the
town, the road now carries his name - The Bowle-Evans FSR.
Mount 7 - Adventure Sport Destination
The first hang glider pilot, Alan Kane, launched from Mt.7 in 1974. George
Wells, a fondly remembered Mt. 7 shuttle driver, recalled that day when his
came kids running into the house screaming that "someone was flying without
an engine". As hang gliding became more popular, the pioneers of that sport
noticed the potential of the Lookout site and started to clear a few trees
in the mid 80's. The clearing was undertaken to make launching hang gliders
safer. Two launch ramps were also constructed for the same safety reasons.
The site subsequently began to develop a higher profile as a premiere
mountain launch site, particularly for those pilots who wanted to pursue
the nacent practice of flying cross-county. The recognition of the
foot-launched flight potential of Mt.7 was partly due to the interest in
the site by Willi Muller. Willi operated a Hang Gliding and, later, a
Paragliding School on his property at the Cochrane Hill in Alberta. As a
hang gliding pioneer, Willi Muller was often referred to as "The Father of
Hang Gliding in Canada". His promotion of Mt.7 through his business
activities had a lot to do with the international "discovery" of Mt.7 as a
world-class Hang Gliding and Paragliding destination.
The first paraglider launch from The Lookout was made by Chris Muller in
1989. The only available moderately safe space was straight off the west
facing ramp. At the time paragliding was a new sport from Europe that was
just starting to reach Canada. The first cross-country paraglider flights
launching from the Lookout were made in 1989/90 by Willi & Chris Muller and
Sean Doherty. With Willi & Chris Muller both achieving 100k flights in
1990, word of Golden's Mt.7 as a fantastic XC site began to spread
internationally in concert with an explosive growth through the 90's of
paragliding as a new form of aviation. At the time the upper launch was
heavily used by paragliders pending the development of the Lookout into a
more paraglider friendly launch.
The growth of paragliding and influx of paraglider pilots to Mt7 though the
90's was phenomenal. Word of Mt.7 in Golden, Canada has spread far and wide
as a place where personal best distances can be achieved because of the
excellent thermal conditions at launch and down-valley. Every year pilots
arrived in Golden from far away points in Western Europe, Eastern Europe,
Russia, Japan, New Zealand and the US. World Champions have visited and
flown here including former World Champion, Robbie Whittal and Swiss
Champion & current equipment manufacturer Urs Harri. Over the years Mt. 7
has hosted numerous National Championships and Western Canadian
Championships in Hang gliding and paragliding. Many "first flight" XC
routes originated from Mt.7 including first ever paragliding flight over
the Rockies to Canmore, Alberta. It is world reknowned as one of the top
sites in the world. There have been 8 world records set here. The first
world record was set in 1986 by Randy Haney. He flew 321 kms on a hang
glider. Although the nationals are not being held here every year there is
an annual flyin/competiton, the Willi Muller memorial event, that will see
120 competitiors and their entourages arrive in town to spend 10 days of
intensive distance flying. In addition, as soon as the site opens, usually
the 1st week of June, there is a steady influx of visiting pilots on
weekends throughout the summer and well into the fall. July 15 to August 15
is peak XC season and even weekdays can be busy with vacationing pilots and
tourists seeking tandem rides.
In the late 90's a local mountain biking race was run. Mt. 7 psychosis
started out with a few racers and $100 prize money. It grew into a huge
world famous event with over 200 riders and $15,000 prize in the tenth and
final year. There was also a world record for vertical meters biked in 24
hours set here.
The Mount 7 site has developed into a true & vital community asset that has
contributed to Golden's attempts to diversify and grow its local economy.
Submitted by Scott Watwood, adapted from ramblings of Peter Bowle-Evans and
Garth Henderson.
Regards,
Scott Watwood | scottwatwood@persona.ca
Note: This email was sent via the Contact Form gadget on
https://canadian-hgpghistory.b
The Mt. 7 lookout was built in the 50's for forest fire observation by the
BC Forest Service. The old road (jeep road) to the Lookout was steep and
narrow. Over the years the road was modestly improved for logging trucks
and equipment a few kilometers at a time, and this made parts of the road less
steep and somewhat easier to negotiate. Despite these adjustments, the main
road access to The Lookout, taken as a whole, remained a challenging 4X4 or
heavy vehicle-only forestry track. The first significant improvement to the
road occurred in mid-1990 with plans to reroute and re-engineer the road to
serve as a forestry trunk road to connect to various higher level branch
roads. The plan and intent at the time was to access and harvest desireable
stands of timber at various locations on the north shoulder of Mount 7.
Mt.7 Flying Site Involvement
In 1990 Willi Muller taught Golden resident, Peter Bowle-Evans how to hang
glide and advised him on solidifying Mt.7 as a significant, foot-launched
flying site. An enthusiastic Peter embraced this concept fully and
proceeded to secure the Lookout site by obtaining a government issued
Special Use Permit. As partly documented below, Peter then proceeded to
initiate major improvements to the site and was at the forefront of
developing flyer-friendly relationships with authorities in town and with
land owners at the landing zone as well as land owners down range. Peter
was among the first to envision the potential for Golden to become a
broad-based "adventure tourism" destination with attendant financial
spinoffs for the community.
By the mid-1990's, Peter Bowle-Evans, a very community-engaged and
enthusiastic hang glider pilot had, for about 5 years, been the defacto Mt.
7 flying site development leader and main Forestry liaison person. Through
his job with an engineering firm in Golden he was in constant contact and
working with local Forestry officials on a weekly if not daily basis.
Peter, was instrumental in making sure that the interests of the Mt.7
flying community were brought to the forefront of the planning &
construction of the "new" Mt.7 Lookout access road. As the 90's drew to a
close, the last logging cutblock was laid out and the new road ended at
11.7 kms. At the time, Peter Bowle Evans, negotiated to extend the new road
all the way to The Lookout site. In fact, the final 3 kilometers of the
road were only completed because Peter cajoled Forestry officials
ceaselessly and brought to bear a significant financial contribution from
the Mt.7 Flying Site Fund. At the same time Peter coordinated and
contributed Flying site funds for the use of heavy construction equipment
to grade and improve both the south and north side launches at The
Lookout.(the south side was formerly a rocky cliff backed by a steep rough
slope) All of this was completed by the end of 2000.
Later Peter worked with Forestry to approve and acquire the components for
the top outhouse. To get this facility built, Peter recruited a
construction party made up of volunteers - four pilots and 1 local mountain
bike enthusiast. The materials were trucked to the top by local businessman
& paraglider pilot, Flec Demmon, who owned Golden Truss Products and a
crane truck. Since the road completion in 2000 and other subsequent
improvements, there has been a huge increase in the number of visitors to
The Lookout (vistors of all types - wedding parties to tourist sightseers
in addition to pilots and mountain bikers.) Beyond the new road
construction it should be noted that Peter Bowle-Evans continued to lead
development of the Lookout for many years until his untimely death in an
avalanche. In recognition of his nearly 20 year involvement and
contribution to the Mt.7 Lookout as an important attaction/asset for the
town, the road now carries his name - The Bowle-Evans FSR.
Mount 7 - Adventure Sport Destination
The first hang glider pilot, Alan Kane, launched from Mt.7 in 1974. George
Wells, a fondly remembered Mt. 7 shuttle driver, recalled that day when his
came kids running into the house screaming that "someone was flying without
an engine". As hang gliding became more popular, the pioneers of that sport
noticed the potential of the Lookout site and started to clear a few trees
in the mid 80's. The clearing was undertaken to make launching hang gliders
safer. Two launch ramps were also constructed for the same safety reasons.
The site subsequently began to develop a higher profile as a premiere
mountain launch site, particularly for those pilots who wanted to pursue
the nacent practice of flying cross-county. The recognition of the
foot-launched flight potential of Mt.7 was partly due to the interest in
the site by Willi Muller. Willi operated a Hang Gliding and, later, a
Paragliding School on his property at the Cochrane Hill in Alberta. As a
hang gliding pioneer, Willi Muller was often referred to as "The Father of
Hang Gliding in Canada". His promotion of Mt.7 through his business
activities had a lot to do with the international "discovery" of Mt.7 as a
world-class Hang Gliding and Paragliding destination.
The first paraglider launch from The Lookout was made by Chris Muller in
1989. The only available moderately safe space was straight off the west
facing ramp. At the time paragliding was a new sport from Europe that was
just starting to reach Canada. The first cross-country paraglider flights
launching from the Lookout were made in 1989/90 by Willi & Chris Muller and
Sean Doherty. With Willi & Chris Muller both achieving 100k flights in
1990, word of Golden's Mt.7 as a fantastic XC site began to spread
internationally in concert with an explosive growth through the 90's of
paragliding as a new form of aviation. At the time the upper launch was
heavily used by paragliders pending the development of the Lookout into a
more paraglider friendly launch.
The growth of paragliding and influx of paraglider pilots to Mt7 though the
90's was phenomenal. Word of Mt.7 in Golden, Canada has spread far and wide
as a place where personal best distances can be achieved because of the
excellent thermal conditions at launch and down-valley. Every year pilots
arrived in Golden from far away points in Western Europe, Eastern Europe,
Russia, Japan, New Zealand and the US. World Champions have visited and
flown here including former World Champion, Robbie Whittal and Swiss
Champion & current equipment manufacturer Urs Harri. Over the years Mt. 7
has hosted numerous National Championships and Western Canadian
Championships in Hang gliding and paragliding. Many "first flight" XC
routes originated from Mt.7 including first ever paragliding flight over
the Rockies to Canmore, Alberta. It is world reknowned as one of the top
sites in the world. There have been 8 world records set here. The first
world record was set in 1986 by Randy Haney. He flew 321 kms on a hang
glider. Although the nationals are not being held here every year there is
an annual flyin/competiton, the Willi Muller memorial event, that will see
120 competitiors and their entourages arrive in town to spend 10 days of
intensive distance flying. In addition, as soon as the site opens, usually
the 1st week of June, there is a steady influx of visiting pilots on
weekends throughout the summer and well into the fall. July 15 to August 15
is peak XC season and even weekdays can be busy with vacationing pilots and
tourists seeking tandem rides.
In the late 90's a local mountain biking race was run. Mt. 7 psychosis
started out with a few racers and $100 prize money. It grew into a huge
world famous event with over 200 riders and $15,000 prize in the tenth and
final year. There was also a world record for vertical meters biked in 24
hours set here.
The Mount 7 site has developed into a true & vital community asset that has
contributed to Golden's attempts to diversify and grow its local economy.
Submitted by Scott Watwood, adapted from ramblings of Peter Bowle-Evans and
Garth Henderson.
Regards,
Scott Watwood | scottwatwood@persona.ca
Note: This email was sent via the Contact Form gadget on
https://canadian-hgpghistory.b
 |
This story sounds clean but there was a dark side to Peter Bowl-Evans that Scott Watwood and I know about. This explains partly why Peter was enthousiastic. A sort of spinning that continues today.
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