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

2. What did Fritz crave and lack, after climbing the Spider?

3. How many climbers were in Toni Kurz's group?

4. How tall was the icy gully that Buhl climbed the day after climbing the Spider?

5. What obstacle befell Buhl and his group on the Spider during the 1952 climb?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Australian and Swiss teams both climbed the North Face at approximately the same time, how far apart did they reach the summit?

2. What did Rebitsch and Vörg do, after a harrowing climb on the mountain, when they learned that Gollackner had died on the mountain?

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

4. How did Fritz Kasparek and Harrer meet?

5. Was there rivalry between the parties attempting to climb the North Face in 1937?

6. What are the hazards on the North Face when the ice is melted?

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

8. What were Otto and Sepp Maag doing when they first encountered Buhl and Jöchler in July 1952?

9. What seemed unexplainable about Primas and Gollackner's actions on their climb?

10. What research did Harrer do for his book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Harrer sees extreme climbing as being a challenge for both the mental and physical aspects of mankind. Discuss the relationship of the mental and physical in Harrer's book.

1) How does Harrer defend extreme climbing from critics who call it suicidally dangerous, and how strong are his arguments that extreme climbing requires extreme mental balance?

2) What is the relationship of the mental and physical aspects of climbing, and what are examples from the book of both mental and physical accomplishments?

3) How does technology and equipment affect the mental and physical challenges of climbing?

Essay Topic 2

Harrer sees taming the North Slope as expanding the domain of humanity. Discuss this aspect of the book.

1) Is humanity's intellectual and physical domain expanded by the successful attempts to climb the North Face? How does this expand human accomplishment?

2) How does Harrer ultimately feel about the affect of humans climbing the North Face? Once the North Face has been repeatedly climbed, has something been lost as well as gained?

3) Is the expansion of the human domain inherently good? Is it inevitable? How does the North Face fit into the bigger picture of human accomplishment?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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