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Season
Generally
the season runs from late May to late October. The access road
is often snowbound up until the very last week of May making
the Lookout launch inaccessible by vehicle. Mid-May onwards, a
low launch can be accessed by vehicle but the road is often
soft and muddy (and subject to extreme damage (i.e. costs
money to fix!) The low launch can be used by both hang gliders
and paragliders but it is tight, steep and tricky because of
possible cross-winds (e.g. NW winds) Only one glider at a time
can be launched. It works best for hang gliders as there can
be a lot of ground snags for paragliders and trees on both
sides.
Conditions
Because of high
lapse rates in the spring (May-mid June), the conditions can
be particularly strong in the afternoons. Temperatures at
altitude can be extremely cold. June is a fairly unstable
month in the mountains so there can be a lot of over
development by noon. June-
to
July 15 can be rainy, but the weather patterns start to settle
and become more reliable towards the middle of July. Mid July
to Mid August is peak XC season though big cross country
flights can be had earlier or later depending on weather and
your tolerance for turbulence. August goes from arsekicking to
glassoffs to pretty quiet, PGs float about all afternoon, HGs
not much action sometimes close to September. As we move into
the fall the thermals are around but generally you can't climb
very high so most flying is around Mt7. XC's have been
accomplished in late September and October but these are
generally rare. This is the time of year where paragliders
have a slight advantage over hang gliders in that they can
hang out in fairly narrow bands of lift. Long flights (time
wise) are fairly common but nobody gets above the summit much
so nobody goes XC.
Golden is a thermal
site, an afternoon site, and a cross-country site. 1000 fpm is
quite normal, up to 2500 fpm is perfectly common. As such it
should be considered an advanced site particularly in the
afternoons up until about 6pm. Novices/intermediates can
certainly have enjoyable flying here but they should plan to
fly mornings and evenings. Early summer days are quite long at
this latitude and it is not uncommon to launch at 7 or 8pm and
fly for a couple of hours.
Cross country flights -
to the south most common. 100 km flights relatively common.
Good LZs, though there are some restrictions and rules. Locals
will fill you in. Return is straightforward as there is only
one highway; very basic hitch-hiking if you do not have
retrieval arranged. To the north is more challenging, from
route finding to LZs to what happens if it goes wrong. Days
are long mid-summer - daylight 5:00 am to 11:00 pm. August
closes in fast. 7:00 am to 8:00 pm by last week of August. If
you are over 7 at say 9500 ft ASL in glass-off at 8:00 pm
August 23, it will be DARK by the time you have struggled down
to the valley bottom at 2600 ft ASL to land.
A
note on safety: Golden is a Rocky Mountain Site.
Terrain is rugged and the forests are thick with deadfall,
undergrowth and mosquitoes (in July). Trees can exceed 100' in
height. The backcountry is known grizzly bear & cougar
habitat. Much of the terrain is without a source of water.
When you fly XC here you are flying over fairly remote
terrain. Cell phone coverage is spotty and radio reception can
be unreliable due to obstructions. Out landings away from the
valley floor and its associated highway can turn into
life-threatening ordeals if you are not prepared. What may
appear to be a fairly short jaunt to the road from the air can
actually be a multi-hour hike from hell. While there are quite
a few forestry roads in evidence from the air, these are not
heavily travelled if there is no active logging taking place.
Some roads may even be deactivated, washed out or otherwise
obstructed to vehicle traffic. Please plan and use common
sense in your flying activities.
Meets
Historically, both hang gliding and
paragliding meets have tended to be scheduled on or around the
last week of July and the first week of August.
General hang outs &
meeting places
The municipal
campground ~ The Nicholson LZ ~ The bird house at Reflection
Lake (see the maps elsewhere on this site.)
Important small print
To fly the site you
must be have pilot insurance.
For Canadian pilots, this means full HPAC membership
For US pilots, USHGA insurance covers it, but HPAC temp
membership would be better if it ever came to it
For everyone else, this means HPAC temporary, Out-of-Country
membership ($15 for 3 months, and available in Golden)
Waivers are becoming a norm - be prepared to be asked to read
and sign one.
We have an emergency fund known as the Contingency Fund. It is
principally setup to cover helicopter rescue costs. You can
join in for $20 per season. (Know that rescue charges in BC
have been from $2000 to $5000)
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Golden
Golden is a town of about 3500
persons, with another 3500 living in the surrounding rural
area that relate to Golden. All kinds of outdoor activities
abound: climbing, hiking, mountain biking, motor cross, white
water rafting and kayaking, motorcycling, hunting in seasons,
fishing, archery range, shooting range, canoeing, bird
watching, and all kinds of skiing and snow-machining in
winter. Not forgetting hang gliding and paragliding ! There
are lakes and sloughs to go swimming in or just relax at. If
you have not seen mountains before, you are going to see them
here.
If your vehicle breaks down, you can get it fixed, or, as some
residents can tell you for themselves, just give up and stay
here ! Know that throughout BC, all restaurants and bars are
now smoke free. Another good source of information is:
Chamber of Commerce Tourist Information Office - Tel:
800-622-4053, 250-344-7125 Fax: 250-344-6688 Box 1320,
Golden, B.C., V0A 1H0, Email:
goldcham@rockies.net
Cell phone coverage - good in town, but
spotty down range There are several places that can help you
deal with your radios and silicon wizardry - download, fix
etc.
and someone who makes backpacks has the sort of sewing machine
that can sew your harnesses and webbing etc.
Notes on Hospital
This is a small one
with not too many resources, although there are some excellent
doctors, who, as we are on the Trans-Canada highway, are well
practiced at ghastly emergencies. With anything serious, what
happens is the patient is transferred to Foothills Hospital in
Calgary - by road, helicopter, or Lear jet, as needed. They
have the best of everything there. If you need it, this is the
place to be.
There is also a good hospital in Banff (an hour and a half
from Golden) with some excellent doctors and surgeons.
Flying Equipment
Muller Hang Gliding
& Paragliding
Chris & Vincene Muller
Big Hill Rd
Box 2, Site 13, RR #2, Cochrane, Alberta, T0L 0W0
Tel/Fax: 403-932-6760 Email:
info@mullerwindsports.com
They deal Wills Wing and Apco, but have a lot of stock of all
sorts of things. What they can not help you with, they can
direct you to the best place to go. Cochrane is just outside
Calgary, so is 3 hours from Golden.
Vehicle Rental
Tilden 250-344-9899
They can get you what you want, but you do need to make
arrangements in advance.
Nearest City
Calgary, Alberta, 3
hours East on Highway 1, International airport
Transportation Routes
Trans-Canada Highway
(Highway 1) East - West
Highway 95 South to Cranbrook, and across the border to the US
at Kingsgate Greyhound operates on both routes
Local depot Tel: 250-344-6172
