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.