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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Corti's report, what happened to him at the Spider?

2. How many bivouacs did Spanish climbers Albert Rabada and Ernesto Navarra make before reaching the Spider?

3. What does Harrer suggest happened on the climb?

4. How did Mayr climb from the First Ice Field to the Second Ice Field?

5. What put the claims of two Swiss climbers who said they climbed the North Face in one day in doubt?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the climb of the first women to attempt the North Face.

2. What were Nothdurft and Mayers' families reactions to the tragedy?

3. After bivouacking above the Spider, how did Helmuth Drachsler and Walter Gstrein reach the summit?

4. What made the Difficult Crack and the Hinterstoisser Traverse easier to climb for Mayr than for early climbers?

5. Describe what was done to lower Alfred Hellepart down the mountain in a rescue attempt.

6. How were Albert Rabada and Ernesto Navarra's bodies recovered?

7. What does Harrer say about Corti's knowledge of the North Face of the Eiger?

8. What happened when Derungs and Albrecht threw their extra equipment over the edge of the mountain after their last bivouac?

9. Describe Erich Friedli, Jr. and Arnold Heinen's climb in 1963.

10. At the end of the chapter "The International Rescue Team," what does Harrer suggest might happen in the future regarding Nothdurft and Mayer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss danger and courage in Harrer's book.

1) What is Harrer's attitude toward danger? How does he feel about courage?

2) What outweighs the inherent danger of extreme mountain climbing for the climbers who attempt the North Face? In what ways are they courageous, and in what ways are they foolhardy?

3) What are the dangers of the North Face, and can they be mitigated by those who attempt the climb? How does the risk become worthwhile, and under what conditions?

Essay Topic 2

Harrer talks about the media and publicity often in his book. Discuss the relationship of the media to mountain climbing.

1) How does Harrer view the media's reporting on mountain climbing? What criticisms does he levy?

2) In what ways is Harrer's book similar to the media that he criticizes? in what ways is it different?

3) How does Harrer portray the film crews that film climbers going up the mountain? How does Harrer think about the films of mountain climbing?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the point of view of Harrer's THE WHITE SPIDER.

1) How does Harrer portray climbers and events that he knows of through research, compared to those that he knows personally?

2) How does the shift in point of view to Harrer's personal account of his experiences affect the book?

3) When does Harrer use personal narration, aside from the account of his own climb of the North Face? How do these personal interjections affect the book?

(see the answer keys)

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