Skeena Swim News
July 21 2009 » Skeena Swim » Canwest News Service
Swimming a river to save it
OTTAWA — An Ottawa native sets out today on a 28-day swim down one of Canada’s most untamed rivers — but not just for fun, as Julie Beun-Chown writes.
When Ali Howard wades into the frigid headwaters of the Skeena River in northwestern British Columbia today, the 33-year-old professional chef from Ottawa will literally be up a 610 kilometre-long creek without a paddle.
Not that she’ll need one — she’s planning to swim.
Accompanied by a nine-person crew, Howard hopes to achieve what’s never been done before: completing the treacherous swim in 28 days.
The expedition, which begins just south of the remote Spatsizi Plateau, will end in the Pacific Ocean, near Prince Rupert.
Dubbed the “Spirit of the Skeena Swim,” Howard says she’s taken on the epic journey to draw attention to the future of the untouched and undammed Skeena, home to “one of the largest intact predator-prey ecosystems left in B.C.” and a $110-million wild salmon industry, according to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
The area may see the beginnings of industrial development next year if Royal Dutch Shell goes ahead with a 1,000-well coal bed methane drilling operation at the headwaters, a move protesters say will impact the Skeena and two other rivers.
In her bid to keep the Skeena pristine, Howard is determined to get down the river in one piece.
“It’s miles from anywhere,” Howard says of the region, 1,600 kilometres from Vancouver in B.C.‘s wild interior, and populated by caribou, bears and moose.
“There’s no infrastructure, no roads. It’s one of the longest rivers in North America, and the watershed itself is larger than the area of Switzerland.”
Howard began training for the swim last November after reading about Slovenian conservationist and ultra-marathon swimmer Martin Strel, who swam the entire Amazon River in 2007 for clean water awareness.
Since then, Howard has maintained a hectic schedule of swimming, weight training, soccer and squash.
She would even strap weights to her ankles and wrists while pulling 16-hour shifts in the kitchen at The Cliffs at Kispiox River resort in B.C., where she is executive chef.
According to organizers, the river — described as “fast and furious at its outset” by the website greatcanadianrivers.com — has two sets of treacherous ‘class five’ rapids and a waterfall, which Howard will have to portage.
Raised in Ottawa and one of four children, Howard was inspired by her father Jim’s zeal for whitewater canoeing in the Madawaska-Petawawa region.
Her passion for B.C.‘s northwest didn’t start until her brother and sister began a reforestation company near Smithers, B.C.
“It’s a big slog to be in the water every day for hours on end,” Howard says.
“I’m afraid of my shoulders breaking down and getting tendinitis.
“But my discomfort and the hazards I face pale in comparison to what could happen to the river and watershed if we don’t draw attention to it.”
For more on the trek, visit skeenawatershed.com/swim
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