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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 did the friend Nothdurft and Mayer visited before leaving think of Nothdurft's behavior on the mountain?

2. Was Nothdurft's diary found?

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

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

5. How many successful ascents of the North Face were made in 1956?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What information does Harrer offer in the later appended chapters about his treatment of Corti's story and the facts about Nothdurft's death?

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

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

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

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

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

9. What is Harrer's opinion about Corti's story that the two other climbers went on to send back help, leaving Corti behind after he was injured?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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?

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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