View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When do Rebitsch and Vörg finally attempt their climb?

2. On what day of the climb did Toni Kurz and his party turn back?

3. What year did Harrer escape from the prison camp?

4. What trapped Primas and Gollackner on the mountain?

5. In 1950, where did North Face climbers Hamel and Seiler escape to after a blizzard?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Fritz Kasparek and Harrer meet?

2. Describe the first climb up the Eiger.

3. What is the author's position on the psychology of seeking danger?

4. What did the author mean by "Come back safe, my friends"?

5. How were photos taken of the climbers traversing toward the Spider?

6. What happened to Bartolo Sandri and Mario Menti, who attempted to climb the North Face early in the summer of 1938?

7. When Allmen checked on the mountaineers he knew were climbing toward him, what did he find?

8. Describe the end of Sedlmayer and Mehringer's attempt to climb the North Face.

9. Describe the ascent of Buhl, Jöchler, the Maags, and the French through the Ramp.

10. Where did rescuers start from to try to rescue Toni Kurz?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Harrer sees the overuse of technology in climbing as a danger. Discuss technology and human achievement in Harrer's book.

1) In what ways is technology a necessary part of mountain climbing? Could the Eiger's North Face be successfully climbed without technological advancements?

2) What does Harrer see as the danger of the overuse of technology? When does the use of technology become overuse? What aspects of climbing does it diminish?

3) How does technology make the advances in climbing the North Face an accomplishment of humanity as a whole, and does this in any way diminish individual accomplishments in climbing the North Face?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the idea of rescue in Harrer's book.

1) Why are rescue attempts not guaranteed for climbers? How does climbing affect the local guides and governments who participate in rescue attempts?

2) How does Harrer view rescuers and rescue attempts? Are his portrayals of rescuers romanticized?

3) Should climbers expect rescue? What aspects of human nature make rescue attempts inevitable? What happens when rescue attempts are impossible? Discuss specific rescue attempts in the book.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 843 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample