Vancouver, BC (February 18, 2010)

Module: gallery_album
Item: Grouse Olympic Party
Displays the photo gallery for a selected Gallery Album.What better place to watch Shaun White win another Olympic gold medal than one mountain over? Such was the case last night as I took in the men’s pipe final from the confines of Grouse Mountain’s upscale Altitudes Bistro. Monster had hooked it up with enough flat screen TVs to put your favorite sports bar to shame and, to go with ubiquitous green energy cocktails served in glasses made of ice, a spread of fine dining delights ranging from prime rib to butternut squash risotto and buffalo tartar. It was enough to make a guy wish he’d showered before arrival.

Most of us saw the finals on TV so I won’t go into details about what happened—I will say, though, that Shaun White’s decision to pull out his A game when the contest was already won earned a great deal of respect from the hundred or so onlookers.

Then, as partygoers started to pour in from Cypress and the city, I did what few seemed to be doing and went snowboarding. Let’s just say that Grouse is doing an admirable job of keeping the mountain running given the refusal of winter to arrive to the north shore this year. The bunny hill held enough snow for the Ultimate One Foot Challenge and a mid-station on the cut run allowed access to a handful of jibs—enough to stay occupied for at least a few hours—and open round the clock throughout the games. Back in the Bistro, the party heated up with live DJs and a femme-MC set from Kid Sister all the way from Chicago, and industry heads from around the world celebrated a successful pipe contest until 4am.

Thanks to Dano Pendygrasse, Monster, Grouse, and the police of Vancouver, whose ubiquitous presence didn’t seem to stop the flag-wavers on Granville street from getting mildly out of control–adult entertainment for the less-inebriated into the wee hours of the morning.

And after witnessing a Wednesday night in downtown Vancouver after departure from the Monster soiree, I leave you with a prediction: if Canada makes the gold medal hockey game, Canadians will be scorned by the international media for their ensuing downtown rampage. You heard it here first…