Grinding at Grouse

I proudly completed the Grouse Grind today. It's a challenging walk up the side of Grouse Mountain; every Vancouverite has tackled it at least once. It's practically an initiation for living here.

Here are the facts:

• It's 2.9 km (although it felt like a lot more)
• It climbs 2,800 ft
• It has 2830 stairs (I felt every one of them)
• It has a 56 % slope. E.g. very steep
• Each year over 100,000 people do the grind - that's a lot 

And to give you a taste, this is what it's like:

I'm delighted to have read that on average it takes people 1.5 hours. I thought I was slow (well, I was compared to some) as I reached the summit in 1 hour 5 minutes.

David completed this challenge last week - and his time was a staggering 47 minutes.

While on top of Grouse Mountain, I visited Grinder and Coola, the two grizzly bears that live at the top (they are in a cage...I was safe...). Seeing huge grizzlies close up was great. I had a 'special moment' with the smaller bear who pulled faces/snarled at me (properly wishing he could eat me - very cute). Here is a photo from Grouse's blog of the bears playing:

 

CS