Maya writes :-

Nine of us ended up on what can only be described as the perfect day for the first snowshoeing trip of the season.  We met at the base of Grouse Mountain where the queue was out the door to get a day pass.  Fortunately, Martina was on the ball and had Emilia stand in line for the passes, so we all had our passes and were ready to go before the 10.00 am meeting up time.  Now that covid has “passed” we were loaded tightly into the gondola, but it was worth it, because as you exited the gondola, and stepped out onto the snow at the top, it felt like a load lifting off one’s shoulders.  It was the first moment of bliss.  After goofing around by the ice rink and putting on our spikes we set off.  The trail hadn’t been well trodden down yet; so we had to go single file along most of it.  It appeared steeper and more direct than usual, even with spikes on, there was a lot of slipping and sliding.  We had elevenses at the top of Dam Mountain.  There is not much room there for a long stop and it was largely shaded too.  After a slow steep descent down the back of Dam Mountain we headed along the out-and-back to Thunderbird Ridge.  After a minor detour, requiring Alex and Heather to put on their snowshoes to make new tracks, we made it to Thunderbird Ridge.  The ribbing of Alex and Heather for carrying their snowshoes with them stopped at that point.  We really appreciated, then, that Alex had not RTFM.  On Thunderbird Ridge we had full sun and plenty of space to sit, eat lunch, and chat, which we did for a good 30 minutes.  It was another moment of bliss.  The views were outstanding.  The sun kept us from freezing.  And the blue sky was a sight to behold.  The descent went faster than expected, and we met a lot of folk going up.  With the narrow track, and most folk only in spikes, there were a few dumps into knee-high snow.  But, it was still laughs all around.  How could it not be on such a perfect day?