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

2. What makes the Silver Trench silver?

3. Was the filmed climb of Lothar Brandler, Jörg Lehne, and Sigfried Löw up the North Face successful?

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

5. How many climbers were killed on the North Face in 1962?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. After bivouacking above the Spider, how did Helmuth Drachsler and Walter Gstrein reach the summit?

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

4. What does Harrer say about Corti's knowledge of the North Face of the Eiger?

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

6. Describe the climb of the first women to attempt the North Face.

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

8. What happened when Derungs and Albrecht threw their extra equipment over the edge of the mountain after their last bivouac?

9. What is the controversy about the photograph of the German climbers on the mountain?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Discuss nationalism, rivalry, and prejudice in Harrer's book.

1) What is Harrer's viewpoint on international cooperation and on different nationalities in the book?

2) What role do national rivalries play in the race to climb the North Face and in the following attempts?

3) What is Harrer's opinion about Italian climbers, and how does it inform his presentation of Corti's ill-fated climb? Can Harrer's presentation be relied on? What other biases does he seem to hold?

(see the answer keys)

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