Every summer, indecently exposed to the sun’s sizzle and with winter’s last vestige all but shrivelled up, boarders and skiers take to Golden, British Columbia’s Mount 7 for one last stab at snow sliding.

“What are you guys doing?” asks our first-timer as we other five dudes strip down to nothing but our ski boots. “Did no one tell you we ski this naked?” I answer through our child-like chuckles. Abashed, he averts his eyes and gazes nervously at the dozens of people hiking the ridge below in plain sight.

“But guys, I told my parents to watch from town. They’ve got a telescope!”

“Sweet,” one of the others says. “They’re about to get the best show ever!”

Every summer, for a brief window of about five or six days, 1,200 metres above the valley floor, a special scene plays out in Golden, British Columbia. Mount 7, named for the hanging figure of snow that forms on its alpine face anytime between mid-June and mid-July, sits at the gaping divide between the Rocky Mountains and the Columbia Valley. It’s a triangular, chocolate-block of a mountain visited by thousands each summer. But it’s especially busy at this time of year, with people hiking for the view, to ski, or even just to watch.

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