Climber Is on a Trail to Prove That Mountains Aren’t for Men Only

What would motivate Mary Clare Christiana to climb Mt. Whitney?

“When you get to the top it’s breathtaking and almost spiritual,” she said. “You reach deep inside yourself and feel so grateful. Then you breathe in that clean, crisp air and feel so good for what you’ve accomplished.”

That feeling, said the 31-year-old Garden Grove resident, compares to nothing else. “It makes me feel like a pioneer person and grateful for my life and that it’s a good life.”

But then again, there’s her white-water kayaking.

“At first it’s so tranquil on the river and all of a sudden you hear the rush of the rapids and you know what’s ahead,” Christiana said. “It’s a thrill.”

Most of her life has been one adventure after another, including snow- and water- skiing, surfing and scuba diving. Now, she’s making a point out of trying to induce other women to give the outdoors and backpacking a try.

“Women can do anything that men can do in the outdoors,” said Christiana, the eldest of five children. “Backpacking and mountain climbing have always been known as a man’s sport, but times have changed.”

It was her father, Jack Christiana of Huntington Beach, who exposed her to the outdoors, taking the family on camping and river outings during her youth, she said.

“That built up my confidence, and I would come back with the joy and knowledge I could do it,” she said.

She would like to instill that feeling in other women and plans to form a company to conduct outings for women only. “I think some women feel more comfortable when they’re with a group of other women and don’t have to compete with the men,” she said.

She noted that women don’t have to give up their femininity just because they like such things such as the outdoors, adventure and sports such as softball, which she played in school.

“I’m very feminine and can get real dressed up,” said Christiana, who works in a sporting goods store. “But I can still do those outdoor things. I have that balance.”

Christiana’s next climb will be a repeat walk up Mt. Whitney over the Labor Day weekend with James Howat of Huntington Beach and others. The climbers will be raising money through pledges for the March of Dimes as part of its annual “mountain-a-

thon.”

El House is 81 years old, a bowler and a curious soul who was surprised at the number of 80-year-olds and older who were bowling in his senior league at Brunswick Orange Bowl in Orange.

The Tustin man checked back 15 years when the bowling alley opened and the first senior league formed. He found there was only one bowler in his 80s.

Now, his records show, there are 18 octogenarians actively bowling in the senior league there.

Not only are they getting “social competition,” as House puts it, but those men who started to bowl after retirement keep improving their average.

However, House noted, longtime bowlers often see their averages drop. “Perhaps it’s a blow to their pride, but not to their pleasure of the game,” he said.

Laurdine (Pat) Patrick, 83, of Tustin showed the biggest average increase of those who had never bowled before. He went from 122 to 153 in one season.

No matter the average, the “younger” bowlers such as Charles (Mickey) McClowry, 90, Bill Jamison, 89, and Ken Claypool, 89, all of Orange, will never catch up to Jack Williams of Santa Ana.

Williams only carries a 115 average, but he’s 91 years old and will be 92 in October.

Ten years ago, Carolyn Hein of Anaheim buried a time capsule with items from her four years at Katella High School. The time capsule was a 50-gallon drum.

Recently, she and some of her former classmates returned to the secret site to recover the treasures they had hoped to show at the Class of 1978 10-year reunion Aug. 27 at the Irvine Marriott Hotel.

Inside the drum were pictures, newspapers, buttons, posters, three bottles of 1978 vintage wine and a T-shirt that read “Katella--All Knight Power.”

They also found it filled with rainwater that seeped through the ground and into a hole in the drum.

What was salvaged will be displayed at the reunion.

Hein said the wine was OK.