Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

International Space Station.
Weightlessness off ers a number of
advantages living inside the shuttlecraft,
he said.
“Because there’s no gravity, we can
use all the available surfaces,” William
explained. “I can run my sleeping bag
diagonally across the ceiling and have a
restful sleep.”
Some challenges astronauts face
are similar to expedition climbers’, he
said, including working as a team and
understanding technology, equipment
and body movement.
“Th ere are many similarities between
space walking and rock climbing,”
Williams said. “In climbing you’ve got
the rope, when you’re space walking
you’re on a tether the whole time. Tether
management is a big deal, just like rope
management. You don’t want to get your
tether fouled or tangled up. You look at
the task, calculate the degree of diffi culty,
a lot like climbing. In space walking,
there’s a lot of hand over hand movement,
quite similar to rock climbing, but
primarily using arms, not feet.”
Williams said this time he expects
to see much more of Canada as the
spacecraft orbits the earth every 90
minutes, traveling at 25 times the speed
of sound.
“Th ere is no way you can really
describe how beautiful it is,” Williams
said. “Th e view is constantly changing,
from sunrise to sunset every 45 minutes.
It’s spectacular looking at the planet
from space. But you also really become
sensitized to the impact human beings
have on the planet. You can really see the
pollution.
“For me, space travel represents the
pinnacle of exploration. Th at desire
people have to explore – that’s still there.
And there’s still lots to explore.”
Reprinted with permission from the
Rocky Mountain Outlook.
I do not like ice climbing. Th e freezing air makes my
eyes water and catches in my throat. Each painful breath
rises in a small puff . So what am I doing hanging off
this frozen waterfall? I could be skiing or rock climbing,
even hanging out at the mall. Anywhere else would do.
I look over my shoulder and see cars snaking along the
highway far below. Th e restaurant is a pinprick beside
the road. Th ey’ll be serving up the usual lukewarm coff ee,
hamburgers, greasy fries and I can just taste that hot
chocolate with whipped cream sliding across my tongue.
–- Excerpt from Extreme Edge, by Alpine Club
of Canada Vancouver Section member Heather
Kellerhals-Stewart, a book about climbing written for
a young adult audience. As with her previous book,
Witch’s Fang, Kellerhals-Stewart plans to donate all
royalties from the sales of her latest book to the ACC.
Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● SUMMER 2007 27