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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. Who does Krakauer help when they reach Camp One?

2. Who were the first known climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest?

3. Who is the overachieving doctor, one who is actually hooked on climbing for its real challenges?

4. What is Andy Harris' wife's name, as Krakauer finds out from hiking with him?

5. Who is the person on Fischer's team who is a legend in Himalayan climbing?

Short Essay Questions

1. List some of the amenities the climbers have while at Base Camp.

2. Who were the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest?

3. What happened to turn Base Camp into the tidy place it is in the 1990's?

4. Why are the climbers eager to leave Lobuje?

5. What does Krakauer realize about his breathing when they reach Base Camp again before starting their second acclimatization climb?

6. Describe Krakauer's feelings when he reaches the summit in his description at the beginning of this book.

7. Who does Krakauer idolize from his own town, as related to his own hiking love?

8. What does Krakauer help Ang Dorje with when they are back at Camp One?

9. Why do the climbers have to return to Camp Two as they are making their way up to Camp Three?

10. Why does Hall only have his group walk a few hours a day?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The leaders of the teams, Scott Fischer and Rob Hall, were very experienced climbers on Mount Everest. At the same time, their eventual demise shows they were just as powerless over the mountain.

Part 1: Describe the character of Rob Hall. What was he like? What makes him a strong and a weak leader?

Part 2: Describe the character of Scott Fischer. What was he like? What makes him a strong and a weak leader?

Part 3: Compare and contrast these two figures. How are they alike and how are their different?

Essay Topic 2

The gradual ascent of the hikers to the different camps allows them to get adjusted to the altitude at different points, without exhausting them.

Part 1: How many camps are located between Base Camp and the Summit?

Part 2: What are some ways hikers acclimate to the decrease in the air density at each phase of their hike?

Part 3: What can happen if the hikers don't take their time in ascending Mount Everest? What are some effects of the altitude on the human body?

Essay Topic 3

John Krakauer is the author of this book and a skilled hiker, though not with higher elevations. This is actually the case with many of the members of his team.

Part 1: Describe Krakauer's feelings about the inexperience of his team at the beginning of the story.

Part 2: What does Krakauer think of the hikers as the climbing continues? Does he feel more confident or less confident?

Part 3: Does this seem like a team that should have been going up Mount Everest? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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