On Sunday, three friends and I decided to tackle the hike affectionately known as the "Grouse Grind" up Grouse Mountain (summit is 4100 feet above Vancouver). This basically involved climbing up steep stairs and rocks for about 1h20mins. Why would anyone do this? Because it's there.

Here are some pictures:

The mountain we were about to tame


The treacherous climb up - an average portion of the climb


Four very tired climbers (Mike, Jessica, Kyle, me)


The view from on-top showing West Vancouver (and at the tip of the peninsula is the UBC campus)



Semi-obstructed view from the top


There were quite a few bear sightings in the area -- this was the only one we saw.


A bird of prey demonstration with a Harris Hawk...


and a Great-Horned Owl.


A lumberjack exhibition (this picture showing the axe-throwing portion of the competition)


Apparently there was more hiking to be done, so we dragged our weary legs up another few hundred feet.


But the views were well worth it!








At the very top of the summit!