Grouse Mountain Moment Contest - Aug. 7

I was just up at Grouse Mountain for an evening of fun while my brother was in town for a visit, so we decided we would head up for some ziplining and to check out the new wind turbine! I never thought it would be so much fun!! We arrived just before 5pm and managed to catch the last zipline tour which was amazing! I loved how fast I went on the 2nd run, and the 4th and 5th runs had the most fantastic views!! Pavel and Thomas also had a good sense of humor throughout the trip. When we finished the zipline, we headed over to the turbine, just to hear it was closing - but luckily we just managed to get in and have a private tour all by ourselves! The view was truly spectacular, and I loved reading that my motherland country Denmark helped out! On our chair lift down we saw the 2 Grizzly bears out ready for a photoshoot so we managed to grab some photos of them. I was surprised to see how great they were with people around them. I also managed to get real close to 2 Deer for some photos also. We finished off our day with Drinks on the Bistro patio and watched the sunset. It was so amazing, but my husband never got to join. I would love to win this contest so I can show him what an amazing experience it was!!

PRIZE: A pair of Oakley shades

The first time I went up the Grind, I was with my exceptionally fit husband (I am not) and my two young kids. My son was growing like crazy right about then, and little did we know when we started the climb, but his shoes were just too small for him. By the 1/4 mark he was complaining about sore ankles, but we couldn't quite figure out what was up with him - both my kids are pretty tough cookies. About another third of the way up, we realized what the problem was. He had big blisters from his too-tight shoes! It seemed like we were stuck between a rock and a hard place: we had no bandaids, and going down was going to be tricky. It was a busy, crowded trail that day. Going up was going to be ridiculously slow and, fierce mama-bear that I am, I just hated the thought of every step hurting my kid. It was then that we found just how much he had grown - I took off my shoes and gave them to him, and they fit perfectly. I have big feet for a woman, so it meant he was wearing an 8 in men's shoes when he slipped into my comfy runners. There was no way I could squeeze into his shoes, so I went the rest of the way up in my socks. People actually whispered and pointed when I went by... and I secured a reputation among my family as "hard as nails". I've never done it again in socks, but it sure made that first time memorable. By the top of the Grind, I might as well have been barefoot, as each sock had developed a huge hole at the ball of the foot, but I've never thrown those socks away! The best thing about that day was the way the Grind sort of embodied our family commitment: sure, I gave up my shoes for my kid, but my family rallied around me on the rest of the climb. I went from feeling like a slow-poke to a superhero because of their support. And though I don't do it shoeless anymore, I still do it as often as I can manage--we even bought a family pass this year, because it is a place we love to be together. Here's a shot of me on that first climb.

PRIZE: A pair of Merrell shoes (of course!)

My best moment has to be when one day while viewing the wonderful grizzly bears one of the bears, Coola perhaps, was playing with the snow, he was fresh out of hibernation and he took some snow in his huge paws and flung some some in my direction, he seemed to just LOVE playing in the snow , rolling around in it. This made my heart sing seeing how content these bears were, in captivity, but truly enjoying each moment, being in the now, and also helping me to be absolutely present and also in the now. A life changing moment, a communion with the natural world, that is often difficult for me being in Vancouver, a big, fast paced, thriving city. THANK YOU for offering me that precious experience. 

PRIZE: An annual membership