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WEST AFRICAN SAFARIS r an ma occurs one of the many bridges that shift us from side to side. The bridges range from old, rusty, army-Bailey types to Indiana wood bridges complete with gaping holes, missing planks and nching sounds. All that's missing is the horror soundtrack as the planks k and crack. For fun I look straight down and have no problem seeing thundering rapids interrupted occasionally by the odd solid plank. we continue to climb I keep asking where the summit is. "Don't worry, 'II know," is the answer. The sun is beginning to disappear behind the 'ns and we are sti ll nowhere near the top. Finally, as we reach the line, we see people walking down. Hamrakul says now we are getting the summit. Our car has conked out again so I get out and look around. wind is fierce and there are thick bullying clouds that scud and collide the peaks. We are heading into a bl izzard. I decide to walk up ahead to k things out. The people walking down are old hands at this game. They drive s far as they can and then resign themselves to spending the night in me type of crude shelter instead of sitting out the howling storm packed into their cars. As we turn a corner I see where we are heading. It look good. There are long lines of screaming, spinning cars being pushed by crowds of men. The road is now pure ice. People are breaking up of dirt to add traction. The light is fading and the storm is in full It is damn cold but the exertion of walking up and down the hill ing cars keeps me warm. The dull blue light finally fades into nig nd the wind increases, smacking my face with sharp ice crystals. We are iles from the summit. But down here people are having fun. Nobody is yelling and pv,'rVI,n(,v is helping out. It seems the hardest part is keeping the cars m slipping over the precipitous edge and rolling thousands of feet into unseen white chasms below. Some cars zip right past, others have to pushed like overloaded toboggans up the hill. It seems that along with our car's fuel problem, the clutch has given out and the chains I thought would save us are slicing into the exposed cords of our bald tires. At this point, a Boy Scout or a bus tour would do back flips of joy. All they'd need to do is dip into their luggage and pull out the long undies, the brandy and sing until the sun comes out. I had just come from Pakistan where temperatures were in the 80's. I had not planned on doing a little high-altitude camping in the dead of winter, and I carry everything in a small Navy Seal pack designed to carry ammunition and grenades so I was rotating two pairs of pants and shirts. But I'd had the incredible foresight of packing a light sweater (for formal occasions) and a thin water-resistant shell and I improvised. I ended up wearing socks on my hands and pulling my watch cap down over my face. When it was still subzero I did manage to fall asleep once or twice but woke up to find my extremities heading towards frost bite. It was the coldest night of my life. Having spent a lot of my life in northern Canada I knew that death by cold is not an unpleasant death because your brain slowly turns to Jell-O and you sit there frozen, happy and stupid until your heart stops beating. I forced myself to get out of the car around 3AM. The bl izzard had stopped and the stars were out. I marveled at the beauty of freezing to death in such a clear beautiful place. 'To Be Continued .. .) • AROUND·THE·WORLD AIRFARES & ADVENTURES Why just go round-trip when 'round-the-world is more fun? NY-Hong Kong-Bangkok-Jakarta-Bali-New York: LA-Paris-Bombay or Delhi-Bangkok-Hong Kong-LA: SF-Tokyo-Bangkok-Kathmandu-London-SF: NY-London-Joburg/Surface/Nairobi- $1195 �airo-Bangkok-NY: LA-Tahiti-Cook Islands-Fiji-Auckland-Sydney-Manila Bangkok-Hong Kong-LA (Kathmandu +$355): Mt. Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal, 28 days, land only: Web users, build your own trip at www.highadv.com! 1000s of Routings - Custom Quotes - Call 24hrs for Free Catalog High Adventure Travel, Inc. 888.258.5902 S.F. CA - EST. 1987 - MEMBER RRR - Email: airtreks@highadv.com Low season fares, taxes $42 to $95 excluded - CST#1005774-40 $1295 $1695 $1 795 $1 965 $1 91 5 The Specialist in Travel to the Western Part of the African Continent Operators of safari camps in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone Game Viewing -Tented Safaris- Tribal Art & Customs-Ballooning- Rafting- Fishing Send for Color Brochures: West African Safaris, Inc., PO Box 365, Oakdale, CA 95361 Toll free reservations call 888-454-7710, Fax 209 847-771 0