Metro Vancouver warns people not to do the Grouse Grind; people do it anyway

The tweet from Metro Vancouver was polite, but firm.

But despite the tweets, despite the signs, despite the large, locked fencethe Grouse Grind is being climbed.

It's unknown what percentage of people breaking the rules are aware that despite warm weather in the city, the end of thegruelling 2.9 kilometre hike is still asnowy, icy trek.

And it's unknown how many of the hikers began their trek by walking through an open fence, or were forced to jump over and open the gate after a parks official closed it.

And it's unknown how manyhikers jumped the fence in order to access other trails, such as theBCMC, which don't have an explicit warning sign.

But whatever the case, hikers CBC spoke to at the bottom of the trailon Monday didn't seem to mind one way or the other.

"I'll take the risk ... we saw like 50 people walking up there," said one.

"You can manage, if you know how to hike. I'd like to take the risk today and see how it goes," said another.

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There are signs telling hikers if they choose to hike the popular trail while it's closed, they assume all risk, that conditions affect their legal rights and that Metro Vancouver, the trail operator, assumesno legal liability.

Jeffrey Fitzpatrick, a division manager forMetro Vancouver's regional park system,said the signs are intendedto educate people about the risks, and that peoplewouldn't be ticketedforjumping the fence.

He also couldn't say whetherthe regional organization plans to fix the fence so that it locks two ways.

Metro Vancouver has said the official opening date depends on the weather and completion of some trail maintenance.

That could be mid-June. Which means three more weeks of this.