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The trip to Grouse Mountain , named by hikers in 1894 who stumbled across a blue grouse, is a popular one. This is mainly due to the Swiss-built cable cars - North America's largest cable cars - which run from the 290-metre base station at 6400 Nancy Greene Way to the mountain's 1250-metre summit (daily 9am-10pm; $17.50; tel 980-9311, www.grousemountain.com ). A favourite among people learning to ski or snowboard after work, the mountain's brightly illuminated slopes and dozen or so runs are a North Vancouver landmark on winter evenings. A day-pass coasts $32: for more information call 984-0661. In summer, the cable car is an expensive way of getting to the top. It's possible to walk up on the aptly named Grouse Grind Trail from the base station, but it's not a great hike, so settle instead into the inevitable queue for the ticket office (get here early if you can). After two stomach-churning lurches over the cables' twin towers you reach the summit, which, with its restaurants and allied tourist paraphernalia, is anything but wild. The views, though, are stunning, sometimes stretching as far as the San Juan Islands 160km away in Washington State. Have a quick look at the interpretive centre off to the right when you leave the cable car. A 3-D quality film is shown in the theatre downstairs (admission is included in your cable-car ticket) and there are a couple of cafes and a smarter restaurant if you need fortifying after your ascent. The first of the cafes, Bar 98 , has panoramic views, but it fills up quickly. If you're interested in the Grouse Nest Restaurant (tel 986-6378 for reservations), note that you can come here in the evening for dinner, accompanied by a fine prospect of the sunset and city lights below. Rides up on the cable car are free with a restaurant booking. Ask at the centre, or small information desk just beyond the centre, about easy guided walks (summer daily 11am-5pm): the "Tribute to the Forest" (30min) leaves on the hour, the "Walk in the Woods" every hour on the half-hour (35min). Walk up the paved paths away from the centre for about five minutes - you can't get lost - and you pass a cabin office offering guided "gravity assisted" (read downhill) bike tours from the summit (May-Oct 3 daily; 20km trips cost from around $75, 30km $95 including cable-car fee): behind the office you can sign up for expensive helicopter tours. On the left up the path lies the scene of the "Logging Sports" shows (twice daily; free), involving various crowd-pleasing sawing and wood-chopping displays. Just beyond this is the Peak Chairlift (also included in your ticket), which judders upwards for another eight minutes to the mountain's summit: views of the city and Fraser delta are even better, only slightly spoilt by the worn paths and odd buildings immediately below you. Check with the office at the lower cable-car base station for details of long hikes - many are down below rather than up at the summit proper. The best easy stroll is to Blue Grouse Lake (15min); the Goat Ridge Trail is for experienced hikers. More rugged paths lead into the mountains of the West Coast Range, but for these you'll need maps. To get directly to the base station of the cable car from Lonsdale Quay, take the special #236 Grouse Mountain bus from Bay 8 to the left of the SeaBus terminal. You can also take a #246 Highland bus from Bay 7 and change to the #232 Grouse Mountain at Edgemount Village.
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