Nelson huffs up mountainside
by Scott Wyland
Feature/Arts Editor
Most people who have never
climbed a mountain envision it
as pure elation standing at the
pinnacle of a rocky summit gaz
ing out at a view magnificently
far-flung, feeling like some ex
alted being looking down across
the entire expanse of the world.
But the more that climbing
instructor Gary Nelson fills the
ears with actual, firsthand ex
periences, the more a rugged
element of reality pervades
these romantic images, much
the way a granite peak busts
through a heap of clouds. .
Even as he was being inter
viewed, Nelson was stepping up
and back off of a wooden box1
in order to build up his climbing
stamina. Drenched with a
healthy coat of sweat and
speaking in between slightly
gasping breaths, these were
some of the things he had to say
about “getting to the top”:
“When you get to the top
you’re only halfway there - it’s
getting back down that’s the
hard part. At the top your mind
is going so fast - thinking about
what you’re going to do next -
to really evaluate anything.
“When you’ve huffed and
puffed to the top and you feel
like you’re going to puke, you
don’t really feel like you’re hav
ing fun. It’s not until you’re all
the way back off the mountain
that you can better evaluate the
experience.”
Nelson described himself as
“process-oriented” and on
several occasions stopped short
of the top rather than being
“like others who go just to bag
the top” and disregard the
danger signals of fatigue or im
minent adverse weather.
When asked why he climbed,
Nelson didn’t echo the old
mountain climber’s cliche
“because it is there,” but in
stead replied: “Climbing is a
sport you can suit the mood
you’re in - like if you’re in a
mood for a challenge - or it can
be a relaxing experience.”
In any case, Nelson said he
preferred it “to be an individual
experience shared with just a few
others” and not a huge social
event with “a big generic party
and radios blasting everywhere.”
Nelson started climbing in
1975, and since then has climbed
in the Swiss Alps, Northern
Scotland, the Tetons and the
Himalayas.
His most challenein climb
Russia from England - via the
same plane as the British Olympic
team - to visit his sister and
brother staioned in Moscow in
the diplomatic corp.
Although he didn’t do any
mountain climbing there, he
discovered that even training in
Russia can be a somewhat har
rowing, if not a different ex
perience:
“My sister and brother lived in
this 12 story building. It was con
venient to work out by climbing
the steps to a balcony at the top,
and then coming back down.
“Once, I paused at the top
maybe 15 or 20 seconds, and
before I got halfway back down I
was met by two uniformed
“When you get to the
top you're only halfway
there- it's getting back
New school year spawns
two new campus clubs
by Sherri Michaels
News Editor_____________________ ______
The beginning of the new
scholastic year brought about two
new clubs, the Baptist Student
Union and the Athletic Booster
Club. *
The BSU will be the first Chris
tian fellowship program on cam
pus for the last two years. The
BSU is part of a larger organiza
tion - the collegiate movement of
the Southern Baptist Convention.
The BSU will be holding weekly,
bible study meetings on
Wednesday in room Bl 14, at 11
a.m. The BSU will also be involv
ed in activities that other Baptist
Student Ministries sponsor in this
area.
The BSU is open to anyone in
terested in Christian fellowship.
The Athletic Booster Club has
been put together to help support
and promote athletic events on
McGriff, Athletic Director and
advisor for the club, it was also
“created for fundraising.”
Along with these new clubs
there are several returning clubs.
Skiing will be coming up late fall
and early winter term. The
Drama Club has already started
their fall production, but could
always use some help with stage
and general work. Spanish Club,
which runs continuously through
the year in order to create a social
gathering featuring Spanish
culture, can also be added to this
list. These are only a few of the
many clubs that Clackamas has
to offer.
All of the clubs are open to
anyone who wishes to participate
in them. If you would like to
know more about the different
clubs or would like to form a new
dub, contact Paul Kyllo in the
Student Activities Office.
down that's the hard
part."
Gary Nelson
was Monta Rosa in the Penine
Alps in Switzerland. He reflected:
“It was one of my first snow
climbs. I suffered from altitude
sickness, and we did it without
any maps or route descriptions. It
was mostly inexperience that
made it so difficult.”
In 1980, Nelson flew over to
policemen that escorted me back
to the top floor.
“There I stood with one guy
standing by me making sure I
didn’t do anything funny while
the other checked out the area -
you see, there was electronic
surveillance equipment on the top
floor which they used to keep an
eye on tenants.”
Yet
despite
whatever
sophisticated knowledge Gary
Nelson might have acquired in his
world travels, the thing he still
stresses most to his climbing
students is good old common
sense:
“Common sense is a com-
modity you must employ all the
time beause (with climbing) there
is no second chance.”
Whitney’s electricity felt
by Stephani Vef“f
Opinion/Copy Editor
After arriving on the pop
music scene two years ago with
the debut of her first album,
Whitney Houston played to a
sold-out crowd at the Coliseum,
Monday, Oct. 12. As one would
expect Houston arrived
glamorously in a sequined gown
of emerald green after a brief
overture of a few of her hits.
Although at her entrance, the
screaming crowd looked to be
ready to stand throughout the
concert and dance with Houston
(who performed in-the-round),
few of her fans actually did so. It
is hard to say why the audience
preferred to just sit, watch, and
listen, but it was quite a disap
pointment to those who would
have enjoyed “getting into the
music” if the people in the rows
behind didn’t complain about not
being able to see.
There were a few moments
when the audience did get to its
feet, but it wasn’t until Houston
began the first bar of her debut
hit from her second album, “I
Wanna Dance With Somebody
(Who Loves Me),” that the au
dience stood and danced
throughout the song, which hap
pened to be her last.
One of the remarkable things
about Houston is that while she
earned $41 million last year and
has achieved an almost instan
taneous stardom at the young age
of 24, she still possesses an air
about her that is very much
down-to-earth. This was evident
many times throughout her per
formance, but most memorable
in the moment when she in
troduced the seven members of
her band and her four back-up
singers. At that same time she
took a couple of minutes out of
her program to sing a special
“Happy Birthday” to Gary, one
of her back-up singers who also
happens to be her brother.
jl J
Pop star Whitnev Houston
It is no wonder that Houston
turned out to have such a
beautiful voice - her mother,
Cissy Houston, a gospel singer
recorded the gospel song “I
Believe” 15 years ago. Houston
performed a glorious rendition of
this song saying that, “It’s where
I come from, it’s where I
started.”
While most of the songs
Houston chose to sing were
ballads, the evening was well-
balanced by her special guest,
Jonathon Butler. Butler, known
mostly for his recent hit single,
“Lies,” was greeted en
thusiastically by the crowd. His
performance included many up
beat tunes with some creative,
jazzy instrumentals mixed in that
left the audience wanting more.
Although Butler got away
without an encore, it was quite
clear that Houston would not be
allowed to do so. After at least
five minutes of clapping, cheer
ing, and stomping by the crowd,
Houston re-entered and per
formed her hit “Greatest Love
of All,” brilliantly to say the
least.
Monday’s performance was
Houston’s last before she goes
on a two week break, but
hopefully it won’t be her last in
Portland, as she is destined to
reach a stardom unparalleled by
any other and the Rose City
would be disappointed if it were
unable to see Houston later on
in her career as she only gets
better with each new song.
Return sculpture
Members of the Art Depart
ment faculty are asking for the
return of a sculpture that was
taken from the Pauling Gallery
on or after Oct. 4.
The piece, entitled “Leda and
the Swan,” took 35 hours to
create, and is not insured. It was
part of the Faculty Art Show.
This is the first time anything
has been taken from Pauling
Gallery.
If someone knows of the
whereabouts of the piece, facul
ty members ask that the person
return it to any official on cam
pus - no questions asked.
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