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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. How many climbers were on the North Face between August 19 and August 23 of 1962?

2. How did Helmuth Drachsler and Walter Gstrein climb past the Spider?

3. Where was solo climber Diether Marchart on the mountain's face when he fell and died?

4. What does Harrer recommend to climbers for protection from rocks?

5. What did Hellepart give Corti when he first contacted him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How were Albert Rabada and Ernesto Navarra's bodies recovered?

2. Describe Erich Friedli, Jr. and Arnold Heinen's climb in 1963.

3. At the end of the chapter "The International Rescue Team," what does Harrer suggest might happen in the future regarding Nothdurft and Mayer?

4. When did Mayr's climb seem to slow?

5. Describe the attempt to climb the North Face by Brian Nally and Barry Brewster in 1962.

6. What were Nothdurft and Mayers' families reactions to the tragedy?

7. Why does Harrer call the climb by Radovan KuchaÅ™ and Zdeno Zibrin cautious?

8. Why does Harrer include a route guide at the end of the book?

9. What was the weather like during Erich Vanis, Hans Ratay, and Karl Lugmayer's first night on the mountain in 1952?

10. What happened to Erich Vanis, Hans Ratay, and Karl Lugmayer on the Ice Bulge?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss teamwork and friendship in Harrer's book.

1) How is teamwork important to climbers? How do climbers help each other?

2) How is a solo climb different from a climb by a team or group up the North Face?

3) What is the role of friendship or camaraderie between climbers? How is Harrer's relationship with Fritz an important part of his portrayal of his own climb up the North Face? What other friendships are important in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss danger and courage in Harrer's book.

1) What is Harrer's attitude toward danger? How does he feel about courage?

2) What outweighs the inherent danger of extreme mountain climbing for the climbers who attempt the North Face? In what ways are they courageous, and in what ways are they foolhardy?

3) What are the dangers of the North Face, and can they be mitigated by those who attempt the climb? How does the risk become worthwhile, and under what conditions?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the structure of Harrer's book.

1) How does the chronological telling of attempts to climb the North Face affect the book? Why does Harrer choose a chronological structure?

2) How does the addition of a second section to a later edition of the book affect it?

3) What stories are central to the book and gone into in more detail? Why does Harrer choose these events to emphasize?

(see the answer keys)

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