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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 Sefano Longhi and Claudio Corti begin to climb the North Face?

2. Why did Karl Blach take Huber's place?

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

4. How many climbers successfully climbed the North Face in 1962?

5. What put the claims of two Swiss climbers who said they climbed the North Face in one day in doubt?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Harrer's attitude toward Italians?

3. What happened in the attempts to climb the North Face in 1953?

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the roles of skill and chance in climbing the North Face of the Eiger.

1) How does Harrer address luck or chance in success or failure of climbing the North Face? How big a role does luck or chance play in success or failure?

2) What skills are necessary to climb the North Face? How can skill mitigate bad luck or ill chance, if it can?

3) What role does skill play in a successful climb of the North Face? How essential is skill, and are there any substitutes for it?

Essay Topic 2

Extreme mountain climbing pushes the limits of human ability. Discuss this aspect of climbing in Harrer's book.

1) What drives human being to push the limits of human ability, according to Harrer? Is this a worthwhile pursuit?

2) How do the limits of human accomplishment change over time? Does climbing the North Face become less of an accomplishment in any way over time?

3) What does it mean to say that a task is impossible? How does the impossible become achievable?

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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