History of Mt. Seven

Submitted by Scott Watwood,
adapted from ramblings of Peter Bowle-Evans and documentation from Garth Henderson.

The Mt. 7 lookout was built in the '50s 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 kilometres at a time. 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 were to access and harvest desirable stands of timber at various locations on the north shoulder of Mount 7.

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 landowners at the landing zone as well as landowners downrange. 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-1990s, Peter Bowle-Evans, a very community-engaged and enthusiastic hang glider pilot had, for about 5 years, been the de-facto 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 drew to a close, the last logging cut-block was laid out and the new road ended at 11.7 km. At the time, Peter Bowle Evans negotiated to extend the new road all the way to The Lookout site. In fact, the final 3 kilometres of the road was 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 (visitors 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 the 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 attraction/asset for the town, the road now carries his name - The Bowle-Evans FSR.

The first hang glider pilot, Alan Kane, launched from Mt.7 in 1974. George Wells, a fondly remembered Mt. 7 shuttle driver who lived most of his life across the road from the LZ, 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 premier mountain launch site, particularly for those pilots who wanted to pursue the nascent practice of flying cross-country. 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 for launching 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 flight launching from the Lookout was made July 21st, 1990 by Sean Dougherty. On July 7th, 1991, Sean flew with Willi & Chris Muller down the range. All three achieving 100k flights. Chris and Sean were awarded a world record for their flights to a declared goal. Regrettably, Willi didn't declare or take a barograph so he could not apply for the record. Word of Golden's Mt.7 as a fantastic XC site began to spread internationally in concert with an explosive growth through the '90s 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 '90s 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-renowned 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 km on a hang glider. Although the nationals are not being held here every year there is an annual fly-in/competition, the Willi Muller memorial event, that will see 120 competitors 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 '90s, 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 Redbull 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 there.

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.

More site info at flygolden.ca and mt7.ca.

Grouse Mountain Meet 1976

In late summer 1976, I tagged along with a group of pilots from Calgary (one of whom, cam Wilson, decided along the way to start calling me 'midtoad') for the long drive to Vancouver BC, where the international invitational Grouse Mountain Meet was about to start. I didn't have enough experience to enter as a competitor, but I sure enjoyed watching the pilots and taking pictures. It seemed like all the loyalty of hang gliding was there at the comp. This was the first time I met Larry Tudor, among others.

On the first day, the clouds hung low around the Summit launch, but the sun began to breakthrough in late afternoon. This gave me a great opportunity to capture on film the variety of wings as the pilots launched.

waiting on the ramp

Crowded setup area

Gord Acri plays banjo for Larry Tudor, ?, Gord Savage

Edmontonian Larry Croome resting up

Larry Croome and Birdman MJ-4

Albatross Sail Gliders ASG-21

Swansea HG Corp pilot Jeff Blake and Oly 160

Invermere pilot John Duthie and Phoenix 8

Kaslo, BC pilot Randy Cairns and UP Dragonfly

UP Spyder

Invermere pilot Dean Kupchanko and Oly 140

Australian-made Lancer 4

Electra-Flyer Cirrus 3

A bearded Don Miller advising pilot on ramp

Spectators en masse

Seagull 7 in evening flight

A brief history of Mount Seven

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.blogspot.com

`

First high flight, Cornwall BC 1979

BC pilot Bob Krider sends this:

"My pioneering flight off Cornwall in 1979, after one year of flying. That was a rush. Sooooo high. I yelled insults at the tiny little cows below me for being stuck to the ground. The flight was heavily covered by the local press (front page news).


I got rid of that huge Electra Flyer Floater, which liked to spin at the slightest provocation. Moved to England in 1980. By then I had a couple hours total airtime, so figured I was ready for the new double surface fad,  and upgraded to a double surface Airwaves Comet in 1981.   I only destroyed one Comet before I got the hang of it."

Ashcroft Journal 1979-09-12 pg.1

Ashcroft Journal 1979-09-12 pg.2 

1982 HG Nationals

In 1982, the Canadian national hang gliding championship was held in Sicamous, BC. The roughly 2000 foot high south facing launch was chosen because its beach landing area and close proximity to a town.

The competition winner was BC pilot Jim Bamford. He flew a UP Comet 185 - a new, larger size that had just become available. With his light weight of around 135 pounds, he could easily have flown the smallest size, but in the light conditions prevalent at this site, he enjoyed a very low sink rate and a huge advantage over other pilots.

By the following year, many other pilots had adopted the larger size as well, including myself. By then, there was a newer model, the Comet 2. It had a better glide ratio, but was harder to turn, so having a low wind loading by then was no longer such an advantage. Eventually pilots all migrated to smaller gliders. But by then the competitions were focusing on cross-country flying, where the higher speed associated with a higher wing loading became an advantage.

Top 10 pilots at the 1982 nationals

1st Jim Bamford, 2nd Jeff Blake, BC; 3rd Rick Mercer, AB; 4th Tony Schmidt, BC; 5th Howard Vandall, AB; 6th Rob Sinclair, 7th Lloyd Matthews, BC; 8th Bruce Galloway, AB; 9th Bob Yarnton, SK;. Missing: 10th Ken Hiebert.

Flying at Wilmer, BC

Along the shores of Lake Windermere, near Invermere BC, prehistoric riverbanks rise up to 60 m or more above today's water levels. Just north of town, along the edge of the Columbia River wetlands, a section of steep riverbank sticks out into the middle of the valley. This hillside deflects infrequent strong southerly winds creating soaring conditions for pilots. Wind speed and direction have to be just perfect, however, since there is no real bottom landing area and few options on top as well. But in the mid-1970s, eager local pilots found the ideal times to fly this site. Here's a post from one of them, Jeff Blake, AKA "the king of Invermere".

"Testing the little rocket ship, a 140 Olympus at Wilmer BC --  and the crowd was wild, Great days."
Photo by Pat Morrow.

Canadian HG Nationals 1981, Lumby, BC

Mt. Swansea, Invermere, BC - 1979

Flying at Mt. Swansea, Invermere, BC in 1979

The glider is an Eipper Antares.

Pilot is Doug Keller

Photos by Karen Keller

BC's first Mitchell Wing

Information from Martin Henry:

"The Mitchell Wing B-10, The choice of George Worthington and his Owens Valley World Records.

Vern Tanner was the astounding craftsman that built this example way back in 1978 (Two of the shots are from his first high flight in Cawston, near Keremeos BC). Foot launched, 3 axis control, flying wing built primarily of Wood and fabric… Old School composites!"

Vern apparently was living in Lumby BC for a while, but the glider came to an end after a failed take off crash on the old launch site at Coopers Ridge, near Bolean. Vern later moved to Vancouver, and Randy Rauck could tell you more about him.

Vern at the training hill

Waiting to launch

Vern launching at Cawsten

The Mitchell Wing B-10 designed by a California based homebuilt Aircraft designer named Don Mitchell. It used a wing profile similar to that in the renowned Douglas DC-3 Aircraft.

George Worthington was a retired US Navy fighter pilot that had also flown sailplanes. He took up flying hang gliders in retirement, then took his Mitchell wing on a successful hunt for world distance records in hang gliding, setting four of them in the years between 1977 and 1980. If you're interested, here they are:

Early 1990s paragliding at Savona, BC

The Easter meet ran for many years and was always considered the start of the competition season in Western Canada. At first only hang glider pilots were involved, but soon the early paraglider pilots started joining in. Here is paragliding cross country pioneer Sean Dougherty with hang glider pilot Martin Henry at Savona BC. They are on the east-facing slope overlooking Kamloops lake, above some railway tracks. I recall it being very windy, and not many would fly. But that didn't stop Sean! By the way, Sean is flying an Apco Astra 27.

Sean Dougherty and Martin Henry

Sean soaring his Apco Astra

Lastly, I found another Photo of the same paraglider. In this case, it is one of me flying at the Cuchi Corral site in Córdoba Province, Argentina, in 1994. I had a couple of scares with large unexpected wing folds with this glider and decided to only fly European certified wings after that. (some other pilots referred to this model as the Dis-Astra!).

Stewart flying a similar Apco Astra in Argentina

Early 1970s in the Fraser River Valley near Vancouver

Martin Henry sent me a couple of pictures from his very early days flying hang gliders in the Fraser River Valley near Vancouver. He's even more of a dinosaur than I thought he was!

Here he is on Burnaby Mountain in a suburb of Vancouver in 1971 or 1972. The hang glider appears to be made of bamboo tubes and black plastic sheeting!

And here he is in a gravel pit at Fort Kells, near Langley along the Fraser River, probably later in 1972. He has the latest technology of the day, namely a real control bar and metal tubing! However, I see that he is still using plastic sheeting for sail material.

1980 Lumby Meet

The winners. L-R - Don Miller, Willi Muller, Randy Rauck, Andrew Barber- Starky, Howard Vandall

Tod Mountain BC

 Flying standards at a ski hill in the early 1970s. Anyone remember this place?

https://youtu.be/b1bLgNqeWDc?t=7m30s