It's all in the details

I was thinking over the last few days about how to get the information to the people who want it. People like you, who are reading about what's new at Grouse Mountain.

If you're signed up to our email newsletter, you know we have about 427 different categories to choose from. Okay, I'm exaggerating - we have a dozen, and you can choose what you'd like to hear about. Hopefully you're getting most of the information you want. You can also change your preferences at any time by going through what looks like the sign-up process. Just enter your email address, then re-enter it and you'll get an email with a link to update your selections.

While email is great way for us to communicate important announcements to you, there are lots of little details that don't really warrant a message to your inbox. I mean, we know you get a lot of email, so we only want to give you the really important stuff.

It ocurred to me yesterday that I can let you know how you can get some of those less important details that might make the difference for you if you're a regular visitor to Grouse Mountain.

As you can see if you look just to the right of the screen, Grouse Mountain is on Twitter. I tweet stuff out as it seems interesting or relevant. I don't do a lot of conversational banter there, because I've never thought people really want to chat with a company much - that's like Maytag friending you up on Facebook. Just not right (no offense intended to Maytag... I'm just saying). Occasionally, however, the Grouse Mountain twitter stream will include replies to people who have asked questions.

You, however, don't need to join Twitter to get these updates. Unless, of course, you want to. Personally I love twitter - it's where I get almost all my news now, but I digress... What you can do, is subscribe to our twitter stream by RSS and get it in your Google Reader (or whatever other feed reader you use). Here is the RSS feed for Grouse Mountain's Twitter stream. Then you get the info without having to sign up somewhere new.

I could try to explain to you the type of info that goes up on Twitter, but why not just have a look and see if that's something you'd like to follow.

The Snow is AMAZING

Well this morning I took the opportunity to enjoy one of the best perks of my job... a little on-hill time. I decided to check out the new chairs and, well, the new snow.

As of this morning, we'd received 14cm in the last 24 hours and rediculous amounts in the last week. I found some fantastic powder on Paper Trail and under the Screaming Eagle chair on Cut.

Here are some photos from the morning...













This, incidentally, is the child safety restraint on the new Greenway Chair:



So come on up and join us during this beautiful Christmas break!

Winter Season Starts Saturday!

Grouse Mountain's 82nd winter season starts tomorrow at 8:30 am! Skiers and riders will get their first taste of Paradise.

Come experience Vancouver's newest high-speed quad chair, The Greenway, servicing Paradise Park for the season launch. This week's cool overnight temperatures and frequent snowfall combined with our ongoing snowmaking efforts to make this opening possible.

Stay tuned throughout the weekend and next week for updates on further terrain.

Some photos from today:







See you on the slopes!

Stuff the Bus on December 6th!

The annual Stuff the Bus Blanket and Jacket Charity Drive starts its tour of Vancouver right here at Grouse Mountain tomorrow, Saturday, December 6th. Items received go to support the homeless through the St. James Community Service Society.

2,592
Estimated number of homeless in Metro Vancouver according to the march 11th Homeless Count

4,993
The approximate number of people who live in Single Room Accommodation (SRO) in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (2007 Survey)

5,120
The estimated population of the Downtown Eastside either 'unwell' or 'in crisis' according to Vancouver Coastal health

25,000
Approximate number of seniors (65+) in Vancouver who live alone. 25,000 is also the approximate number who have an income less than $15,000 a year.

75,000
Estimate number of people in Vancouver living with mental illness: 1/3 of people will mental health disorder also have a substance use disorder

150,000
Estimated total number of people in Vancouver living on low incomes (2005 Statistics Canada Census)

Please bring any blankets or warm clothing you may have to the bus parked at the base of the mountain (across from the Skyride terminal in parking lot A) from noon to 5pm. Stuff the Bus continues across Vancouver until December 12, 2008.

"Stuff the Bus" Drop-Off Locations:

December 6th: Grouse Mountain
December 7th: Vancouver Aquarium
December 8th: Costco Downtown
December 9th: BC Ferries (Tsawwassen-Swartz)
December 10th: Harbour Air
December 11th: Town Pants concert at Richard's on Richards
December 12th: Capilano Suspension Bridge

Go root through your closets and pull out the stuff that doesn't fit and the stuff you haven't worn in a couple of years. Chances are, there's someone else who needs it.

An AMAZING Sunset

This is the view from the top of Grouse Mountain right now. Makes me wish my office was at the top of the mountain...