If you make it up the Grouse Grind once, you climb 2,830 stairs. If you make it up 21 times, you are a champion and record-breaker.
The annual Multi Grouse Grind Challenge was held on Mother Nature’s Stairmaster in North Vancouver on Friday, with participants hitting the Grind from dawn to dusk on the longest day of the year.
And when darkness fell, a new record went up.
The previous record of 19 ascents up the mountain was set in 2019, and was highly anticipated to be broken this year with the introduction of the new Blue Grouse Gondola, which helps people descend the mountain faster.
Out of 100 participants this year, Kelowna’s Sean Green completed 21 ascents, breaking the previously held record by two Grinds.
James Stewart, who attended last year and matched the previous record of 19 Grinds, also broke the previous record this year by completing 20 ascents, placing second in the challenge.
The Grouse Grind is a 2.5-kilometre trail with more than 800 metres of elevation gain.
“Once the participants have completed 11 Grouse Grinds, they have essentially summitted Mount Everest,” said Emily Leak, communications manager of Grouse Mountain Resorts. “For Sean to complete 21, that’s nearly two Everests in one day.”
This year’s event raised more than $46,000 in support of North Shore Rescue.
“North Shore Rescue always shows up for the community when we need them most, so to be able to give back to them through these community-based events is really special to us,” Leak said. “There’s a great community of grinders. They’ve gotten to know each other, they trained together for this event, and they’ve really lifted each other up and supported each other through it. It’s really inspiring to see such a positive community come out of that.”
Zain Alragheb is a student intern reporting for the North Shore News. She can be reached at [email protected].
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