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BY BETTY WOODRUFF A Buddhist prayer flag and an inscribed stone are two items Dr. Paul W. Blackstock brought back from a mountain-climbing expedition in India. Blackstock, who said he has been mountain climbing "for at least 50 years", spent almost a month in the Himalayas. "We climbed there 15,000 foot peaks," Blackstock said, "generally in the area of the Rohtang Pass." "Most of the climbs were straight up for 2000 feet and it was all ice," Blackstock said. "We just had to dig in and go up." He said that for the climbs, the group would start around 6 a.m. and complete the climb around two that afternoon. Accompanying him were some British climbers he I, , 4t Blackstock Indi S . Across fro3 USC ROUNDHOUSE FREE! Super Chili Day with the purn medium size soft drink. (July 19-August 2) Mountain met after his arrival in the area. "'There were thousands of people going through the pass," Blackstock said. "Mule trains, shepherds-as soon as possible, the people dig out tea stalls in the snow for the travelers. The Tibetians who primarily frequent this area are a sort of pilgrim people." Blackstock carried his own equipment in a backpack up the t r a i I s a n d t w o sherpas-accompanied him also carrying equipment. - The only major problems Blackstock encountered was a dislocated shoulder and dysentery. "There is a problem that every mountain climber has called anoxia. As you ascend these cates Trek Area. "Supe Chili I SUPER 006 :hase of one order of French F Climber I heights, your body must become acclimatized to the altitude changes. It takes a day for every 2000 feet above 12,000, and if you don'tacclimate, you'll die." He said the effects of acclimitization always included severe headaches and nausea. "A lot of these rich Americans who fly in the the base of Mount Everest at 18,000 spend their mountain-climbing time under an oxygen tank. They just didn't become acclimated right." A good aspect of these particular peaks is -that a climber does not have to have special permission to climb them, he said; "The people there are very friendly and helpful, and the villages are extremely primitive. They're typical Alpine villages, with maybe four houses making up a village. The area is almost totally untouched by tourists because access is so difficult." Transportation to the area involves a plane trip to New Delhi, one 12-hour bus ride and one 14-hour bus ride and backpacking the rest of the way. "I picked the prayer flag up out of a dump. The Tibetian refugees put up thousands of the flags wherever they go. They believe that whenever the wind blows, the prayer is repeated. Bright bits of cloth are also sewn on the end to help attract the gods' attention," he said. A rock tablet with Hindu inscriptions engraved on it was found in the same area as in the prayer flag, Black sto ck said. "I just happened to turn it over with my foot." But once upon the mountain, ge'tting down is a different situation. "To go down on the ice, we just sit down and slide," Blackstock said. "But it is a learned technique called glissading, and you use an ice axe for control." The next expedition for Blackstock will probably be the international technique climbing camp which he was invited to join Russia next July. brazier og" ries and one ikes Ind'a 4 tone and flag. Bltackstock -SALE 50'H OFF tuiter INNER CITY LA ADRAQS 781- , ~ 2016 GREEN STREET (AT FIVE POINTS) UPSTAIRS . AUDIOAeE Has Blank: 3 inch reel tape cassettes 8 tracks 7 inch reel tape 919 Sumter Street above Budget Taes a.nd Records