With the last of a string of beautiful days forecast for Vancouver coinciding with the New Year’s Day holiday, it simply made sense to make my way over to the North Shore yesterday afternoon and make my way up to Grouse Mountain for a spot of afternoon/sunset snowboarding.
Whether anyone believes me or not, I had a funny feeling that we were going to be in for a great sunset and it’s always been a dream/bucket list item to be up on Grouse overlooking Vancouver’s downtown as the sun set at the distant reaches of English Bay. I’ve heard people rave about the spectacle, some going as far as saying it’s a truly unique experience that everyone should have the chance to take in before they die. I, for one, didn’t need anymore motivation to get up there!
The 45min or so journey from my apartment to the Grouse Mountain chalet is less than an hour despite covering three modes of public transport (Skytrain, Seabus & Bus). Sounds unbelievable to have a hill the quality of Grouse so close to home, but Vancouverites are well aware of the fortunate position they find themselves in.
Heading across Burrard Inlet on the Seabus, the ski fields (see image below) beckon in the distance not all that far away from my workplace (approx. 17 minutes by Bus). Crazy, I know!
Once at the top, I strapped in, got a few runs on “The Cut” under my belt before heading straight for the Quicksilver Terrain Park to see if there were any gun boarders and skiers around, flipping and contorting in the air. The following are a a few shots I captured of some pretty talented kids.
Leaving the terrain park, it was up to “The Peak” and the highest vantage point possible from which to catch the pending sunset.
The whole idea was to get a few quality runs in as the sun dropped behind the horizon and give the sky a chance to be drenched in colour, ready for me to snap the shot I have been wanting to take for almost 6 years now. Here’s what I ended up with.
What do you think? It’ll do, eh? – haha! Good enough to make it into my project365 as day #3 anyway.
I can’t recommend a Grouse Mountain winter sunset viewing enough. Whether on ski, board, snowshoe or foot, it’s a spectacle I’ll certainly remember for a long time and I hope others who have not known about it get the chance to experience too after reading this entry.
Muzz
Karen Willett
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