Today was exceptional on Grouse. An at times fairly strong north/easterly wind made it difficult to launch, but once in the air, there were solid big fat thermals (up to 3 m/s) everywhere. I launched shortly after 4 pm, immediately turned right off launch and found the first leeside thermal that carried me to 1600 m asl. From there, I followed the ridge back to Goat Mtn, Crown Mtn, the Camel, etc., always trying to stay well below 2000 m asl. Amazing!

One more thing: Grouse has removed pretty much all of the snow on the road to the peak, making the hike up much easier and quicker.