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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. When Messner realized that he needed a sponsor in order to gain access to the mountains in China, what did Messner consider offering to his sponsor in exchange for the sponsor's commitment to help Messner?

2. How large is Tibet?

3. According to tests, at what altitude could climbers survive at with the use of artificial oxygen?

4. When the British expedition returned to Everest in 1924, when did the team arrive?

5. Who was the first person to ever want to scale Mount Everest alone?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Messner in the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, why did no one understand the local people better than the leader of the second British expedition to Mount Everest in 1922?

2. As Bulle returned to his "real" life in the Kanchung chapter, he threw himself into his job. What was Bulle's primary motivation for taking up his work with such enthusiasm?

3. According to Messner in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, why was Oelz depressed as the team packed for their trip to Syangpoche?

4. Why did the second person to attempt a solo ascent of Everest decline to use oxygen gear?

5. According to the Kanchung chapter, the first person to want to scale Mount Everest alone was not a mountaineer. Why did this person believe he could scale Everest with no experience?

6. How did Captain Finch originally test his bold plan back in England?

7. When the climbing team reached Syangpoche in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, they were unsuccessful in completing their task. What was their task and why were they unsuccessful?

8. As the book opens, what reason did Mallory give when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest a second time?

9. In 1922 and 1924, the British set up their base camp in the shelter of a moraine under the end of the Rongbuk Glacier. Why was this spot considered ideal?

10. According to Messner in the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, what were the primary motives of the Himalayan mountaineer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare Reinhold Messner and George Mallory.

a. How were these two men similar? How were they different?

b. Compare the role that mountaineering played in each of their lives. How was each person affected by mountaineering, both positively and negatively?

Essay Topic 2

Noel Odell was a person that the reader learned about only through tales of the past. Why did Messner include Odell in the book? What purpose did Odell's presence serve? How were Messner's reasons for writing this book furthered by Odell's inclusion and insights?

Essay Topic 3

Compare how Reinhold Messner changed as the book progressed. Be sure to include your assessment of his nature when he first introduced himself in the book, after he had successfully scaled Mount Everest as part of a team, when he and Nena were waiting for the weather to clear so Messner could begin his solo ascent, and when Messner finally reached the summit.

(see the answer keys)

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