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Now that digital lifestyle device, tablets, wireless phones, and other internet appliances are beginning to come of age. We need to worry about presenting our content to these devices so that it is optimized for their display capabilities. Tablet PCs are much talked about gadgets these days. Those, seeking best Tablet PC can take help from the following count down.
New PCs Tablet
1. Blackberry PlayBook
Blackberry PlayBook is a smart Tablet PC. It is among the leading gadgets of 2011. It features 7 inches LCD display that has screen resolution of 1024×600. It is powered by 1 GHz dual-core processor and possessed 1GB RAM. You can easily perform multi-tasks and switch from one app to another. Blackberry playbook offers wonderful interface for web browsing and high speed internet connectivity. It has integrated support for HTML 5. One can browse through 1.6 million flash sites. Its crystal clear display is amazing for video calls. Blackberry playbook features dual cameras i.e. 3 Mega Pixels HD forward facing camera and 5 Mega Pixels HD rear facing camera". This Tablet is must-have for the people who want to serve their varying business needs. It is compatible with Blackberry enterprise server. CNET wrote about blackberry playbook, "If this is businessman's tablet, then it definitely looks the part".
2. Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000
Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000 is a new Tablet PC with android 2.2 platform. It features 7-inches LCD display with resolution of 1024×600. It is powered by 1.0 GHz processor. This Tablet PC consists of RAM of 512 MB. Like Blackberry playbook it also features dual cameras i.e. 1.3 Mega Pixels front facing and 3.2 Mega Pixel rear facing camera. One can also record high definition videos with resolution of 1280×720. It has integrated Wi-Fi and Adobe Flash that facilitate you to open more than one window, view full web page and watch videos. Do you want to stay connected with your siblings on social networking sites? Try its social Hub. Social Hub offers to view latest texts of all the contacts as well as provides access to Facebook and Twitter updates. You can also synchronize multiple email accounts and receive messages in one inbox. Isn't it amazing? Now you can easily manage your multiple email accounts with Samsun Galaxy Tab GT-P1000.
3. Viewsonic ViewPad 7
Viewsonic ViewPad 7 is a Tablet PC that runs on android platform. It features 7 inches multi-touch display with resolution of 800×400. ViewPad 7 is a versatile Tablet; it can serve your multiple purposes. It can be used as computer, game center and e-book reader. It's Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity helps to access the Web World. You can surf the web with the easy moves of your fingers on its multi-touch screen. You can also directly access to your favorites apps via Google market place. ViewPad 7 is a full mobile office; you can perform your daily tasks with MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF software. Hence one can easily view and edit documents and can prepare the business presentations on the go. Professionals can save their time and can carry their work with them through this Tablet PC.
4. Acer Iconia Tab A500
Acer Iconia Tab A500 is a Tablet PC that operates on Android 3.0 platform. It features 10.1 inches display and powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor. A500 offers you multiple options for connectivity i.e. HDMI, Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth. Apart from it Iconia Tab A500 also supports mini-USB and full USB port. Like most of the latest Tablets, A500 also features dual cameras i.e. 2 MP front facing and 5 MP rear facing camera. Looks wise Acer Iconia Tab A500 is dashing Tablet.
5. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7100
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7100 was announced at 2011 Mobile World Congress. Samsung has produced it with the help of Vodafone in partnership. Samsun Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a very light weight Tablet PC with 10.9mm thickness. It features 10.1 inches touch screen display with WXGA TFT. It is powered by 1GHz dual-core, Nvidia Tegra 2 chip and runs on android 3.0. Camera of this Tablet PC is awesome, it features dual cameras; 8 Mega Pixels rear facing camera and 2 Mega Pixels front facing camera. One can also record High Definition videos (1080p). P7100 supports variable fast internet connectivity i.e. GPRS, Wi-Fi, EDGE and wireless technology (Bluetooth). You can also download your favorite apps form the Android market. It's a value added feature. Isn't it great? Off course! You can make well use of this Android Tablet PC. P7100 is quite slimmer and smart one can easily carry it.
6. Notion Ink Adam Tablet
Notion Ink Adam Tablet is a Tablet PC that is powered by Nvidia dual-core Tegra 250 processor. Its transflective screen enables you to use it under the sun. Camera of Adam Tablet is simply awesome, it features 185 degree swivel camera. It helps you to pick out own frame. Automatic view rotations enable you to capture perfect images. Other features include; 1080p HD video output through HDMI. Connectivity is possible with the help of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It also includes microSD, USB and mini USB support. Notion Ink Adam Tablet is famous a Tablet PC with superb performance of its processor.
7. Motorola Xoom
Motorola Xoom is a super smart Tablet PC with Android 3.0 platform. It features 10.1 inches touch screen with resolution of 1280×800. Motorola Xoom is powered by 1GHz dual-core processor. Majority of people prefer to buy a gadget phone that provides outclass camera. Motorola has integrated a high quality digital Xoom camera in this Tablet PC with dual LED flash. Xoom features; 5 Mega Pixels rear facing camera and 2 Mega Pixels front facing camera. You can also access to high speed internet through Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS. Motorola Xoom also includes Google Mobile Services i.e. Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google e-books and YouTube. Good news for the music lovers! It also consists of Android music player. Hence one can enjoy high quality music with the help of this Android based Tablet PC.
8. HP TouchPad
HP TouchPad is a Tablet PC that will be on hand, somewhere around the summers. It runs on HP WebOS. It features 9.7 inches, multi-touch screen with resolution of 1024×768. It is powered by 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU. HP TouchPad is quite light with weight of 1.6 Pounds. HP TouchPad features 1.3 MP webcam. If you are curious about the internet connectivity, you might be disappointed to know that its initial version will just support Wi-Fi connectivity.
9. HTC Flyer
HTC Flyer is a super smart Tablet PC. It features 7 inches touch screen with resolution of 1024×600. It is quite light with weight of 14.82 Ounces including battery. HTC Flyer operates on Android platform and it is powered by 1.5 GHz processor. It features dual cameras; 1.3 MP front facing and 5 MP rear facing camera. Internal storage of HTC Flyer is 32 GB with RAM of 1GB. Its graphics are superb, you can also play your favorite games. HTC Flyer is portable and fast Tablet. One can also operate through a magic pen. This magic pen can draw, paint, write and restore pictures. HTC Flyer enables to keep office on the go. It can perform your several office jobs. Now, you can do your office work and send email, whenever you will be struck in traffic.
10. Dell Streak 7
Dell Streak 7 is an Android Tablet with Android 2.2 platform. It features 7 inches multi-touch screen with resolution of 800×480. Dell Streak 7 is powered by Tegra 2 Nvidia processor. It consist of dual-cameras i.e. 1.3 MP front facing camera and 5 MP rear facing camera. It also features integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and internal storage of 16GB. You can also connect through 3G and 4G network. Dell has introduced Android based Tablet to compete with other Tablet providers.


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Apr 8, 2007 -- posted by TechMonk
Improve your programming skills and win free t-shirts too!
Programming has always been my interest since I first learned to use computers in Class IV. But it was only after I joined my college, DA-IICT, for B.Tech, I started taking part in programming contests. I regret for starting so late, but as some say "It's better late than never".
I can undoubtedly say that taking part in programming contests have helped me achieve whatever little success I achieved. It not only helped me improving my programming skills but also helped in earning recognition in my college and outside. Not to forget the cool t-shirts, that I won, having big labels on them for showing off.
Well, for those, who want to have a go on these competitions and have no clue where to start, I will soon be posting info about various programming contests in my successive blogs. These includes-
I will also be posting info on how to practice and prepare for these contests and some of my experiences, till then check out the sites of these contests.

subset: commoncrawl


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First and foremost, my blog is not a famous blog to be compared of like Kennysia or XiaXue blog. This blog provides the opportunity for me to express my feelings and thoughts as well as the life experiences gained. Besides, I loves to write on events, foods, travel or current issues attached with photos. I try my best to provide detailed descriptions so that my posts will be informative and not just to 'see and go' without leaving any impacts. On the day I posted my post on "My First Nuffnang Cheque', the number of visitors on that day hits the highest record with 243 visitors deleting the previous one with 208 visitors (should be). Thanks again for those who had come and cheered for me. Arigatou.
As for previous week, I only managed to add 1 more post. It will take me quite some time to make a new post plus I am facing a heavily packed schedule for my studies. For those who do not not mind to wait, thanks again. Perhaps, this is the shortest time I took to make a post. Haha..short and simple but less content. Which do you prefer?


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For the 9th time this year, the Bochum Antiquarian "Market" will take place in the City Hall Wattenscheid. Twenty-two antiquarian booksellers from Germany and The Netherlands have registered to exhibit at this year's event so far, and will bring a wide range of material covering five centuries of book publishing and printing. A perfect opportunity for collectors and booksellers to buy, to sell, for new contacts and encounters.
RUHR.Antiquaria 2017
05 Nov. 2017
05 Nov. 2017
Antiquarische Verlagsbuchhandlung Steeler Antiquariat, Essen


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I was born in California, spent most of childhood in Israel and my high school years in Italy.
I am currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in Bessemer Venture Partners, an amazing firm of ultra-smart and fun investment professionals.
Prior to Bessemer, I was a Vice President of New Services at Sears Holdings Corporation and a board member of its Home Electronics and Outlets business units. I joined Sears following the acquisition of my social search engine startup Delver. Before Delver, I founded an Information Security startup, Onigma, which was acquired by McAfee. The acquisition party was a blast 🙂
The original motive for starting Onigma was to sell it and use the money to finance my first feature film. The first part of the plan worked out well, yet I couldn't resist starting 'just one more startup'. Going back to making movies has become again an exciting option.
Before all that startup extravaganza, I wrote a very funny Israeli sitcom (together with my highly talented comedian friend Nadav Abekasis) yet unfortunately, none of the local TV producers we met laughed as much as we did. The script is now safely stored in my home computer under the folder 'the funniest Israeli comedy no one will ever see'.
Earlier in my career, I worked with American-Israeli film director Avi Nesher on various projects, the most interesting one being 'Turn Left at the End of the World', a major box-office success in Israel (If I recall well, it was the top grossing movie in Israel since 1980).
I graduated cum-laude from Tel-Aviv University with a double-BA in Film Studies and Computer Sciences, however the real exciting stuff took place during my high school years in the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy. If you stumbled upon this page and you are about 15 years old, stop everything you do and apply for a scholarship at the UWC. You will never regret it!
Finally, I'm addicted to travel and spent nearly three years of my life traveling around the world: spent an year in Asia, climbed 6,000+m mountain peaks in South America and generally kept myself busy avoiding getting killed in a wide range of extreme sports and stupid activities (tips for travelers, #12: Never drive at night in India with more than 3 people on your bike). I still have some secret plans of living under a Cocoa tree for several years. Please let me know if you have a beautiful island for sale.


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event date: 04.04.2014
Bassfaced #8 @ Paard van Troje
Bassfaced #8 kicks off another edition in het Paard.
I will be VJ'ing a short guest set. Here the aftermovie.
event date: 20.12.2013
Circuit Breakdown Summer Edit.@ Langweiligkeit Klub
Charly Linch's work has been featured on several Themeless compilations from the people over at breakcore.nl. He also has a digital album out on Mindtrick over at bandcamp.
Grab your copy today!
event date: 19.08.2011
event date: 04.03.2011
Audio Active XXL – Aftermath Movie
Commissioned by TTS Events, and working together with Giulio Sterbini (Chem D) and Bonne Knibbe (VJ N-X) we created an aftermovie impression of Audio Active XXL.
Aftermath video of the evening of 26 Nov. 2010 at het Paard, Den Haag.


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As you can probably tell from the state of my hair it was very very windy that day. I was on the look out for a really grimey amusement arcade and kept saying to the girls "the seedier and more old school it is, the better". We found this one and it was perfect for what I had in mind. I was also finally able to shoot my new 'Rebecca' necklace I received from 'Onecklace' over a week ago. You cannot understand how obsessed I am with this necklace. I've worn it pretty much every single day since I received it.
|Cropped Shirt- Heyday! Vintage Style | Skirt- Primark | Sneakers- Newlook |
Satchel- Cambridge Satchel | Necklace- Onecklace
I was over the moon to be asked by Onecklace if I wanted to select a necklace as I used to have one. I bought a 'Carrie Style' one 7 years ago from Argos, the chain broke and it's been sitting in my jewellery box ever since. As some of you know I am a massive Sex and the City geek. I mean serious geek. At University like the fool I am I bought the DVD boxset impulsively one day and then had no food money for the rest of the week. What an idiot! but you know what? It was the best investment I made because we watched it non stop for two years. I love the fashion, the stories, the relationships it's still one of my favourite TV series till this day- that and Friends.
There were several different styles on the website to choose from but for me it had the be the Carrie font and in gold. I selected the smaller chain length too of 16" so it sits highers on the collar bone just like Carrie's. They have kindly given all readers of The Cinnamon Slipper a lovely 10% off you too should want anything from their website. Just quote cinnamonslipper Happy shopping! x


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Click Subscribe To Join The Bill Chaser Newsletter For Open Boat Fishing Trips and Specials.
Had Noah and his dad out for some Fluke fishing on Thursday and they had decent action with shorts and keepers. Some days we have good keeper action and some days we have to weed through a bunch of shorts but nice to have the action.
Sandy Hook NJ. Fishing Charters


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Get to know… Gayle Donowitz
FAIRFIELD — Walking the quiet halls of a sand-colored brick building on Biro Street, teenagers greet Principal Gayle Donowitz by first name, with ease.
In one of the large Walter Fitzgerald Campus classrooms, a student is sketching out a mural. As the principal turns down the hall that Thursday morning, another teenager smiles and says, "Happy birthday, Gayle."
Anything Donowitz corrects, she does with an upbeat softness, engaging each student by name with a sense of familiarity.
"It is a community," she said. "While all schools have that flavor, here the relationship is what builds between and among everybody."
Walter Fitzgerald Campus, a program for students from the town's public high schools, has 34 students and 10 staff members. Five students have applied to Fairfield's alternative high school for the next marking period, a number Donowitz expects to grow after winter break.
"My area of focus has always been about special education, and also about making education accessible to everyone," Donowitz said. "It's not just about if you have special needs or what the case may be, but really how it is that we can engage in learning and loving to learn."
A Brooklyn, N.Y., native, she began her career teaching special education in New York City schools. She gravitated toward working with high school students and transitioned into administrative roles.
When she moved to Connecticut, Donowitz found the experience to be "very close, but a whole new world" compared to her city life. Already retaining a school principal certification, she earned a superintendent certification at the University of Connecticut, not aspiring to the role, but aiming to learn about education specifically in the state.
Donowitz spent time working in Greenwich and Bridgeport, as well as directing education at Boys & Girls Village and for LEARN Regional Education Service Center. She eventually began to feel her life was more about management, however, missing student relationships, direct work in schools and the real feeling of making a difference.
That was when Donowitz saw a job opening at what was then called the "alternative high school" in Fairfield. Five years ago, she took a job coordinating special education for the town's public high schools and as a supervisor at the alternative high school.
"I love it, and I'm really blessed," Donowitz said. "It's what I wanted to do with my life, and I am doing it."
It is her second year full-time at the school as its principal and her 40th working in education.
Now living in Guilford — and teaching yoga in her spare time — Donowitz counts the program's focus on relationships as part of the learning process and said the opportunity to see and fill needs highlights of her job.
"I think it's what makes my life meaningful. In terms of why I come to work, the relationships with the students and the community of learners here — the staff and students — is paramount," she said.
An element Donowitz loves is that staff will look at alternatives at Walter Fitzgerald, amending programs to get each student excited about his or her education.
"Each of the students has something to teach, and from that we learn and can actually expand their lives," she said. "I've watched students come in here not believing they even cared about learning and go on, not only caring about learning, but caring about their life post-high school and going on to university."
Teaching at Walter Fitzgerald does not generally fit the mold of other district schools. A smaller and tight-knit community, everyone is on a first- name basis.
Staff use positive behavior interventions, as well as restorative practices that focus less on right and wrong and more on moving on and learning from mistakes. They emphasize project-based learning over more traditional methods. More focus is also on alternative paths to the college route, including trade or career preparation.
"Our world is not made up of people that simply have college diplomas," Donowitz said. "Our world is made up of people that have an impact in the world in which they live."
Its site tucked among a parochial school and church, the campus is linked to other district public schools. In the community service learning program, students work with Fairfield elementary school students.
"What's special about that is they're going into elementary schools as the leader, as the young adult who's responsible, as the person who has a place," Donowitz said. "Also, for some of them, they didn't have a great experience at a younger age, so it gets them some healing around that for them to see themselves actually as a positive member of a community that they didn't otherwise identify that way with."
In one case where a student was not excited about the community service learning program, staff adjusted it to be a presentation project, where he taught fifth-graders about science, rather than working more hands-on with the students. He returned from college this Thanksgiving, Donowitz said, and said he had done many presentations and PowerPoints and was prepared to do them well.
The principal, now in her fifth year in Fairfield, has already been part of change at the campus. Walter Fitzgerald is a moniker the school recently took on in honor of a teacher and coach that spent his career working with the district's co-op program.
Fairfield combined the co-op offering with its special education program to create what is now the Walter Fitzgerald Campus. Donowitz was part of the renaming, a step she sees as helping the school gain its sense of unified identity.
On that morning as Donowitz walked the halls, classrooms were subdued on the verge of winter break. One bulletin board decorating the wall displayed photos of students and staff.
"The students who go to school here are somewhat brilliant, they're valuable members of the community and they have a lot to contribute," she said. "They take a little bit more effort and perhaps a little bit more resources, but what they have to give back and the outcomes that we achieve are not only worthy, they're essential."


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DAYTON — Beginning Wednesday, July 1 through Sunday, July 12, Montgomery County dog owners can purchase a license for their canine without penalty fees. On Tuesday, June 30, the Montgomery County Commissioners passed a resolution to establish the "Amnesty Dog License Period."
The Amnesty program is designed to encourage dog owners to license their dogs and pay only the standard license fee with no penalty. Owners whose dogs have been spayed or neutered will pay a $20 license fee. Owners whose dogs have not been altered will pay $24 per dog license.
There are exceptions made for dog breeders who have proper registration and hunters who have a valid hunting license and use their dog for hunting. In addition, dogs that are medically certified by their veterinarian as being too old or health compromised may receive the $20 rate by providing certification with their application to the Auditor's Office.
Revenue from licensing is the Animal Resource Center's major source of funding. Proceeds from license sales help the Animal Resource Center to care for stray and lost animals, spay and neuter every animal that leaves the center as an adopted pet and provide animal control services to our community.
Amnesty dog licenses will be sold from Wednesday, July 1st through Sunday, July 12th at the following locations: Montgomery County Auditor's Office, County Administration Building, 451 W. Third Street, Dayton; Online at: www.mcohio.org/dogs; Animal Resource Center, 6790 Webster Street, Dayton and at SICSA, 2600 Wilmington Pike, Kettering.
A Montgomery County dog license can be traced 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A license distinguishes a lost dog from a stray dog. A Montgomery County Dog License provides legal proof of ownership, and licensed dogs are eligible for the Vacation Registration Program. For more information, contact the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center at: 937-898-4457.


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Time-Sensitive Chemicals
- Introduction
- Peroxide Forming Solvents
- Time-Sensitive Compressed Gas Cylinders
- References
Many chemicals have a shelf-life and can become more hazardous as time goes on. This webpage discusses two classes of time-sensitive hazardous chemicals: peroxide forming solvents and certain compressed gas cylinders. It is extremely important that these chemicals are identified and managed properly. If any time-sensitive chemicals are found to be past the manufacturer's expiration date, they must be submitted to REM for hazardous waste disposal immediately.
It is important to note that the time-sensitive chemicals listed on this webpage are not comprehensive. Researchers should always review the material safety data sheets for information regarding time-sensitive chemicals and expiration dates.
Peroxide Forming Solvents
Autoxidation in common laboratory solvents can lead to unstable and potentially explosive peroxide formation. The reaction can be initiated by exposure to air, heat, light, or contaminants. Most of these solvents are available with inhibitors to slow the peroxide formation. Examples of inhibitors include BHT (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methyl phenol) and Hydroquinone. There are three categories of peroxide formers:
- Group A chemicals are those which form explosive levels of peroxides after prolonged storage, especially after exposure to air without concentration. Test these for peroxide formation before using and discard 3 months after opening.
Group A Chemicals Butadiene Divinylacetylene Tetrafluoroethylene Chloroprene Isopropyl ether Vinylidine chloride
- Group B chemicals form peroxides that are hazardous only on concentration by distillation or evaporation. Test these before distillation and discard after 12 months.
Group B Chemicals Acetal Dicyclopentadiene Methyl isobutyl ketone Acetaldehyde Diethyl ether 4-Methyl-2-pentanol Benzyl alcohol Diethylene glycol dimethyl ether 2-Pentanol 2-Butanol Dioxane 4-Penten-1-ol Cumene Ethylene glycol dimethyl ether 1-Phenylethanol Cyclohexanol 4-Heptanol 2-Phenylethanol 2-cyclohexen-1-ol 2-Hexanol 2-Propanol Cyclohexene Methylacetylene Tetrahydrofuran Decahydronaphthalene 3-Methyl-1-butanol Tetrahydronaphthalene Diacetylene Methylcyclopentane Vinyl ether
- Group C chemicals consists of monomers which form peroxides that can initiate explosive polymerization. Inhibited monomers should be tested before use and discarded after 12 months. Uninhibited monomers should be discarded 24 hours after opening.
Group C Chemicals Acrylic acid Methyl methacrylate Vinyl chloride Acrylonitrile Styrene Vinyl pyridine Butadiene Tetrafluoroethylene Vinylidiene chloride Chloroprene Vinyl acetate Chlorotrifluoroethylene Vinyl acetylene
General Guidelines
- Solvents containing inhibitors should be used whenever possible.
- All peroxide forming solvents should be tested prior to distillation.
- Peroxide forming solvents should be purchased in limited quantities.
- Peroxide forming solvents should be marked with the purchase date and the date opened.
- Peroxide forming solvents should be sealed tightly and stored away from light and heat.
- Periodic testing should be done on opened containers and the results marked on the containers.
- Obtain test strips for the range of 0-100 ppm peroxide
- Record the test results on the bottle
- If the test results are 100 ppm or greater, arrange for REM disposal
Time-Sensitive Compressed Gas Cylinders
- Hydrogen Fluoride, Anhydrous
- Hydrogen Bromide, Anhydrous
- Hydrogen Sulfide, Anhydrous
- Hydrogen Cyanide, Anhydrous
- Hydrogen Chloride, Anhydrous
The compressed gases listed above have a shelf-life provided by the manufacturer that must be strictly followed. There have been numerous incidents involving these compounds related to storage past the expiration date. For example, Hydrogen fluoride (HF) and Hydrogen bromide (HBr) cylinders have a shelf-life of one to two years, depending on the vendor. Over time, moisture can slowly enter the cylinder, which initiates corrosion. As the corrosion continues, HF and/or HBr slowly react with the internal metal walls of the cylinder to produce Hydrogen. The walls of the cylinder weaken due to the corrosion, while at the same time the internal pressure increases due to the Hydrogen generation. Ultimately, these cylinders fail and create extremely dangerous projectiles and a toxic gas release (Figure 1).
General Guidelines
- Acquire gases in the smallest quantity and concentration necessary.
- Record the date the compressed gas was received. The shelf-life vendor recommendation must be strictly followed. Once a compressed gas cylinder has exceeded its expiration date, arrange disposal through REM.
- Routinely inspect gas cylinders for evidence of deterioration or elevated pressure.
Figure 1: 30-year old HF cylinder that exploded at Purdue in 2011
- Chemical Health and Safety, Vol. No. 3, No. 5, "Review of Safety Guidelines for Peroxidizable Organic Chemicals", September/October 1996, pp. 28-36
Campus Safety Contacts
If you see something, say something.
Purdue Police
Phone: (765) 494-8221
Purdue Fire
Phone: (765) 494-6919
Sign up for Emergency Text Messages
Carol Shelby, Senior DirectorPhone:
(765) 494-7504


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Predict360 Vendor Management
Your Vendors Expose Your Business to Risks
Vendors are an important part of many different business processes, but they have to be reliable. An unreliable vendor exposes your business to many different types of risk. Predict360's Vendor Management System allows you to track vendor performance, manage different vendors, note down issues and resolutions, and provide feedback to vendors all in one easy to use system.
Businesses face many challenges in managing vendors
- Businesses are increasingly using multiple third-party vendors and contractors to expand the product portfolio and improve customer experiences.
- Managing relationships and agreements with multiple third-party vendors and contractors can get very complex very quickly.
- In some cases, regulations are in place that require due diligence to minimize third-party risk exposure.
- The increased regulations on organizations has significantly increased requirements for the management of third party compliance.
- Ensuring that the products and services provided by third-party service providers are safe and comply with applicable laws, regulations and standards is difficult
360factors provides you full visibility
- Track the performance of all your vendors in one easy to use system
- Store information of all vendor related issues and problems
- Easily audit vendor performance by viewing all historical problems and issues in just a few clicks
- Complete vendor life cycle management – from on-boarding to service delivery
- Improve vendor performance by providing vendors with feedback
- Detect on-going issues through trends and patterns to determine vendor risks
- Review or assess certificates of Insurance, checks, and due diligence documents of vendors
- Automated spreadsheets to keep track of all the different risks, screening and verification of all the questionnaires with on-boarding, OFAC checks, insurance verification and security assessments
Request a Demo
Complete the form and our team will be in touch to schedule a time that works for you.
Want to know more about the powerful features of the Predict360 Vendor Management Software and how they can help your business? We have created a quick checklist of the features, so you can see how our system improves vendor performance and lowers vendor risk.
As thought leaders in the compliance and vendor management space, 360factors is dedicated in providing those who are seeking an improved solution to their own challenges, a resource for visitors to become informed and make their own evaluation of the services being provided. Select some recent vendor management related articles below.


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Make something you can both use all year round this Valentines with my simple embroidered felt coaster!
You will need :
-Heart Template (or freehand your own!)
|Click to download FREE heart template!
-Two pieces of felt (I went with white for the background and red for the top)
*Don't know how to do the stitches mentioned below? Don't panic! For embroidery basics including the running stitch, pop over to Wild Olive, its awesome. And for the blanket stitch, Futuregirl has a really good step by step!
Step by Step:
1. Cut out your two pieces of felt to 12cm square. Now depending on your felt it may want to stretch when you start cutting the heart out so add at least an extra 1cm on each side to allow for this!
2.Choose which colour will be on top and will have the heart shape cut out. You can draw a freehand heart shape on paper or download my free template here!
3.Cut out the heart and pin it onto the centre of the felt. Carefully cut around the paper heart.
4.Thread the needle with your embroidery thread and sew a simple running stitch around the heart.
5.Check that the felt is still square and trim if needed.
6.Place the felt with the heart cut-out on top of the other piece and pin them together.
7.Sew a blanket stitch around the edges.
Ok, I didn't come up with the amazingly pun-tastic title for this project, Hannah at The Beetroot Tree Gallery did (thanks Hannah!)


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AN RSPB project focused on protecting hen harriers, England's most threatened bird of prey, is in need of East Lancashire's votes.
Skydancer, a four-year scheme to save the hen harrier, has reached the final of this year's National Lottery Awards in the Best Education Project category.
It aims to raise awareness and promote the conservation of the birds of prey across the North of England including Lancashire.
Selected from more than 750 applications, the project is one of seven finalists, which are battling for the public's vote, with the winner receiving £2,000 at a BBC-televised award ceremony in September.
The hen harrier is on the brink of extinction as a breeding bird in England but the RSPB has recently said that this year is shaping up to be 'marginally better' with a pair raising chicks on the United Utilities Bowland Estate.
There is also a second nest on the estate with the female sitting on eggs.
Blánaid Denman, Skydancer project officer at the RSPB, said: "There is room for at least 300 pairs of hen harriers breeding in the English uplands. But this year there are only three confirmed nests in the whole country, two of which are on the United Utilities Estate in Bowland, Lancashire.
"The problem is that hen harriers occasionally eat red grouse, a popular gamebird. Though grouse forms only a small part of their diet, hen harriers can in some circumstances reduce the number of grouse available to shoot, leading some moorland managers to illegally kill or disturb the harriers to protect their stock.
"If we want to save this integral part of Lancashire's wildlife, we need to show everyone why these birds are important and inspire people to care about them."
Public voting for the National Lottery Awards runs until July 23.
The project with the most votes in each category will be declared the winner.
To vote for Skydancer, visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards/education


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BBS Coronavirus Update
California Needs You To Stay At Home The Governor…Read More
Join the BBS. It's a great way to help British citizens in need, and participate in our vibrant expat community.
From our uniquely British sense of humor, to our regular get-togethers, we celebrate what it is to be British, enjoy each other's company, make valuable expat connections, and contribute to a very worthy cause.
As a BBS member, you're participating in a tradition of charity that started in the eighteen hundreds, and is as relevant today as it was then. Meet other expats, make new connections, and be a difference-maker for British citizens in times of need.Read More
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The first President of the British Benevolent Society was William Lane Booker, who was also the British Consul in 1857.Donate
"It can get very lonely living from hand to mouth in a foreign country. The friendly voice and help from the BBS reminded me of just how much I am grateful to be British!"
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Being conscious of your impact on the environment shouldn't make an impact on your wedding. Every choice you make toward making your wedding green, from your menu to your venue and all the personal touches in between, is a choice that makes a difference.
Many brides choose to add sustainable elements to their wedding, such as biodegradable tableware or composting for leftovers, but it doesn't have to be a carbon-neutral event to be a green event. After all, it's your wedding first, and we can help you incorporate whatever green elements you wish. At CVC Catering Group, we have years of experience in creating sustainable events, from small intimate gatherings to the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race (which received a "Gold" certification for sustainability), and we can help you plan a wedding that you and your guests will always remember.
Let us help you plan a wedding you can be proud of for years to come! Call or email us today!


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July 2014 – Fish N Tails Oyster Bar of Richardson, TX tapped Corporate Video and Photo to produce a Google Business View interactive virtual tour of their charming downtown Richardson restaurant and bar.
Guillermo Torres, Owner of Fish N Tails Oyster Bar in Richardson, TX has served me great food and some of the best raw oysters in town nearly since he opened his doors. When I became involved with the Google Business View program I approached Guillermo about getting involved. Guillermo told me that he was having a website built, but that a Virtual Tour sounded like a good idea. He also asked whether I could help get his address listing corrected – Google Maps at that time had him listed as being on East Polk, and he is actually on West Polk – his customers were not finding him correctly via GPS as a result. We also noticed when we looked more closely at his Google Maps listing that there was an incorrect pin site in Google Maps. In just one week the pin, the address discrepancy and the virtual tour are live on Google Search, Google Maps and Google Plus. Guillermo is as delighted with Corporate Video and Photo performance and quick turnaround as we are with his raw oysters and Tilapia Trio special.
Addresses, map pin positions, default images and more
One of the many advantages of using a competent, detail oriented Google Trusted Independent Photographer is that they can not only produce stunning images for the Google Business View program, but, as with Fish N Tails Oyster Bar can also help with Google Plus page verification, correction of Google Maps address discrepancies and much more.


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In 1993, Wizards of the Coast published the very first Collectible Card Game (CCG), Magic: The Gathering. The CCG genre became a huge success, and has since then spawned a few of the most economically successful games on the market with Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!
In terms of game play, the CCG was entirely unique – even revolutionary. Instead of a game being self-contained in a box, the CCG allows players to acquire individual elements in smaller quantities, via "booster packs," until they have a stockpile. Players then choose cards from their stockpile to create a "deck" (or "library"); it's the deck that is used in a match, which itself is the equivalent of a single game. Other cards owned by the player are not in the game, and cannot be brought into it. Thus, participating in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is a little like owning a sports franchise in the sense that a player is able to draw from their "roster" (stockpile) to put together a desirable "lineup" (their deck) for any particular match.
CCG's use a basic rule structure and a large assortment of cards which each have characteristics that contradict or supplement the basic rules. Each player predetermines their own strategy by creating a particular deck. The rules define parameters, such as how many cards may be used, how many copies of a given card are allowed, order of play, etc. Matches are typically two-player face-offs, in which each player begins with a number of "life units" and the goal is to take those units away from the opponent before they do the same to you.
In MTG, players essentially play the role of powerful sorcerers, each trying to destroy the other. As sorcerers, they call upon different land types for magical energy ("mana") which allows them to cast different spells. The five land types are associated with five colors: swamp – black; water – blue; plains – white; mountains – red; forest – green (see pics below). Each non-land card (with some important exceptions) is also one of these colors or a mix of them, and exhibits effects aligned with the land-type from which it came. Mountains, for example, are associated with strength and fire, so there are many giants and fire spells that are red.
The spells are many and varied, but there are a few major categories, and any given spell has a "casting cost," which is how much mana it takes to use that spell. Creatures may be summoned, which are then used to do battle with the opposing player or opposing creatures; every creature has an attack/defense rating, and the comparisons of attack/defense ratings, plus modifiers, determines the outcome of creature vs creature battles. An enchantment might be cast on a player, on a creature, or on a special item, such as an artifact, which itself must be summoned. The enchantment might add or detract from the attack/defense rating, or it might totally incapacitate a certain kind of opposing card. An Instant spell is one that has an immediate effect, such as sorcery, which modifies other cards or processes already in play.
Players begin with a hand of seven cards, draw one from their library (the deck they had prepared and then shuffled), and are free to play whatever they can. A player must lay down land cards in order to use any spells, and once land cards are down players can execute whatever strategy they prepared for when choosing the construction of their deck. As creatures are summoned and the various spells are cast, players lose life points (each begins the game with 20); When a player has reached zero life points, they lose the match.
MTG is a fascinating game, especially if you have a true appreciation for layered strategies and contingency planning in games. There are so many different cards in existence that rarely do two different people ever have even similar self-created decks. What makes it more interesting, and what has arguably made Wizards of the Coast a relative overnight success, is that booster packs of new MTG cards contain a fixed number of cards, and usually include one "rare" card, some "uncommon" cards, and many "common" cards. Rare cards are generally more powerful or efficient than uncommons or commons. This fact has resulted in a massive secondary market for collectors and certain other MTG enthusiasts, not dissimilar to the lucrative collectible baseball card market.
This game, while its basic mechanic is remarkable and interesting, is not for everyone. The fantasy theme can be overwhelming, to the extent that die-hard, committed gamers who do not like fantasy will not play it despite their knowledge that game play is so interesting. It is also a game that is not fun when investment has been small; one problem of the CCG concept is that the person who has spent the most money on cards wins, due simply to their larger stockpile. One can't "dabble" in MTG and expect to win any games without an equally unadvanced partner.
I do recommend the game to teens and older who show an interest in strategy games, an interest in fantasy or (because of the often incredible card art) graphic novels, or those who have played similar games in the past. Pokemon and Yu-gi-Oh! players would take a very natural next step up to MTG because the game play is similar, but there are so very many ways to build a deck and execute it during play that it would not be good for the younger players.


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5D Mark II
Zennheiser wireless lav mic
Final Cut Express
We needed to get a song in real-time, so I talked a co-worker into helping me. We had three cameras total. I set up a baseline wide shot from above on a tripod. She shot from below, mostly trained on the director, but also got some side shots of the choir and orchestra. I started from above to get some shots with a third camera (and so that I could hit record on the baseline camera) and then ran downstairs to float and get some different shots. Both of us kept the video running for the entire song so that in the end, all three could be synced. I did that in Final Cut just by matching sound.
Hi Carrie,
A few minor things I noticed to look out for:
1. You had a few jump cuts in this piece. The 1st one I noticed was at 19 seconds (when they all stand to start singing) from one wide shot pulled out to a wider shot. Just felt odd to see that jump.
2. Your lower thirds. Make sure you stay consistant with the placing of the names. One the 1st one, John Westlund was to the left of the screen and then when you showed Peggy, her name was in the middle of the screen. Pick one place to have names and have them all like that in the same place.
3. Keep the lower thirds simple and to the point. I noticed with the info about John you had to scroll to mention "conductor and founder" then on the next lower third the name of the church. Viewers spend less time reading the lower thirds because the visuals behind them compete for attention with their eyes so it is a quick with just the basic information. In this case we all know and can see he's a condutor so eliminate that. As far as being the founder? You can add that in your video description below the video player on the page. Just go with his name and name of the church choir.
4. During the interview with John and Peggy the light/color balance between inside the church and the daylight outside competed with each other and gave off a weird cast most of the time. In a tight shot of John there was a lot of spillover from the window throwing in blue light that was distracting. You lit them well but was there a way to have shot the interview from a different angle?? Or even move them so the window was behind the camera? Close the blinds?
5. I would like to have seen the end credits with you and Amanda come in after the fade to black with Peggy singing (with my ending edit). Again viewers eyes are going more for the visual and your names are competing with the video behind it. Have the end credits on black after you gives a few seconds to let the ending breath with that last note of song. Just gives your credit a cleaner look, makes it more striking and noticeable which you and Amanda deserve! :-)
Overall I enjoyed watching this and I'm curious what the emotion was like for John at the end of the actual performance.
Thanks for submitting the video and I encourage you to check out other videos on here that have been reviewed. It's a great way to learn many things from editing, sequencing, style, pacing among other things. There's often good dialogue and feedback given by the reviewers and those that submitted the videos. Looking forward to your next piece!


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Hair removal: which technique is right for you?
By Celina Mahoney
From shaving, to waxing, to laser. When it comes to removing unwanted hair, the options available can be a little overwhelming! We've done the research for you, weighing up the pros and cons of each option and who we think they might be best suited for. Let's jump into it…
- Shaving
Shaving is the most common hair removal technique out there. It's cheap, quick and you don't have to wait for the hair to grow back to a certain length before you can remove it again. The downside? The smoothness only lasts for a maximum of one day and can cause irritation in sensitive areas. We suggest using a good quality razor with lots of body wash/shaving cream/gel, and replacing the head regularly- particularly before tackling anywhere sensitive!
Recommended for: those on a budget who don't like having to wait for hair to grow back!
Gillette Venus Embrace Razor ($15.99 from Priceline)
- Waxing
Waxing is likely to be the second most common method and can even be done at home! However to minimise mess and maximise results, we recommend leaving it to the professionals. As waxing removes the entire hair from the follicle, you can expect silky smooth results for 2-3 weeks. However because it needs something to grip to, you will need to wait 4-6 weeks before returning to the salon. Waiting for the hair to reach 0.5cm minimum can be annoying for some, plus it can also be pricy and pretty painful. That being said, with perseverance and regular appointments, the hair is likely to thin out, reducing discomfort!
Recommended for: those wanting long lasting results and (hopefully) no irritation to sensitive areas.
- Hair removal cream
Hair removal cream is an option a lot of people forget about, but does have a number of perks! Not only is it a relatively quick method, it is also entirely pain free. There are even creams designed especially for sensitive skin. Plus, the results can last twice as long as shaving, so you may only need to use it once a week. On the other hand, hair removal creams aren't the cheapest option for the amount of uses you get (often around $10 for a tube that will only last 1-2 uses for large areas) and can be smelly and messy. We recommend an in-shower option for the easiest results!
Recommended for: those who can be bothered shaving all the time, but don't want the pain and price of waxing.
Veet In Shower Hair Removal Cream ($10.99 from Priceline)
- Epilators
Epilators are a hair removal device that basically removes hair through spinning mini tweezers. As this removes the hair from the follicle, you can expect results comparable to shaving. Epilating can be done at home, plus a lot are now waterproof options. This means it can be done in the shower, when the pores are open, reducing discomfort. However, like waxing, you need to remember that the hair is being removed from the follicle so there is going to be some pain! But with time, the hair will thin and this can be reduced. While epilators can be pretty pricy (starting around $100 and going up to $500) the device- and the results!- are relatively long lasting.
Recommended for: those wanting to achieve lasting results in the comfort of their home.
Braun Silk Epil 5 epilator ($159.95 from David Jones)
- Laser
Laser is quickly becoming a very popular hair removal option for long lasting results- we're talking months to years after the initial treatments! It essentially works by using a laser to destroy the hair follicle meaning the hair won't grow back. While this may sound pretty scary, it is safe when performed by a trained professional and can even be used on people with super sensitive skin. The cons? Laser hurts. Most people describe the sensation as having an elastic band flicked against their skin. Plus a minimum of six treatments is generally recommended for long lasting results. While laser is the most expensive option, prices are dropping dramatically, with many salons offering deals for bulk sessions. Plus when you compare this with what you'd be paying for ongoing waxes, the chances are it works out to be a very cost effective alternative.
Recommended for: those wanting very long lasting results, who can handle a little pain and upfront costs!
There is no right or wrong method for removing hair- it all comes down to personal preference! We hope this article has helped to shed some light on the various options and choose the right hair removal technique for you! If you want to try waxing, Beautifinda can help you find a professional in your area today!
Visit our homepage now.


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The Village of Westland The Village of Westland
Here's a sample of our volunteer opportunities:VIEW AS
Please wait . . .
Mission Statement
The Mission of Presbyterian Villages of Michigan - The Village of Westland, guided by our Christian heritage, is to serve seniors of all faiths and to create new possibilities for quality senior living.
The Village of Westland is dedicated to high quality senior living, promoting as independent lifestyle as possible while also offering a full array of health care services for those who need them. The 23-acre campus that offers apartments for independent living, along with memory support services, respite care, assisted living and enhanced living. The village is dedicated to high-quality senior living, offering a full range of social activities and wellness programs to enhance residents' physical, mental and spiritual health.
Would you recommend The Village of Westland?


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We've worked with lots of great people over the years. Here's what just a few have had to say about Texas Homes REI, LLC.
Want to share your own experience with us? Send us a note to let us know what working with Texas Homes REI, LLC has been like for you.
I worked with Josue in selling my house and it was a very pleasant experience. He offered a fair cash offer, walked me through the process of selling my house, and closed when I wanted to. I definitely recommend Texas Homes REI to anyone wanting to sell their home fast!


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All through the school year, the East Catholic PTG organizes a variety of activities which enrich the overall East Catholic School and St. Maurice Parish experience. Due to the close connections between the two, it is not unusual to find parents and staff working on a variety of school and parish committees with the same or related goals. Some activities are almost always certain to be repeated every new school year and new activities added.
Volunteer Activities
You can volunteer for any PTG activity of your choice, and we encourage all parent families to volunteer as much of their talent and time as they possibly can. You can find a wide variety of activities organized by East Catholic PTG. Participation in them not only add vibrancy to the school year, but some of them actually help in generating funds for the School.
Parent Volunteers are always needed in the school, especially in the cafeteria and as monitors on the playground at lunch time. Parent volunteers must have all their clearances before they can volunteer. If you need information on how to obtain this, please call the school office at (412) 351-5403.
You can fill your SCRIP Order on a form you can download here that performs all your calculations and gives you an accurate count and dollar value of your order. Or you can download it from the Forms page. Submit your completed form to East Catholic by the due date. All orders must be accompanied by a check for the full amount of the order, made payable to "East Catholic PTG".


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Are You Suffering From a Dental Emergency?
The actions you take now could mean the difference between a minor repair and one that results in permanent loss of your tooth or worse!
If you're new to the area or your dentist isn't available, it can be stressful finding an emergency dentist.
Don't Worry. You've come to the right place.
At Crestview Dental Group, we are equipped to handle dental emergencies. The actions you take following a dental emergency could make all the difference and we are here to help you in your time of need.
What To Do With A Knocked Out Tooth
The most crucial thing to remember about a knocked out tooth is how to preserve it, especially if you are dealing with a permanent tooth. The key is to keep it moist. Before you pick it up, however, make sure that you can do so from the top of the tooth, not the bottom as you could touch and damage the roots. If you can easily put the tooth back in the socket, do so. If not, place it in your mouth, between your cheek and gums. If that makes you uneasy, you can also store it in a glass of milk.
What To Do With A Cracked Tooth
A cracked tooth is not as serious as a knocked out tooth, but it still requires an emergency dental visit. As soon as you are able, rinse your mouth out with warm water. You should rinse until you can no longer see blood. Once your mouth is clean, apply a clean, cold compress to the area to limit the amount of swelling that occurs as well as reduce pain.
In either of these dental emergencies you should call us and get to the dental office as soon as possible.
Emergency Dental Care in Woodland
At Beautiful Smiles, we are equipped to handle dental emergencies. We provide exceptional emergency care in an intimate environment with friendly and welcoming staff. Our team prides themselves on patient education and transparent communication to ensure you are able to make informed decisions about your dental care. We are committed to establishing lasting relationships with our patients, ensuring they are confident and comfortable with our services and the treatment they receive. We are here to help you in your time of need.
Our Dentist: James Yang DDS
Dr. Yang grew up in a medical family, and after working briefly in finance, realized that his true calling was in dentistry.
Dr. Yang is trained in implants, simple periodontal surgery, endodontics, and fixed and removable prostheses. He is dedicated to the newest advancements in cosmetic dentistry and keeps up-to-date with the latest technologies.
Dentist Reviews
Here is what our patients have been saying about James Yang, DDS:
Dental Office
Our practice is conveniently located on the south side of Court Street between Cottonwood St and Ashley Ave. Our practice serves families residing in Woodland, CA and the surrounding area.
(530) 206-9211
Advanced Dental Technology
Diagnostics and Prevention
Dental Restorations
Cosmetic Dentistry
Sedation Dentisty
Beautiful Smiles
James Yang, DDS
255 W Court St., Suite E Woodland,
Home | About Us | For Patients | General Dentistry | Cosmetic Dentistry | Sedation Dentistry | Contact | Meet Dr. Yang | Meet the Team | Tour Our Office | Our Technology | Oral Sedation | Inhaled Sedation | Dental Implants | Teeth Whitening | Invisalign | Before and Afters | Preventive | Restorative | Dental Emergencies | Dental Blog | FAQ | Patient Information Form | Dental History Form | Appointment Request Form | Testimonials


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Synchronous timing belts are lighter and more efficient than chain. Once set up, they require no tensioning or adjustment. The HTD profile is ideal for FRC applications - its deep tooth profile allows it to better handle high reversing loads, such as those found in an FRC drivetrain. Each year, more and more FRC teams make the design switch to belts and attain superior performance.
VEXpro timing pulleys are custom machined from high strength aluminum and black anodized for light weight and superior performance.
If used correctly, VEXpro timing belts require no tension adjustment once assembled into a drivetrain or other mechanism. Use the West Coast Products center-to-center distance calculator to ensure your robot is properly designed and you know exactly what to order.


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Fleece Colors & Patterns
Solid Fleece
Whether you choose or let us help you decide on a fleece color that will compliment your quilt, we know you will love the soft, comfortable feel of the fleece. The colors can vary on computer screens so if you have any questions or concerns we'd be happy to help once we get your t-shirts.
Pattern Fleece
Take a look at our fun fleece fabric! If you don't see anything you like or you have something specific in mind…..maybe a pattern with your favorite colors, a hobby, or a particular sport or college team……we'll do our best to find what you are looking for. Just type in the memo box when ordering your quilt which pattern fleece you are interested in.
*Fleece stock changes frequently so not all patterns may be in stock. We will contact you and work to find a suitable replacement.


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Nepal, Kathmandu
It's hard to explain the world's apart difference between Nepal and India. I think even after a few days on our own, we were still emotionally and physically exhausted.
That in itself is hard to explain, 7 days in Varanasi – probably the easiest place we've been to in India, yet I still woke up on our last morning, viewing the glorious (albeit grey) Ganges, feeling my heart fill of mixed emotions.
The Airport – is modern, the people – still pencil pushers. I think that's one thing you notice as part of Indian culture, these things that feel to you are power struggles or bureaucracy or being done just the frustrate the ever living daylights out of you – but are not even noted.
An example – you're checked in, and waiting to get to the "holding pen" near your gate. There are more cafes and shops there – nothing where you are. But you can't get through.
The main man is reading the paper. The person next to him sitting on his phone. At the search (there's a lot of physical searching on India/Nepal air travel) are 2 women gossiping, another 2 men looking around the room idly. This lasts for 25 mins. The queue gets ever longer, and we're continually told to wait.
And then for no apparent reason, no time match, no single person arriving, we're waved through.
There's a big sign "No 500 or 1000 rupees to Nepal" – I have no idea why this is but we thought of our left over currency in our travel wallet, politely shook our heads at the question and went through.
The flight, just on an hour. The skyline, amazing. Huge snow-capped mountains peeping above the clouds, beckoning in the blue sky. We dipped through the cloud line to the first moisture we'd seen since South Africa.
We were picked up, driven to our hotel in the weird madness that is traffic in this part of the world. Converging trucks/bikes/cars. No sense of the centreline, no merge like a zip. At our hotel we ducked out of the weather, checked in to our strange room – dark and dull and smelling terribly of cigarettes and naphthalene, the heavens opened.
Big beautiful shiny drops, but of course we're now worried this weather will follow us up the mountain.
I could have spent months in Thamel, Kathmandu. It's what I genuinely thought Pargarganj would be like, it's sort of what Kao San Road is like, but Kao San Road for non-booze/drug/redbull drinking 25+ers.
There are restaurants, (Salads!), wine is on menus, beautiful souvenir shops with thanka paintings and masks and bracelets all over. Hemp bags and strange clothes leftover from the European hippie influx of the late 70s and 80's. Gloriously warm and soft Yak Wool scarves, which I just adore. Shops full of hiking gear, a lot fake but still good quality, the streets are dripping with puffy colour and North Face.
I could eat my way through Thamel for the rest of my life. Mexican, Steak, Vegetarian. It's honestly foodie (and winey) heaven. We spent a lot of time at an incredible place just out of Thamel called "Coffee Pasal". Their food could have stepped straight out of Grey Lynn. It was like Occam, the place where Dan and I had our brunches for several years, great simple ingredients, and even better coffee. I nearly cried with joy at my first decent Flat White since South Africa. Strangely reminiscent of home.
Our first few days there were a lot cooler than the heat of India. Jeans and jackets, boots instead of sneakers trying for one last attempt at wearing in. Days passed in last minute purchases, an extra Naglene water bottle (fake), sock liners, hard wear gloves (fake), polyprop pants (genuine), trekking poles (fake), packets and packets of snacky bits for me to make into daily snack packs. We hired sleeping bags, and a jacket for Dan, reducing our gear to take into one big pack and two day packs, hoping for trekking as light as possible.
Our two trek mates, British both, 50+, GSOH, a little bit less fit than us had arrived a couple of days after us. Thanks to a complete mess from Etihad they were a day late and sans luggage.
Almost left to purchase everything the day we were due to fly to Lukla, we pushed the Trek a day, in the hope their luggage was located. 1 Bag, was in Kathmandu, but as the tagging had changed it couldn't be located. Amazingly, it was in the "Left behind luggage" storage, a huge warehouse of thousands of bags, unbelievably Terry was able to spot it amongst all the similar other ones, and it ended up being the right one.
The other bag eventually made it's way to Kathmandu, this time without camera and currency safely stored. Frustrating for Wayne who was now left with his point and shoot for the journey. And I think an extra pair of socks.
Our last night in Kathmandu Terry and Wayne took us out for dinner, to say thanks for us being so flexible around pushing out the trek a day – we went to a steak restaurant, and powered through a chateaubriand and 3 bottles of wine between 4.
Day 1: Kathmandu (1400m) – Lukla (2800m) – Phakding (2800m 70% Oxygen as sea level)
Middle of the night, thudding head, squirmy tummy. This does not bode well. 4am, and I start throwing up.
I'd have these before – I think they're preservative induced migraines. They're different to hangovers, the headache is in a different place. I get them from Amstel (thanks Supper Club) and occasionally cheaper wine (no that is not an excuse to buy more expensive no matter how ridiculous that sounds).
5am, 6am, 6:30 I get myself up, out of bed, and try and hold down some breakfast. I have no idea how I manage this, usually I'm written off with bed rest till at least early afternoon.
I look at my arms, I'm covered. COVERED in bites. They're on my arms, my neck, some further down on my sides. I think its bed bugs. Along with the migraine I nearly cry – apart from worrying they are all through my gear, the idea of walking feeling like I want to scratch my arms/neck/head off is not how I wanted to start our wonderful trek.
We get to the airport – to total, complete chaos. People push to pick up your bag, ours is taken, someone pushing through the queue. We have to join, I just want to sit at the edge and feel better. Past the first security check to a terminal that has seen far better days.
It's dirty, smelly, chaotic – there's no clear order. The bathroom smells waft over ever time someone opens the door. People are pushing past you, huge piles of supplies surround you, you're looking at other peoples gear judging whether they are as inexperienced as you, or a 60 year old who like ready for summiting, ice axe and all. I push down a coffee – sometimes a bit of caffeine can reduce one of my migraines – it actually helps, I still feel the thudding shadow, but the nausea and head swimmingness dissipates. Thank god.
You're waiting with your luggage till another person who deals with the airline gives you a signal about 2 hours in to take up your bags. Everything is weighed, and you get through the next terminal – which is far nicer. And cleaner.
Another hour or so passes, flight numbers are in single digits – we're called. My stomach drops.
The airport in Lukla is the most dangerous in the world. Perched on a mountain within the Solukhumbu valley you either feel like you're going straight into the mountainside or flying off the edge of the earth. Neither is nice.
It's horribly bumpy, and I spent most of the flight with white knuckles nearly in tears (Els, if you're reading this, it's only a 45 minute flight – but if you can't do that, you can trek up – 6 days). We land with a huge sigh of relief, and I feel like the incredible terraced scenery on the way up passed me by in a glimpse.
Lukla itself is tiny, we have lunch – I choose the first of many fried rice dishes I'm due to have, chow that down with some green Nepalese chilli sauce – and suddenly it's packs on, trekking poles together, and we're walking!
We have our guide (Ngatemba) and two young porters – whose names I haven't a hope of being able to spell…)
Tip 1: Know how to tie your boots and know how to properly hold your trekking poles.
It's incredible the difference this makes, Terry taught me both, and it made a HUGE difference to comfort across the whole journey. I saved energy, poles felt like a cinch to use, and I never had any problems with ankles or loose feet.
It's not a long walk to Phakding, you're passing through trees, waterfalls, farmland, smiling people, Sherpa's carrying unbelievable loads – over 100 kilos. There are a few 'rope bridge' crossings. The first few are okay, but still feel fairly shaky. Laden cows cross, so I'm sure I'm lighter than they are.
There are prayer flags across incredible spaces – between rocks, beside stupas. Seemingly across caverns and valleys, stretched out to the sun. We walk around other stupas in front of us, always clockwise, sometimes with prayer wheels attached. The eyes of Buddha follow us everywere.
The first few hours slide by with a bit of up and down (up into the valley, down to cross the river) and we're in Phakding mid-afternoon. We remove our boots, set out our bedding, relax in our room with paper-thin walls, have dinner with mint tea, and are in bed well before 8pm.
Day 2 – Phakding (2800m) to Namche (3440m 69% Oxygen as sea level)
Namche Bazaar is a trekking hub more than anything else. It's grown into a village where I guess similar to Thamel you can get pretty much anything for trekking, for a price. We even saw some genuine icebreaker gear there at $105 USD I was almost tempted, I'm sure it's twice that at home these days.
It's warmer than expected; I'm trekking in shorts, leggings and a singlet. Still covered in bites every time it warms up I'm horribly itchy.
Up to Namche is fairly hard going. First there's a HUGE rope bridge, it feels like it's 10 storeys up. I basically ran across as lightly as I could – even though I 'm not afraid of heights, seeing pale turquoise glacial melt surging between huge rocks below made me more than a little nervous.
There's a long hard vertical trek up from lunchtime (I had Dal Baht – like a simple thali with vege curry, dal and white rice), and it's mostly straight up. We got our first peek at Everest today – far between the trees. It's very triangular, and reminds me of the mountain behind the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. I can't get that thought out of my mind, both sacred mountains, both funerary grounds for many bodies, one with Pharaoh's one without.
As we continue our push up to Namche we are panting, the air is thinner, but we're okay. Leaning on poles to help push up the seemingly huge steps, we round the corner to Namche late afternoon with a sigh of relief.
As the usual order goes, we arrive, have tea, decide on our dinner then have a bit of free time.
Tip 2: Drinking mint or ginger tea at breakfast, lunch and dinner is a fantastic way to stay hydrated. You'd easily go through 3 cups at each session and it's warm and delicious.
Bizarrely invigorated we decide to explore Namche a little, finding an amazing little coffee cart, wandering the shops and woollen hats and jewellery and other random products. It's cooler as the sun goes down – and we start to feel properly cold for the first time. A strange change from the single layer I'm wearing in the day.
Day 3 – Namche Acclimatisation Day (3,440 m)
If anyone says that acclimatisation days are "rest days" slap them. Both of these were a killer.
The first sign of altitude both Dan and I noticed (apart from a bit of breathlessness when ascending) was lack of sleep. It's a weird kind of awake too – your brain doesn't do the usual loops, and my usual brain training wouldn't settle it (A for apple. B for beetroot. C for carrot). You're not tossing and turning either.
So on little sleep and a bit of porridge we prepared for a vertical climb, seeing the coloured packs snacking up behind Namche.
First stop – the Tenzing statue behind Namche – what a beautiful site the blue sky, snow-capped Himalayas, we wandered about relaxed, and then started our climb.
The Everest View Hotel didn't quite have the view of Everest (hiding behind lenticular clouds) but it's very much a tough climb to get there. Expensive drinks as well – even with two cups of tea and a coffee averaging 9USD.
It was cold, exposed, and the wind would whip round. It was hot as you walked, freezing when you stopped.
We ventured on to Khumjung Village, to visit a beautiful old monastery, with a walk that felt like it would never end. Lunch felt late, and we were all exhausted as we started our trek back to Namche.
On the way we passed Khumjung school – with a huge statue of Sir Edmund Hillary. The school is actually named after him, and it's hard to really explain how much he is loved by the Sherpa people in this region. It made me so proud to be a New Zealander to see articles in guesthouses, posts like these by the school, and a general warmness you see everywhere something to do with Sir Ed is situated. http://www.khumjungschool.edu.np/?act=donors&pos=1
At 3:30/4pm the clouds seemingly come in, Namche gets shrouded in this damp blanket. It brings the dark with is, and it's not till after 8pm it clears. I hope this doesn't follow us up the mountain further…
Back to Namche, coffee first and then ATM (yet there's an ATM – incredible), then snooze then dinner and bed. And sleep. Thank GOD.
Day 4 Namche (3,440m)– Tengboche Monastery (3,870m) – Debuche (3,770m 61% Oxygen as sea level)
After an incredible nights sleep, and a breakfast of eggs, toast, potatoes and chilli sauce – we started out at 8am.
We went to an amazing little museum just up from Namche, from a small area that was set up like a Sherpa family, to photos of Sherpa life through the ages, through to summit attempts from the first summiting – it was amazing to read all the bits and pieces and see what the area used to be like. http://sherpa-culture.com.np/sonam-photography/act,categories/cid,24/
The trek started a bit easier today, round the side of the range after Namche rather than vertical. The scenery was incredible with Ama Dablam launching into the sky to our right, the white snow so bright even early in the morning impossible to look at without sunglasses. We could see our next major stop – Tengboche Monastery far in the distance, it felt so far away at that point.
The trees and shrubs were still pine and interestingly a type of rose? Lots of rosehips and no flowers, but they were a beautiful dark reddish colour. As we got closer to the Monastery – we ventured into rhododendron territory – sadly we weren't there for flowering season; I can imagine it would be absolutely amazing to see entire hillsides blooming with magenta and red blossoms.
As we climbed higher some Sherpa women were running down, making our slow pace feel even slower! It's amazing the speed some of these Sherpa go, beyond the massively heavy weights some of them carry.
Sherpa children are adorable – bright scarlet cheeks, big smiles as you walk past. Sometimes carried sometimes walking, sometimes running in and out of lodges, oblivious to the cold.
Tengboche Monastery is beautiful. Apart from the terrrrrrible smell of stinky feet, sitting in the monastery hearing the monks chant was amazingly peaceful. While there were a few clouds about as we left the monastery, circling it clockwise, spinning the prayer wheels as we walked the skies parted – with the afternoon sun drenching us in the last of its warmth, you could see Lhotse, Everest and Nupste far in the distance.
Down from the Monastery into Debuche is probably one of my favourite walks of the whole journey. The sun as gone soon after you start descending from the monastery. Lichen drips from the trees in huge strings. There's a lovely dampness to the air that I remember from bushwalks at home. The air is chilled but crisp and fresh, like a glass of iced water. There are gentle steps carved into the rock making the walk down simple and comfortable (and relatively quick). It's quiet and peaceful, and as you've left the monastery with a peaceful soul, this feeling follows you down the hill and long past dinner.
Day 5 Debuche (3,770m) – Dingboche (4,350m 58% oxygen as sea level)
Tough night with little sleep again. I decided to try a Diamox, to see if that helped at all. Surprisingly still no headache, apart from a bit of a shadow, nothing like the mad pounding near migraine I was expecting.
We're starting to see how trekking develops. People who found their guide in Kathmandu. People who are doing it cheap. People who have paid heaps more than we did. Guides who don't speak English very well at all. Guides who are fluent in multiple languages.
A Japanese couple we passed were asking their guide to stay at Everest Base Camp. We watched the conversation for a few minutes, it was going nowhere till we stepped in "There's nothing at Base Camp. It's the wrong time of year. There is no real camp, there's no lodge. You stay at Gorak Shep, trek up to Base Camp and back as a side trip, you need to follow the rule climb high sleep low." Their guide was nodding, gesticulating and smiling, I think had been trying to articulate the same thing, but the language barrier between them was too great. They thanked us and went on – we saw them quite a few times during the rest of our trek up – as you seem to, either staying at the same lodges, or passing them (or them passing you) during the day.
Another two ladies had a guide who seemed very out of place. None of the other Sherpa's would speak to him in the lodge which was very strange – a lot of them seem like old friends otherwise. He spent the time their reading their guidebook. We couldn't help but overhearing the conversation they were having at the next table to us to another couple. They were trying to understand their route.
When their guide sat back down one of them said "Yes we agree with your original plan, we want to change the route back to that".
You can see how things can go so wrong up there, people climbing too fast and getting sick. People trying to speed through routes. People not doing their acclimatisation day hikes. People doing things on their own without guides, without porters.
We saw one guy being piggy backed by a guide, getting him down as low was possible as quickly as possible. Day after day the rescue helicopters would be about, our guide pointing out when it definitely wasn't a site seeing trip.
It got worse as we ascended.
The scenery started to change more as the day went on, we were almost suddenly out of the tree line, little wind, glorious blue days. While Everest is hidden from view the incredible Ama Dablam is a highlight, more than the thin finger it was initially, with glaciers looking like they have folded snow blankets, of course an avalanche waiting to happen.
The ground is gravelly rather than steps, and far nicer to walk one. Our breath is possibly a little shorter, but I feel amazing. Hiking for 5 hours in this is easy, invigorating. Every morning in the sunshine you want to raise your arms to the glorious mountains and be thankful you're able to be in this incredible world, and wish that everyone you know could experience the absolute wonder too. (which they kinda can through Dan's incredible photos…)
Speaking of photos, it's cold, so batteries can be a problem. I sleep with some of them and my phone in a sock. During the day they're either in a jacket pocket or shorts, trying to keep them warm.
In bed we have boiling hot water put into a water bottle each, beyond the rickety single beds it's something to cuddle.
The place we stay in Dingboche is slightly ridiculous, a café with Lattes, cappuccinos and cakes is attached, I felt more than a flashpacker with my coffee and cake in the sunshine. Maybe I shouldn't have had that caffeine at 4pm in the afternoon…
Day 6 Acclimatisation day Dingboche – (up to 5,000m)
After another horrendous sleep, it was time for another acclimatisation day. Rather than head somewhere specific, Ngatemba suggested we walk up the hill behind us. Pros, it's a shorter climb, and we would actually climb higher, and could separate if we wanted (Dan and I had been climbing faster all trip, it was to be honest a little frustrating sometimes but I guess in hindsight we did get a lot of rest stops?).
Keen for this, we went outside to start. Something was missing. Dan's poles.
We'd accidentally left them outside in the night, while some of the other Sherpa's did see them – they didn't bring them in, and consequently they were taken. Thankfully, Ngatemba gave Dan his single pole, and we started our vertical ascent.
It's much cooler now. In the mornings I want to cover my mouth to breathe, the air is so dry you feel constantly thirsty.
Tip 3: Chewing gum or a lolly to suck on (Kopiko are actually the greatest lollies on earth) first thing in a chilly morning is an absolute godsend. Helps with the straight up after breakfast ascents, specially steep ones.
Up and up, past stupas, past the first flag – Wayne stopped at this level as we continued our way up. And up. Step and step. Reach and reach. Don't look down, I started to feel a little ill doing that, I'm unsure if it was the altitude or looking down.
There was barely a path between rocks. We stopped for an altimeter check – still 100m vertical to go. On we pushed for what felt like forever. Ngatember went up to show us how far 5,000m was – he didn't want us to ascend to the top of the hill – but it felt like it was just in reach.
5,000m felt like more of an achievement than anything yet. We stopped for about 20 minutes, getting pics, catching our breath a bit. And then I looked down.
Worse than ascending on such an incline is descending. Poles are great for it, but it's still hard on your knees. People smush their toes into the edge of their boots and lose toenails. People fall over.
Tip 4: Find a way to gently descend that isn't so hard on your body
I developed a weird crouch/squat type thing that reduced the hit on my joints, and hopefully meant for amazing legs and butt by the time we finished the trek. Seemed to work tho, as I barely had any pain at the end.
A few parts were so steep I couldn't work out my way down. I stopped in parts almost too frightened to continue, inching my way down the mountain. I should have done more squats. More training. More steps. – but there's not much I could do already up in the Himalayas.
Eventually we got down, speeding up near the end, just wanting to get back to the café where a nice coffee awaited. And a nap, a glorious warm nap.
Lunch was my first hilarious meal of the week, tomato soup with garlic toast. The garlic toast wasn't the lovely yellow garlic bread I expected, it was literally 2 pieces of bread with smushed raw green garlic in between. I ate it, but it started an "I want ANYthing that doesn't have GARLIC in it" over the next few weeks.
I think this was where I started to notice some of the weird parts of Altitude sickness. A sort of strange feeling in my joints. A bit of light headedness. Obviously the lack of sleep was a huge one.
Beyond a nap, I had a well-needed shower; my treat after a hard day however the meagre trickle against the freezing background of a room outside with no insulation was little comfort. Being clean after I managed to warm up however felt wonderful.
Still no real aches and no real blisters.
Day 7 Dingboche (4,350m) – (Lobuje 4,930m 53% oxygen as sea level)
Another night of no sleep, starting to feel the lack of oxygen in the muscles, a strange feeling like you know they aren't getting everything they need. It's hard to articulate but you and genuinely feel something definitely isn't right and you're feeling slow and lethargic when you shouldn't be.
Diamox (by this stage I've had two total) creates the strangest tingles. They're not like gentle, "oh I fell asleep on my arm" tingles. Imagine you've put your hand in a box (Dune readers may remember the Gom Jabbar scene?) hundreds of nails sort of bluntish push into your fingers, 2/3 of the way up. You move your fingers thinking that if you could just pump a little more blood into them it will stop. It doesn't.
Well, for me, as I didn't take too much, it would stop after about 30/45 mins of trekking, but it really is a strange experience. Not exactly a nice one.
Trekking now includes a wool hat, full gloves & liners, and 50+ sunscreen but still no proper base layers (beyond the polyprop pants under my shorts)
Tip 5: Wearing near frozen normal sunscreen is the last thing you want on your face in the morning at this altitude sun or not. Buy a sun stick, its awesome & helps with some of the wind burn too.
We're up well beyond the tree line now; the sky is mountains and blue. You're up so high that the blue is royal, not pale, but rich. Lapis Lazuli. The air while thin is still crisp.
We passed a huge memorial, incredibly sad – with familiar names (Scott Fischer from 1996), and others not familiar. I searched out for Rob Hall but couldn't see anything. Lots of Sherpa, other unfamiliar names. One with photos. Sad they have lost their lives in this beautiful place. It's these things that remind you of the danger.
Prayer flags flap in the wind, primary colours across the landscape. It's a sad place. While I'm sad to leave it's peacefulness, feeling the effects of the altitude on my body I'm reminded of the loss of life more than 3km further up. How they push their bodies so hard amazes me. On we trek, making the most the early afternoon light.
We're near the lip of the Khumbu Glacier, we can't see it at this stage but I can see where it should be, behind the moraine.
Yaks pass us now, not cows. Their shaggy bodies ladies with supplies. Things are more expensive, Coca-cola less fizzy and at a premium. There are few veges in my fried rice. Dal Baht curry is more potato than anything else.
The worst past of today was a burgeoning cold. A never-ending stream from my nose, constantly dripping. And strangely, I've realised I can see strange geometric things in my vision. Blobs dancing in front of me. Maybe I looked too close to the sun, I brush away the thought and the seemingly disappear. I'd move my head and my eyes would feel slow to catch up, things seemed to move at a strange pace.
One girl at the lodge we were at was in terrible shape when we got there. Barely able to move or speak, neither her friends nor her guide doing anything. We asked if she was okay, wondering what tablets she was stuffing herself with. Unsure if we'd see her still there in the morning, or taken to descend below.
Day 8 Lobuje (4,930m) – Gorak Shep (5,160m)– Everest Base Camp (5,360m nearly 50% oxygen as sea level)
I had another Diamox, which guaranteed a good sleep – and started our trek invigorated and excited. We followed the side of the Khumbu glacier, not too much of a steep ascent it felt too easy.
The world felt like a movie set, and as we launched into Gorak Shep for a quick lunch stop I just wanted to keep going. After lunch, I started to feel a bit strange.
We headed out, wrapped up against the wind, and ventured across the glacier. It's not exactly the white pretty glacier (they never really are) but was covered in dusty rocks, occasionally groaning and moving. An eerie sound that echoes between the mountain faces, dust flying up into the air, a reminder that underneath our feet this glacier is forever moving.
We reach "Base Camp" – only it's not Base Camp. It's "Trekkers Base Camp". Due to the season, and time of year the way through isn't placed, so we're stuck on a glacier without the view up the mountain I was hoping for.
I wanted to spot the familiar places I'd read about – the icefall, where the first and second camps are. Feel the vibe of at least an empty Base Camp and get some sense of the scale of the place when summiting season is in full fray.
I was sorely disappointed and sat eating a snickers by myself, contemplating the risk of heading to Base Camp on my own. I stood amongst ads with urls with smiles for photos, trying to resist the urge to remove each rock covered in graffiti. The t-shirt with some stupid restaurant in the states advertised on it. No place is sacred.
We wandered back, slowly, and as we trudged through my mood cleared, I was still in one of the most beautiful places on earth! I was in the sky! The mountains! How beautiful this place is.
You remember the girl from the previous night? We passed her friend. It was 3pm; she was less than a 3rd of the way to Base Camp. She was being physically assisted by her guide and another friend, unable to make each step on her own. "You wont make it before dark, you should be descending". She couldn't even make words to reply.
I don't understand why they kept going, how would they get back in the dark? If she was unable to move of her own accord what about the risk it placed the two others in?
Tip: 6 If you can't keep yourself going, don't make yourself a risk for others.
I couldn't get the image out of my head as we got back to our lodge at Gorak Shep, and things really started to take a turn for the worse for me.
I didn't eat much dinner; Tibetan bread with a little peanut butter was all I could get down. Dan spent most of the night talking to a Swedish family who we'd met on the trail, while I wondered why I kept seeing patches in my eyes, I was having trouble focussing. My body felt out of place, "I feel body drunk" I said to Dan at one stage.
My stomach started to gurgle, and that awful horrid feeling, and my stomach went to pieces.
I packed myself off to bed in the hope that it was a one of, knowing I had a tough summit in the morning.
Day 9 – Gorak Shep (5,160) – Kala Patthar (5,644) – Pheriche (4,371)
WARNING – this part contains some graphic imagery, do not proceed if easily offended!
In the night, my stomach hit again, this time even worse than previous. Rather than just my stomach going to pieces – my poo had turned into black, tarry porridge. I could barely see as I went to the bathroom, finding it difficult to use the usual crouch-based hole in the ground, in the cold, with just a head torch. But I was desperate to be better so returned to bed in the hope I'd get some sleep.
I was awake before the alarm went off at 4am. I nervously got out of bed, pulling on the layers I wanted to wear, putting some in my daypack. I went down for breakfast. I managed 10 spoons of porridge, and tried to keep on a happy face.
Before we headed up I was given 2 hand warmer pouches, I stuffed them in my gloves in the hope they would give me some warmth and energy on the way up. The mountain looked monstrous and black in the dark, it's not bathed in beautiful white snow.
The wind was up, you could see plumes off Lhotse face, the mountains behind us and around us. We hadn't seen wind like this our whole trip. I pulled my hat down in the hope it would cover my ears more, regretting I hadn't bought something with earflaps.
We started step by step by step. I couldn't breathe enough air, so rather than cover my mouth with my buff; my face was in the open, gulping air in at each step. After 10 minutes I reached into my pack to pull on my last layer, and could only put the hoodie on my head. I had a kopiko in the hope the small amount of sugar would give me some energy. It did, just not enough.
Step by step. One foot after the other. My torch was off, and I waited for the light – seeing the sun reach the tip of Everest and it's almighty plume as I continued to walk. My brain was doing flip flops imagining some strange rhythms at each step, making up words to match.
And suddenly, my stomach, my trusty "I never get sick" iron stomach decided, 2/3rds of the way up, to give up again. "I have to go NOW," I said to Dan and Ngatemba.
I ran across the mountain, in the ever-increasing light in the hope to find a rock. "No over there more" Dan yelled, in the hope I'd find some cover, far from the eyes of every other summiteer.
I had to drop trousers, in -10 / -15 cold on the mountain with even colder wind chill, in the sort of dark, and poo dark black awful porridge poo right on the mountain. They looked like 2 huge cowpats. I cleaned myself up, sorry Kala Patthar but there was no way I was taking those few tissues with me, pulled up my trousers and moved back to where our guide and Dan were standing.
By that time Terry who was generally slower than us had caught up to the team, and was continuing up to summit. Dan said, "No, we're heading back" so we continued down the mountain. We had a huge trek beyond our summit attempt; we were hoping to then get to Pangboche, another 7 additional hours.
I started to feel cold. Colder than you could ever believe. Cold through to my bones, my eyes, my ears. So cold I could no longer feel my fingers, my toes. My nose that still wouldn't stop its stream a constant dribble, I was worried it would freeze to my face.
I stopped – unable to move, wanting to just sit down and not move on. Dan ran over "I'm so cold" he ripped open his bag and pulled out a last jacket we'd hired in Kathmandu. He pulled off my gloves to help me put it on; my fingers were an awful shade of blue. Even the hand-warmers weren't reaching their warmth far enough.
Jacket on he coaxed me gently down the mountain, ignoring my tears of disappointment at being unable to summit. A steep descent that felt like hours, and I was back at the lodge in Gorak Shep, warm mint tea thrust into my hands.
I still made it down on my own steam – important when I knew deep down I had a huge day to go. While I struggled to make the 'Turn back' decision myself, I am genuinely thankful Dan did. Who knows how long it would have taken me to summit? What if I'd become worse?
What amazes me is that Everest is another 3.3km vertically up from this. What must your body go through at even less air? At Everest summit there's 33% of the oxygen that there would be at sea level, and in that last day they summit more than 1,000 vertical metres and back taking between 9-18 hours, beginning at midnight, climbing in the dark, in sub-zero temperatures.
What's also hard to articulate is the sense of shame and failure I felt (and still feel). As people were returning to the lodge I wanted to shrink further into a corner, frustrated my body let me down. People older than me, less fit than me, smiles on their faces. I just wanted to sit in a corner and cry into my tea; I can't imagine how it must feel to turn around on Everest. I mean it was just me and my obstinacy up there – no sponsors, not months of training and thousands of dollars.
After an hour and a half Terry arrived, also exhausted. Beyond us was another hour up at least, those last 150m a complete killer.
We all attempted some breakfast (I had a bite of Dan's pancake), and started our way down. Me still feeling awful and pretty despondent.
That's the weirdest thing about this trek – after 5-6 hour days, to ascend the last 3 days are a killer, all at least 8 – 9 hours, sometimes passing 3 camps-worth in a single day.
The downward trek was more like a trudge, no one speaking, no one taking photos or taking in the amazing scenery. No one smiling at the yaks, or laughing at children. I didn't look back.
Beyond the Khumbu Glacier we could see Pheriche our lunch stop, it felt far in the distance. It seemed to never get closer, and getting there at 3pm for our lunch stop, we were almost dreading our last 2 hours to get to our final stop for the night in Pangboche.
Realising we were more than exhausted, Ngatemba suggested we stay there the night – and with some relief we all started to relax, and me finally feeling a bit better as we'd come down nearly 900m in Altitude.
Day 10 Periche (4,371m) – Namche (3,880m)
With 2 extra hours to climb today and the pressure to get to Namche by 4pm we were outside and trekking by 7:30am. I was feeling much better and managed at least more bites of my breakfast before we headed out.
The skies have been dawning blue and clear, but it's now feeling like a hard slog. Putting dirty clothes on a dirty body with dirty hair – I was physically and emotionally exhausted and ready for it to be over.
Festival day at Tengboche, we saw many Sherpa in traditional dress, the women often with lots of jewellery walking around. Amazing to see – it's only one day a year.
We were about 2 hours out of Namche (and believe me that's a huge hike up into Namche) and the cloud descended. A strange cloud, bringing the cold, but somehow highlighting the gentle bells from the various cows carrying their goods along the path.
It made everything surreal and feels like sometimes we were right on the edge of the earth. Getting into Namche was a relief, even with the usual coffee stop we felt lucky to be there before dark.
We pottered in Namche, buying a few things, walking around and had a final tomato soup (again with 5 cloves of garlic in it) with an earlyish night before our next day Namche to Lukla.
Day 11 Namche (3,440m) – Lukla (2,800m)
Another early start, it felt like we were almost bolting down the mountains. Back in the beautiful pine trees, stopping to watch funny red legged guinea-fowl type things under the trees. We were always watchful for red pandas but sadly didn't spot any.
As we descended the air was warmer. The land changed from trees to grass and crops. More lodges, more signs for places to stop for lunch. More coca-cola more tuborg.
The sense of familiarity was calming. The poles and prayer stones and stupa to walk around clockwise. No Yaks no just cows. More food options on menus, Tibetan bread disappearing.
Even the faces we noticed were different, Nepalese and Sherpa people to look different, and as we descended you see more Nepalese. I was ready for a shower, fresh sheets, a meal that wasn't Dal Baht or momos or coffee made with milk powder.
Those last steps back up to Lukla felt easy. It wasn't a final strenuous climb like I saw people struggling with on the way down. No blisters. No lasting injuries. No real aches and pains. We'd done it. We were proud.
Being back in Kathmandu is like a dream. Like Kala Patthar never happened. Burgers and fresh salad. Coffee. Food that hasn't been killed with garlic. No garlic soup. No Dal Baht. Friendly people but horns and busyness.
We had booked into a nice hotel and did nothing but hide from the world for a few days. Tried to eat some nice food, keep up some exercise, but not venture too far.
I still wasn't well – so spent time relaxing, reading, planning parts of our next trip. Skyping our families. Having long hot showers.
I have a sense of sadness – I'll miss the mountains, but it's been wonderful to have some downtime in Kathmandu. We're looking towards India with more than a little trepidation, there's no scams here. People are honest and want to help you. Men don't stare, they're more used to Westerners I guess.
I do hope we come back; I'd love to see the other side of Everest next time, and definitely see some of Tibet.
– Note: I did a bit of post-trek Googling, and it looks like I had a really serious reaction to Diamox. I should have gone straight to the doctor, and probably lucky I didn't take many of them! You can take up to 4 a day, and I only had 3 in total across our whole trek. Maybe Altitude trekking just isn't for me.