The Grouse Grind – A Love/Hate Relationship

To give some background on the Grouse Grind; it’s a 2.9km long ‘hike’ that just head straight up, constantly, at a 30 degree incline for a total elevation gain of 853m and comprises of 2,830 steps (give or take). It’s not an enjoyable hike through the mountains, there are no views until the top, it’s a work out, an endurance challenge.

Depending on who in Vancouver you speak to about the Grind you can get one of two varying opinions, either “The Grind is a Vancouver right of passage, it something you have to do at least once.” or “The Grind is a tourist trap that should be avoided, real Vancouverites don’t actually do it.” I fall into the first category. I understand it’s not a pleasant hike, I go into it fully aware it’s a challenge and you do it to complete it. Because it’s there.

Last weekend I completed the Grind for the 3rd time and from five minutes in until I finally reach the top I hated it and was mad at myself for doing it again, and being stupid enough not to remember what it was like. I sweated, huffed and puffed, my heart pounding in my ears and out my chest, I wanted to give up and walk back down, and yet I didn’t, I soldiered on and grinded (pun intended) on until the end.

Then at the top I regained my breath, the sweat cooled, and as the endorphins kicked in I started to get a sense of pride and accomplishment from having completed it and persevering despite the endless desire to stop. I even managed to beat my personal best by a minute and a half (which now stands at 1:15:42), although I am still twenty minutes behind Canadian Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau, and he even filmed an election campaign promo video at the peak, top lad.

Before I had finished the gondola ride back down I was all ready thinking about when I would do it again. I strive forward to get better, faster, and stronger in the hope that one day I can get my time down to under one hour.

Training for Mount Baker

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.”  – Barry Finlay

So the expedition up Mt Baker (3286 meters) is about a year away – I haven’t actually confirmed which company I will be doing it with or the date but I plan on September 2016 – so it’s time to start the training to be in the best condition to taking this behemoth. The fitter and more prepared I am the easier and more enjoyable the experience will be. I know there are more experienced and knowledgeable people out there about how to train for mountaineering and I do have some of their books on my amazon list, for the time being though I think I’ve come up with a pretty comprehensive and varied training schedule that should put me in good stead for the trek.

Training at the Gym

I have always been an enthusiastic gym goer, what I have not been enthusiastic about it leg day; it’s literally beneath me and would hastily be replaced by something more enjoyable like chest day, or arm day, or chest and arm day. That said, you can’t climb a mountain on your arms so having a strong pair of tree trunk legs is what I’ll need to carry my 200 lb. body, plus equipment, up the side of a rock giant.

Inserted into the gym schedule I all ready had in place I now have a regular leg day (although this still gets skipped the occasional week). While I’ve got accustomed to, and even somewhat enjoy squats, deadlifts and leg presses because they make me feel powerful to be moving such weight that I couldn’t do any other way, I am not a fan of any form of lunge. I also now fully understand that training calves is a waste of time as it’s a myth they will ever actually grow. I have been using the JeFit app to create and manage my work out plan and to track my progress.

Running

Having a strong and healthy heart that is accustomed to sustained physical exertion is a fundamental part of my training. From what I have read I will be hiking and climbing for up to ten hours a day and need to then be able to get up in the middle of the nights and to that again the next day. I have often enjoyed to go for the occasional run and have now made this a twice weekly endeavour that has all ready shown signs of improvement.

A few years ago my average time to complete a 5 km run was around 40 minutes and I would be exhausted, and yet since spending a year in Vancouver with a healthier diet, fresh air and more exercise I am completing the same run with ease in 30 minutes (current record is 26:59 minutes). My next steps are to start increasing this distance so that I am doing two 10 km run a week, and hope to maintain or improve on the pace. I’m using my trusty Endomondo sports app to GPS track my route, splits and times, because I do love me some stats.

Yoga

To build up a strong core, increase flexibility and to minimise the chance of injuries (both during training and expeditions) I’ve taken on doing yoga a few times a week. I’m not going to a yoga studio AKA Lululemon showroom to do this and instead found a trusted and chill YouTube guy called Tim (YogaWithTim). Normally it only takes between 10-15 minutes a session and I’m working my way through his beginners program, and sometimes do sessions targeted to a specific area that are either sore of tightening up.

Mountains on the North Shore

I am extremely fortunately living in Vancouver for many reason, and one of them is the abundance of mountains located near by – I have great views of at least a dozen from my apartment. I have created a list of the main ones and plan on working my way through this list as part of my training and also a great source of inspiration. Some mountains I have all ready completed but I am restarting the list from the time I began this blog. A selfie on the summit is mandatory. I will try to figure out how to have this list posted on the site somewhere and update it as I progress. At the time of posting this I have summited Hollyburn Mountain (1325 m).

The Grouse Grind aka Natures Stairmaster, is a hiking trail in Vancouver which leads up the side of Grouse mountain. Although it’s only 2.8 km long the elevation gains is 853 meters! It’s not so much a hike as it is an endurance challenge. This is of course perfect for training and I have completed it twice with my wife all ready but will look to do it more leading up to Mount Baker, my current record is a not so impressive 1 hours and 17 minutes.

Onwards and upwards

So that’s where I am right now in my training. I will keep at it, read to learn more from others and adapt as necessary to maximise my strength, stamina and condition. Are you training for the mountains? What do you find works best or inspired you the most? Let me know in the comments below, I’m always open to feedback and criticism.