I'll respond to that.
My mountain rifle is a Tikka T3 stainless in 7mm-08. I grew up with an open sight Winchester 94 that weighed 6 3/4 lbs. My Tikka, scoped, weighs one ounce under 7 lbs. Coincidence? Nope.
When I'm in the mountains, my rifle is in my hands. Not on a sling, and not even in the rifle scabbard built into my pack, unless it's before or after legal shooting hours. Probably 90+% of the time, it's in my hands because that's where a hunting rifle should be carried IMO. For those reasons, I want a 7 lb. hunting rifle. It's not a end to justify the means. It's what I prefer. I just don't see why I would carry a 9-10 lb. rig when a 7 lb. rig does everything I need. If I thought I needed to shoot beyond 400 yards, I might choose a larger caliber and then wish I had a heavier rifle. But I don't shoot past 400 yards, which means a smaller caliber and lighter rifle are just fine and dandy.