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| photo by Grouse Mountain zipline photographer |
Last weekend, two of my oldest friends (as in longstanding not long in tooth), Grace and Linda, and I took a trip up to Vancouver to celebrate our birthdays. On the agenda, besides stuffing our faces, was ziplining on Grouse Mountain.
The ever enterprising Grace arranged a house swap with a friend and so we ended up staying at a condo right in the heart of downtown Vancouver close to Granville Island and Yaletown for the two days we were there. It was a great homebase in between all the eating and running about we did.
We got in Friday night and the next day, started off with brunch on Granville Street at the Twisted Fork. Unfortunately I have no photos of the meal but let's just say that Americans aren't the only ones with huge servings. The eggs bennies and the French toast were decadent and delicious, and we followed up brunch with a much needed walk around Granville Island where we visited the Public Market and looked longingly at all the various foods we were too full to eat and people watched.
We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for ziplining. It was a sunny 65 degrees with clear blue skies. We had feared that it would be raining and with advertised speeds of up to 50 mph, unbearably cold. Happily, there was absolutely no need to worry.
We began with suiting up--harness, helmet, and our personal trolleys. After a quick explanation of how to stop (arms straight out, legs bent, knees lifted up), we went on a practice run. It's a good thing we had the chance to practice because in the 3 seconds it took to get from one side to the other, I'd already forgotten how to stop. Luckily each zipline ended with several plastic discs designed to absorb the shock of crashing to a stop and I eventually got the hang of it.
Grouse Mountain's 5 zip lines took us over a small alpine lake and up to the top of the mountain (we took the ski lift up) where we zipped over several valleys. The views from the top were amazing: all of Vancouver disappearing toward the horizon, sparkling waters framed by snowy mountains and evergreens, clear skies that allowed us to see for miles in each direction. The whole experience took about two hours and was a lot of fun. The guides really ham it up, and I always enjoy seeing folks who really seem to love their job. We also got to ride the ski lift both up and down to reach the last two ziplines so that was also a lovely way to enjoy the view.
Overall, it was a great trip with the highlight for me being the chance to experience the ziplines and the beautiful views from the top of Grouse Mountain with my lovely gal pals. But the food was a close second.
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| photo by Grouse Mountain zipline photographer |
I played around with the video that we shot of ziplining and below is my first attempt at video editing. If you watch in fullscreen mode, we end up looking a bit like we're in the witness protection plan due to the low resolution of the video and it ends rather abruptly but I hope it gives you a feel for the experience!
