She and her jump-roping team, Jump for Joy, next competed internationally in Australia, where they came in fourth. The team is coached by Cindy Joy and practices in two-hour sessions twice a week, to say nothing of the practice time at home.

Joy trains youngsters who compete in the Heart Association's awareness campaign, Jumping for Health. Christine has been jumping competitively for the past six years, ever since her days as a third-grader at Marshall Lane School.

The Jump for Joy team has some 30 members, ages 8 to18, and in competition, prizes are awarded according to the different age categories. Christine's team has four members and has been featured on the Bonnie Hunt and Wayne Brady TV shows.

One team member shows up in the beginning background shots of the Adam Sandler movie Anger Management. Christine's agility was also in evidence on the Fisher track team, where she regularly won first place in hurdles and sprint events. Plus she's a top student.

She's the daughter of Rick and Jill Reed. Friend and neighbor Mari Yamashiro alerted us to this skipping phenom.

TO THE TOP: Monte Sereno resident Bryan Mekechuk climbed to the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood recently with a the members of a group from the United States and Canada who call themselves the Rainier 9. The troupe set the 2004 season record time of 5 hours and 20 minutes to reach Rainier's top.

Six months of training preceded the ascents, with weight strengthening at Courtside and climbing the Sierra Azule with 50 pounds of water. This Azule ascent Mekechuk did 19 times over a three-month period, gradually increasing the amount of water he carried.

Ultimately he carried the weight down as well as up. This was his first climb and it was coordinated by Alan Arnette, a business associate of Mekechuk's. Arnette established a website for the Rainier 9 and his wife, Kathy, updated it during the climb. The site is http://www.alanarnette.com/alan/rainier9.htm.

The idea is to minimize risks as much as possible. For that reason climbers wear crampons, 2-inch spikes, on their boots, and climbing is done while the mountain is still icy. When the ice melts there's a much greater chance of falling rocks or avalanche.

They took off from Paradise, Wash., part of Mt. Rainier National Park. Then the Rainier 9 spent the night at 10,000 feet at Camp Muir, a small enclosure nicknamed The Box. The Box accommodates 30, sleeping side by side on three different shelf levels. Primitive and packed is putting it mildly.

The climbers went to bed at 6 p.m. to be roused at midnight for the climb, ascending some 1,000 feet per hour. The views were awesome as the sun and the summit welcomed them. An hour was spent at the summit. Then it was time for the descent, which took 3 hours, 11 minutes.

It was a great week in the Pacific Northwest with a fabulous group of people threading their way up two summits, was Mekechuk's appraisal. He's a management consultant when not climbing or cycling.

MOUNTAIN DAYS: Speaking of mountains, John Muir's Mountain Days, with music composed by Los Gatan Craig Bohmler, will be presented Aug. 18­29 at the Alhambra Performing Arts Center, 350 E St., Martinez. The family musical celebrates the life and legacy of naturalist John Muir, Martinez's famous resident.

Lyrics are by Mary Bracken Phillips. Richard Elliott is the artistic director and Bohmler will direct the orchestra. Mountain Days won Best Score and Best Book and Lyrics awards for a new musical from the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle in 2003.

USA Today named Mountain Days one of the 10 great places in the United States for theater under the stars. Ironic that it's inside this year, Elliott muses.

FLYING MISSIONS: An organization called Airline Ambassadors collects used clothing, shoes and toys for Third World countries such as Guatemala and Ecuador, and Corlene Hora is the local rep at 408.395.4176. A clothes drop will be made in September.

Carol Lange has volunteered to pick up articles. Her number is 408.354.1190. Her son, Jeff Schrager, is a pilot and volunteers on an El Salvador run. On his last excursion he delivered 360 pounds of goods. The email is SFO@airlineAMB.org.

SORORITY TRIBUTE: Carol Greene and Norma France were totally surprised to receive the Arc of Epsilon Pi award at the Alpha Gamma Delta Centennial Convention in Chicago recently. The award is given for continued service to the alumnae club and the community.

In past years Los Gatan Carol Peske received high awards from the sorority.

Got a tip for Main Street? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.