VANCOUVER -- The Grouse Grind was closed Wednesday.
Considering the date - Dec. 18 - that's not especially surprising. What is surprising, though, is that the trail had been open regularly leading up to Wednesday, and officials with Metro Vancouver say it could be reopening soon.
Not only was the grind open in November and the first 17 days of December, it was pretty busy on most of those days, according to Tom McComb, supervisor of parks operations for the west area of Metro Vancouver Regional Parks and Environment.
McComb said Metro Vancouver's counters have registered between 700 and 1,300 people climbing the steep trail each day since mid-November.
"It's kind of shocking, actually, to see it," McComb told CTV News Vancouver. "We have a lot of dedicated users on the trail."
More than 500,000 people hike the Grouse Grind annually, according to Metro Vancouver's count.
The trail's popularity is part of the reason the regional body has been working to keep it open "whenever it's safe," McComb said.
He said Dec. 18 is one of the latest dates Metro Vancouver has closed the trail because of snow and ice accumulation, noting that usually happens sometime in November.
The fact that the trail is now closed doesn't mean it will stay that way until spring.
"It's really weather-dependent," McComb said. "Last year, we had openings in January."
Metro Vancouver's website still notes that "a winter closure typically takes place when conditions are considered too hazardous for trail use."
The trail is also often closed for maintenance in the spring, but McComb said Metro Vancouver is working to shorten the length of that closure by doing maintenance at other times of the year, including during winter closures.
