Paragliding in Golden

“So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!” J.M Barrie, Peter Pan

There I was, standing on a peak of Mount Seven in Golden, B.C. I just signed a form waving any legal responsibility for any bodily harm or death that could happen while my only escape, a 1970’s Chevy Suburban, drove back down the mountain. Scott, my tandem paragliding partner, strapped me into my harness and I wandered towards the edge of the peak.

The hang gliding launch pad (I didn’t use this)

Even from the top, the mountains were a haze from the smoke blowing in due to the forest fires happening across British Columbia. Usually, the top of the mountain is at least 10 degrees lower than the temperature in the valley but today it was above 30 celcius. A million tiny black flies buzzed around my head and swooped down the curve of my neck.

I took a deep breath and shoved my worries down. My excitement began to bubble over. I’m going paragliding in the Rocky Mountains! I’m about to run off a cliff to float hundreds of feet above the Columbia River valley and millions of spruce trees. Scott called me over. I saw that he had finished laying out the sail on the side of the cliff. I stood in front of him and he restated his instructions. “Run until you feel some resistance, then lean forward and keep running,” he said soft and steadily.

Getting ready for takeoff

Ok, that sounds easy enough. I felt calm but my nerves were starting to show. I stood, knees bent, ready to run. Then, Scott ever so slightly pushed my back to show it was time to start running, in case I wasn’t listening. I ran forward, felt the pull back, and kept running until my legs were still moving but no longer touching the ground. Holy smokes! I’m Peter Pan right now!

Mount 7 valley

The wind was low, but we swooped up and went higher after finding some thermals. We gently glided over a blanket of spruce trees. My feet dangled in the wind while I looked down to grasp how high up were really were. Golden is world famous for para-gliders and hang-gliders alike. Records and legends have been made flying from those mountainous cliffs. Little did I know at the time, my partner Scott is a legend himself.

It turns out that he also white water rafts and is/was an avid base jumper. I’ve been told there are many stories about him that are shared among the residents of Golden. Rumour has it, he once tried to base jump off of the Calgary Tower, but the jump went awry and a gust of wind blew him through the window of an office building next door. His girlfriend had witnessed the accident down below and called 9-1-1 to report a ‘man who jumped from the tower’ without identifying him because the jump was illegal. In the meantime, Scott was pulled back out of the office window due to wind gusts and fell through a second set of windows into a sort of indoor garden. It took paramedics a while to find him and I can’t recall if he managed to avoid the po-po.

Truth or fable, I’ll never know, but he definitely has a badass reputation. I greatly enjoyed hearing the story because in person he was cool as a cucumber. Calm and reassuring.

“Do you want to take it for a spin? It’s your turn to drive,” Scott asked.

“Uhhh… not really.” I waffled.

“Ok, I’ll ask again in a couple minutes. Do you like roller coasters?” asked Scott.

“Yes, I do actually.”

We began to dip and swerve in the air. I couldn’t predict what direction we would go next and and I giggled endlessly. After, I was ready to take the reins. I was nervous and immediately had visions of the sail folding in on itself and we would both plummet to a bloody death. In actuality, the sail essentially floats itself with the wind and the reins are only used to steer. So I held on until we prepared to land.

Columbia River Valley by Golden BC.

Landing was easy and graceful as it began. I was bound to the ground again and eager for another new adventure.

For a super paragliding experience in Golden contact Altitude Adventures.
Price: $190 for flight, $40 for photos and videos
Timeframe: 90 minutes