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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. What day did Harrer and Kasparek begin their 1938 climb of the North Face?

2. How did Harrer survive the avalanche at the Spider?

3. Where did Otto and Sepp Maag join up with Buhl and his partner?

4. What nationality was the second team to successfully climb the North Face?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What blocked the descent from Buhl and Jöchler's bivouac spot below the Rote Fluh?

2. On his ascent up the North Face, what did Harrer remember seeing while he was climbing a peak as a child?

3. How did Fritz Kasparek and Harrer meet?

4. After Buhl, Jöchler, the Maags, and the French traveled up the Spider, in what arrangement did they bivouac?

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

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

7. What research did Harrer do for his book?

8. What metaphor did the author use to describe the societal function of mountain climbing?

9. Who were the climbers forced out of Switzerland in 1937?

10. What did Kurz have to do to try to reach the rescuers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the accomplishment of firsts in Harrer's book.

1) What firsts does Harrer seem to feel are most important? Does Harrer's position as one of the first party to climb the North Face change his view on firsts?

2) Why does Harrer's final chapter focus on firsts? How does he view the prospective first direct route up the North Face differently from earlier firsts?

3) Are "first" accomplishments admirable? Why are they notable?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the relationship of money and climbing in the book.

1) How does Harrer portray climbers who have financial backing versus those who have little money and equipment?

2) How does poverty affect the ability of climbers to be successful?

3) Is Harrer's portrayal of impoverished young climbers romanticized?

(see the answer keys)

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