Grind #5 - Leiderhosen, Garbage Bag Ponchos and Full-face Welding Mask Style Sun Hats

A Misty Ascent on the Grind amidst the clouds

Sponsorship Shoutout
          
                 THANK YOU EVERYONE! We've had unbelievable support, financial and emotional, and we've had a blast so far. Almost 700 people have viewed our Blog since we launched it just over a week ago and we've had donations from all over the country and beyond. This has been extremely encouraging and one of the best responses we've had was from our friend John Booth who had this to say:


"if you have any questions about CACHA, my friend Greg, also an engineer, spent several summers working on projects with them in Tanzania and made an amazing documentary he screened across Ontario called "Operation Imani" - you should buy a copy online (http://www.operationimani.com/store) - it'll give you a good perspective on what CACHA's involved in."  


          This was HUGE as likely the most difficult part of constructing the PET Women's Centre will be accessibility to tools, materials and the necessary design requirements for the area. Having someone with experience building in Tanzania with CACHA will give us a huge advantage heading in. The goal is to get as much research done before we head over there as possible to ensure that we're properly prepared. We've already bought a copy of his DVD and we've arranged to discuss the project further. Big ups Johnny and Greg.

          The "Eye of the Wind" segment is donated to our good friend Matty Corkum who's currently working on his PHd in the field of Wind Energy! Though we take full responsibility for the cynicism and support all worthwhile wind energy projects. Thanks for the support bro!

Grind #5 - Sunday, September 26th. 
Celebrity Guest Appearance: Grinder, Coola, and the Lumberjacks.

             For our 5th Grind we had all day to explore the sights of the summit so we decided to put on our metaphorical leiderhosen, garbage bag ponchos, and full-face welding mask style sun hats and see what it's like to be a tourist atop Grouse Mountain. Our first stop... the "Eye of the Wind"; a Wind Turbine on Grouse's Peak that was constructed in 2009. Actually, we didn't stop there so much as look at it from afar and comment on it's seemingly consistent lack of movement (see live "Eye of the Wind" webcam on the left!). The Turbine offers tours that actually go up inside where you can see a great view of Vancouver and listen to the audio commentary on a transistor radio that it fairly consistently powers. In fact, the Wind Turbine is completely self sufficient! Some people are of the mindset that Wind Turbines should be located strategically in areas of high winds to maximize the energy potential and payoff (isn't that right Matty Corkum?), but perhaps Vancouverites have more or less accepted the fact that it's more of an icon then an energy supply. Maybe it was the only affordable real estate in the lower mainland? Rumour has it that Rio De Janeiro, as a fellow Olympic city, has an answer to our iconic (ironic?) Wind Turbine.

Architectural Conception of Rio's Answer to the "Eye of the Wind"

            Our next stop was the Grizzly Bear den where we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the infamous "Grinder and Coola". These two Grizzlies were orphaned as cubs and now live in a Grizzly Bear Habitat on the mountain. My (Duncan) first experience with these guys was memorable as my buddy Trav decided to get as close as possible to the Jurassic-park style electric fence in attempt to get a close-up picture. The Grizzly, only a few short feet away, showed his discontent with a loud huff and went back to his ferocious nap. Our previous bear experience involved Trav throwing Smartfood popcorn at a black bear on the Transcanada highway so I was pretty sure that his "Grizzly Man" instincts were perfectly in sync with the Ursine world. As Trav leaned slightly further towards the Grizz he was met with a huge reared Grizzly and a massive "ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR". Trav was startled, jumped back and laughed but this didn't compare to the incredible Godzilla-like reaction from the dozens of tourists next to us. Grinder and Coola were pretty chill today though it was pretty amazing to see them up and about, even without unicycles or juggling balls (I'm told that's only Russian bears). However, they did manage to have a fairly ferocious bear fight while we were there!

 

            Hey, relax, I said fairly ferocious. Next we moved onto the 'Lumberjack Show', where two lumberjacks compete head-to-head in a series of lumberjack competitions. In all honesty, this actually turned out to be pretty entertaining as they competed in axe-throwing, log-rolling, sawing, and other events to entertain the crowds. Hey, they're lumberjacks and they're okay!

    
            Finally we decided that we were done for the day and felt as though we'd gotten the full Grouse Grind tourism experience. We packed up our leiderhosen, garbage bag ponchos and welding mask style sun hats (see the link at the top right to buy your own!) and headed down the Tram with our 5th Grind bagged.

Posterior Grousus Maximus Assus Painus - Grinds 3&4!

Sponsorship Shout Out!


           We'd like to take a little time before each post to recognize some of the sponsors that are helping us raise money! We've had overwhelming support from people all across the country who obviously want to see us in pain, the good or the bad, and have generously supported us in our endeavour! Our first pledge was Duncan's daycare teacher Kathy Inness who never had a chance to escape what was tenacious toddler Duncan. The Corbett-Bourkes lived across the street from Pembroke St. daycare so it just made sense that he attend. Kathy replied almost immediately to our e-mail asking for sponsorship and said that as much as Duncan challenged her when he was younger it wasn't as hard as we were challenging ourselves (debatable). She told me it reminded her of the time she bet "Hyperdunk" he couldn't go up and down the slide 100 times in one recess right before nap time... did he ever show her!
           There were also some great stipulations on some of the sponsorships we received. My good buddy and semi-professional fantasy football player Pete suggested that he and Alissa's sponsorship be dependent on me giving him star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (dream on Sauers). Another great one was put forth by Jamie Pichora who claimed that Jill had to carry Duncan up the Grind (no objections from Duncan here). One things for sure, that would make one hell of a Gelaskin.
     
Grind #3 - Wednesday Sept 22nd, 6pm. 
Celebrity Guest Appearance: Casey Dickinson
 

Grouse Grinder Anatomy

           Grind 3 was an epic one as we had our first celebrity appearance! Duncan's cousin Casey decided she wanted to be part of the cause and is coincidentally out here for a few months to see what life on the Left Coast is all about. We took it relatively easy as everyone knows that there are muscles in the body that simply don't exist if you've never done the Grouse Grind before, including the Anterior Glutus Grindus, Inferior Explodus Quadus or the Posterior Grousus Maximus Assus Painus. We had a late start and darkness was descending upon us as we reached the summit but Casey took it like a champ. Also, so far we've had no phone calls from Duncan`s Aunt Phileen about attempting to kill her daughter, again. Casey conquered the GG in great time and had a classic family photo at the top - the kind that you send to parents as if to say "see, I told you we hung out together while we were in the same place."

See, we totally hung out while we were in the same place

            It was a great climb though upon arriving at the top I heard that my office nemesis and design-desk-space neighbour (I don`t use the c-word... cubicle) Andrew Wight had posted a time of 38 minutes. Despite his triathletic prowess I don`t want to be on the receiving end of the daily who`s fatter debate that I know will continue throughout the winter, of which I currently have no argument. So look out Fatty I`m coming for YOU!

Vancouver by night

Grind #4 - Friday Sept 24th, 5:30pm. 
GRIND TIME: A Record 47:57


            Just like Flight of the Concords "It's Business Time" the conditions were perfect... It was a cool day with a light misty rain, there was almost no one on the Grind and we were feeling great. We loaded up on just enough cans of carbohydrates (Guinness-style) the night before to give us energy but not too mush to slow us down and it'd been 4 days since we had really given'er on the Grind. We posted a time of 47:57 which shaved over 5 minutes off of our previous time! This made us wonder about the times we'd be posting at the end of our adventure and how much money we could raise from those who pro-rated our grind based on the time we posted. A coworker of Duncan's, Mehrdad, provided the following breakdown for sponsorship:


60 mins + - $1
55 mins + - $2
50 mins + - $4
45 mins + - $7
less than 45 mins - $10

      Uh oh Mehrdad, we're already in $7 territory! You might have to go on the Nick DeRidder trying-to-save-up-for-an-engagement-ring-for-Andrea-Chefboyardee-for-lunch-diet to afford that scheme my friend! A partner at our firm Gerry Epp, another of the mindset you get what you work for, agreed to the same scheme though double for less than 45 minutes, now there's some motivation!
      We spent just enough time on the Misty Mountaintop for a selfie photo of the two of us as proof and descended down the mountain to load back up on carbs (Guinness-style).

Mad Selfie Skills

DJ GRIND... OUT!

The Steep Learning Curve - Grinds 1 and 2

Grind #1 - Saturday, September 18th, 4pm. 
Grind Time: A painful 58:06
 Stuck in our head song: Gomez - See the World

Taking advantage of the panoramic features of our camera after Saturday`s kick-off Grind

             We awoke up Saturday morning feeling great, we were ready to conquer the grind as the official start to our Tanzania fundraiser. We decided that in order to survive Duncan would have to invest in a consistent method of hydration. The initial plan was for Jill to smuggle an IV out of the hospital and administer a constant fluid drip though she didn't like the idea that she would have to climb ahead and hold the bag. Plan B was to head to MEC* to pick up a platypus hydration pack and replace the one that had recently gone bad (note - rinse anything reusable immediately after filling with beer). Since it was a beautiful day out we decided we would take our backpacks up with a change of clothes so we could tour around the top and see Da Bears. Da Bears are two orphaned Grizzlies (Grinder and Coola) who are held (with lots of roaming room) in a Jurassic Park style pen on Grouse Mountain.

Four-legged Fish

             So off we went; battle-ready to kick-start our campaign. The backpack, weighing only about 10lbs, was hardly noticeable at first... then it became barely noticeable, then slightly noticeable, then kinda noticeable, then quite noticeable and by the time we walked across the parking lot to the beginning of the Grind we felt as though the backpacks were, in fact, very noticeable. We rarely take backpacks up and quickly realized the effect that the extra weight had on our climb, especially as we were pushing ourselves to make good time. It seemed as though the backpacks were trying to pull us backwards, down the mountain, which, as it happens, was exactly the opposite direction that we were trying to go! As we painfully ascended I (Duncan) pictured myself slowly moving left on Darwins "Evolution of Man" until finally as we approached the top I was so far off the charts that I had devolved into some sort of four-legged fish (see photo). 

             We did get to change into our clothes, which was nice, though by the time we reached the peak Da Bears had exhausted themselves with their unicycling and juggling that all we could see was a couple of furry humps in the woods. We snapped some pictures and made our way down the tram happy at a the beginning of our campaign.

Grind #2 - Monday, September 20th, 6:09pm. 
Grind Time: 53:17
Stuck in our head song: Dan Mangan - Robots

            Having poured rain all morning we were a little hesitant about how Grind #2 was going to go but sure enough the sun broke through the clouds and made for a fantastic hike. The sun showed itself for the first time all day at about the half way mark when it shone through the trees and illuminated the forest around us. It's always easy to forget about how amazing the natural surroundings are when you're not staring at path and pushing on your knees to get yourself up the mountain! We've decided that we're going to have a couple types of Grinds, most we will push ourselves to beat the clock and give you that pain we promised, but some we`ll invite others along (feel free to come and join us) and enjoy the hike. This will likely also reduce the risk of slipping, falling, impaling, injuring ourselves or getting attacked by a squirrel (a sensitive subject for Duncan, and a story for another day).

On the Tram Ride down looking out along Capilano Lake

               We felt great about our time today - 53:17, and is our new official time to beat and we`ll keep bringing it down as our campaign continues. Thanks to all of you who have donated so far, it`s great to see the response, and to those who are following the blog feel free to comment as you please, we welcome the feedback.


DJ GRIND...OUT

LAUNCH DAY!

Look how innocent we were before all this began...

            This was a bad idea. That’s what I was thinking at the ¼ mark of the Grouse Grind the other day as we started our first ascent since deciding that we would devote every ounce of our physical energy in the next month and a half to climbing up a mountain. I won’t tell you what I thought at the half way mark (to print it would likely scare you away). It wasn’t that I thought I was going to die then and there as since we’ve lived here Jill and I have done it a number of times. It’s that I knew there would be coming days in the next little while when I would see this sign everyday and think every time about what came over us. I wondered what Jill was thinking? I decided it was something completely different as she seemed to be smiling (though I knew she was in pain). We agreed this summer that we wanted to do something different this coming year and since my parents, Monty and Connie, had volunteered for a medical mission in Tanzania we were interested and, after hearing all about it, excited about going along.

            By now you may have realized that we’re not trying to raise money by carrying beer up the grind to offer cold Moosehead Lager* as an alternative to the prices at the restaurant at the top. Nor am I planning to collect and bottle the fourteen gallons of sweat that seem to engulf me starting at about the 1/400 point on the trek (I’d like to see Don Draper try and market that). Jill and I have decided to subject ourselves to the Grouse Grind as many times as physically possible in the next month and a half (before it closes for the season and the polar bears migrate down to inhabit it) with hopes to raise money to help subsidize our medical mission. For those who's first thought is that the Grouse Grind is a new sexy, but fowl, dance that those darn kids are doing you're only partially right. It's also a 2.9km long arduous hike on the North Shore of Vancouver that has 853m of vertical gain that has been dubbed 'Nature's Stairmaster'. Feel free to learn more about the Grind by clicking the link to the right.

A Tough Sell

            The medical mission to Tanzania is run through the Canadian-Africa Community Health Alliance (CACHA) and provides medical care to those in Africa who have little or no access to healthcare. After hearing of some family friends that had attended a similar medical mission and some of the stories they had come back with we felt compelled to go along and help. From given children with life-threatening injuries and illnesses a chance at life, to providing used eyeglasses to adults who for the first time in their life see what it’s like to… see!

            At the same time I understand that a lot of people on this list are probably a lot like us and don’t have a ton of extra cash flying out of their pockets and/or get emails like this weekly so if you just want to come along for the ride and read our blog that’s cool too. Or not, we probably won’t call and quiz you but we hope it makes you stay interested in our endeavors and maybe have a few laughs (often at our expense). However, anything you can send us would be greatly appreciated and will go anything but unnoticed.

            The money will go towards our transportation and the provision of medical supplies. Together we need to raise $9000 and since the sweat market has dried up (or I’ve been informed never existed), Jill and I are hoping to fund at least some of it with help from you. In January, I’m hoping to take two weeks away from the office and Jill’s temporarily leaving her masters so we can try and do something for others in need… in Africa.
Cliché? Yes. Unoriginal? Yes. Overdone? Never.

            The Tanzanians that we'll treat have little or no access to proper healthcare and often have conditions of illnesses that, if left untreated, result in death. CACHA was created in 2001 and has since treated over 100,000 of those in desperate need of medical attention and hopes to continue its legacy well into the future. For more on CACHA, feel free to read our blurb on the right side of the blog or check out our links for the official website.

            We’ll be on a medical support team that travels in a caravan around the Kilimanjaro area and will be helping organize the medical centre and patients on a daily basis. 12 hour days will be the norm and 36 degrees will be the average temperature (remember the sweating? I do). My primary role will be in helping to design and build a “Prevention Through Empowerment” Women’s Centre for single mothers to live and receive the necessary education to eventually leave and work in the community to support their families. My goal is to design and detail the structure to modern building standards using local materials. This is critical as catastrophic natural disasters often result in heavy unnecessary casualties in third-world countries due to a lack of structural knowledge and resources.

            We tried to think of different ideas for how we were going to Fundraise; from $500 plate dinners** to “Dunk” Tanks to Beerpong tournaments, though none seemed to fit. Finally we realized that the area we’re going to is near Kilimanjaro and since we won’t get a chance to climb it this time we thought it could play into our cause. Our goal is to climb the grind the equivalent elevation, from sea level, of at least 3 Kilimanjaros or 2 Mount Everests. Bravely, we've also decided to accomplish this feat without the use of oxygen or sherpas. We promise you that we'll push ourselves to summit as quickly as physically possible and hope to take about 10 minutes off of our current time (55 mins to 45 mins).  A friend wisely suggested we use the pledge system that I remember so well from peewee hockey skate-a-thons. We’re going to ask that you pledge a set amount, whether it be $1, $10, or whatever you’re willing to give, for every time we summit the Mountain. We ask that you send an e-mail indicating the amount you’d like to pledge on a per-grind basis. At the end of October we’ll tally it up and ask that you donate directly to CACHA, who will gladly send you a tax receipt! Every little bit counts*** and would be appreciated. The best thing about this is the more you pay, the more pain we feel. Don’t worry, it’s a good pain. Unless you want it to be bad pain… whatever kind of pain you want it to be, it’s that.

            Were going to make it a purely interactive 21st century experience by using the ”internet” to bring you updates on our adventures on a Grindly basis. We’ll blog and post pictures about our latest grind adventure and keep you posted on how we’re progressing. In addition, we’ll put together a package from our medical mission and tell you all about the our experiences and the stories of those we’ve helped.

*Product Placement, cough it up Moosehead

** $500 plate dinners are still available, book now and you get to choose whether you prefer original or white cheddar

*** Cliché