Thursday morning was spent splashing around with Aunty Kim. Kim, I think, had a fantastic time playing with Tegan and Fraser in the swimming pool and hot tub. Fraser spent a lot of time dive bombing Kim or asking her to come into the hot tub and just as she sighed with relief at the warm temperature he then turned round and jumped back into the considerably cooler swimming pool. Sitting on the sideline it was very entertaining - but many thanks to Kim as the kids had a great time.
By mid morning Rick and I came up with an escape plan - leaving the four sisters to have time together. So we hopped into the car and set of for another Vancouver adventure this time to Granville Island.
Granville Island is connect to the city by a small causeway and lies underneath one of the main highways in Vancouver. It is an island that is home to performing arts, art education, dining, artists studios, art galleries, cement factory, brewery, floating houseboats and fabulous public market with lots of fresh food and a great place to have lunch
overlooking the waterways. The market place allowed us all to select different types of food for lunch whilst we sat in our window seat watching the aqua bus ferry people from one side of the waterway to the other. After wandering around the market and childrens marketplace, much to the delight of Tegan and Fraser, we then turned down to the shoreline and came across some amazing floating houses. These houses were by no means shabby little boats but two storey luxury homes most of them with ceiling to floor windows with views out onto the water and across to the city, their parking spaces were in the form of boats. We all had a fantastic time at Granville Island with so many things to see and do, a great place to visit and returned to the others full of our adventure.Friday morning we decided
to visit Grouse Mountain. We left the hotel with sunshine but when we arrived at Grouse Mountain the summit was covered from sight by a large grey cloud that did not appear to be moving, all around however was blue sky. So we had a coffee and then went to look at a dam just down the road but judging that the cloud was in fact moving and we should go for it. So the 6 of us (Pat, Rick, Kim, Tegan, Fraser and myself) jumped aboard the skyride and took the 8 minute, 1 mile journey up the mountain standing 3861ft.
Once at the top and with our zips firmly done up (the temperature was a cool 4 degrees - not good for Pasty) we could see the views across Vancouver and the range of things to do on top of the mountain, I got excited seeing all the ski runs - just a few more months to go! Our first point of call was to visit Cooler and Grinder two grizzly bears whose home is Grouse Mountain. They had both been born in June 2001 and although not related had separately become orphaned. Both bears were brought to the mountain refuge for endanger species several years ago and now have a 5 acre habitat to live in. All of us loved seeing the bears and managed to catch a theatre presentation on how the beer cubs were found and their life story so far.
After wandering around the mountain top it was decided we needed warming up so lunch was in order. At this point we noticed lots of people were very sweaty and wearing sports kit (ie not a lot of clothes much to Patsy's shivers). It was then that we found out about the Grouse Grind.
History
Hikers were first recorded on Grouse Mountain back in 1894 when a hunting party shot a blue grouse bird and named the mountain in the bird’s honour. It wasn’t until the 1920’s and early 30’s, however, that Grouse Mountain saw the first big wave of adventurous hikers. Several thousand people flocked to the face of the mountain each year looking to reach the cabins located in the Grouse Mountain village, at the foot of what is now known as The Cut ski run.
The Grouse Grind®, as we know it today, was first developed in 1981 by mountaineers looking for a challenging, convenient aerobic workout to sustain them for their longer hikes. They began by following the existing British Columbia Mountaineering Club trail, which still exists today, and offers a slightly less strenuous climb. People soon wanted a steeper route and about a quarter of the way up began using well-worn animal paths as their guide. The trail route was completed in the winter of 1983.
The Modern Day Revival
The revival began in the early 90s, when the trail was appropriately named the Grouse Grind® in conjunction with the first ever Grouse Grind Mountain Run®, now Western Canada’s premiere trail challenge. Often referred to as “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster,” the trail has become part of the fabric of Vancouver. More than 100-thousand hikers a year take on the challenge of the rugged terrain and steep climb, up an approximate 56 per cent slope (30°), which starts at the Valley Station of Grouse Mountain and finishes at the Peak’s plateau.
In 1996, the original cast of builders, along with a number of enthusiasts from the B.C. Federation of Mountaineering Club and Grouse Mountain, rebuilt the trail ensuring optimum safety and enjoyment for the high volume of hikers while maintaining the highest level of environmental protection from erosion.
| Length: | 2.9 kilometres (1.8 miles) |
| Elevation Gain: | 853 metres (2,800 feet) - Base: 274 metres above sea level (900 feet) - Summit: 1,127 metres (3,700 feet) - Total Stairs: 2,830 |
| Statistics: | Annually, over 100,000 people hike the Grind™. |
| Average Time: | On average it takes up to an hour and a half to complete the hike. For novice hikers, up to two hours is recommended. |
| Participants: | Hikers range in age from 7 to 90, with an equal male/female split. |
Course Record
The official course record to date for men is 25:01 held by Sebastian Salas set at the 2010 BMO Grouse Grind Mountain Run®. For women, the record is 31:04 held by Leanne Johnston and set at the 2007 event. Unofficially (that is, a record set outside the annual Grouse Grind Mountain Run®) the course record is a blistering 23:48 that is also held by Sebastian Salas.
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