News from The Team - 04.27.04 - Back to News

NORTH VANCOUVER - North Shore Rescue volunteers fear a tragedy is on the cards on the Grouse Grind hiking trail as more and more unprepared families take on the challenging route.

North Shore Rescue spokesperson Tim Jones said volunteers were out on the trail on Sunday handing out energy drinks to hikers who were flagging under the hot sun.

The grueling walk takes reasonably fit walkers an hour to finish, yet Jones says North Shore Rescue is running into more and more people without water, flashlights, and other provisions.

"The message is not getting out there," he said. "The whole thing is getting out of control."

A North Shore Rescue team patrolling the 2.8 kilometre near-vertical trail to the top of Grouse Mountain on Sunday came across a family comprising one parent with a three-month-old baby, a toddler and a child of about seven. He said the trail is simply too challenging for such small children. "This is not a walk in Stanley Park or along the seawall, this is an alpine trail."

The Greater Vancouver regional district, which owns the land that accommodates the trail, is working with North Shore Rescue to try to educate hikers about just how difficult it is to get to the top of the trail. "The GVRD is taking this very seriously," he added.