Cerro de Monserrate, Colombia

This lung-busting ascent is like a South American Grouse Grind that starts at altitude

Brendan Sainsbury

As a resident of B.C. and a sometime visitor to Colombia, I like to think of Bogotá’s Cerro de Monserrate trail as a South American version of Vancouver’s Grouse Grind. Both are short, steep, cusp-of-the-city climbs undertaken by a steady trickle of exercise-seeking locals. Similarly, both can be accessed by cable cars and offer plenty of mountaintop attractions once you finally haul yourself to the summit. But there are crucial differences: Grouse is a gnarly forest trail, while the Cerro path is paved. Grouse is a summer-only phenomenon, whereas Cerro is open year-round. More crucially, Grouse ascends from near sea level, while Cerro starts at a head-lightening altitude of 2,625 m. I remember the first time I tackled the trail, on a crisp morning in early October. Within minutes, I was gasping as…

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Canadian Running (Digital) - 1 Issue, November/December 2023

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