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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Joe is thrilled at the prospect of achieving what?
(a) His father's dream.
(b) A first ascent.
(c) A solo climb.
(d) A base jump.

2. What does Joe do while he is waiting for Simon between lowerings?
(a) He digs a bucket seat in the snow for Simon.
(b) He reties the knot between the ropes.
(c) He traverses the slope to get out of Simon's way.
(d) He screams at Simon to slow down.

3. At the beginning of the chapter "On the Edge", on which side of Siula Grande are Joe and Simon descending?
(a) The West Face.
(b) The North Face.
(c) The East Face.
(d) The South Face.

4. As Simon lowers Joe, what causes the most pain?
(a) His crampons snagging the ice and snow.
(b) The ice axes hitting his knee.
(c) The cold.
(d) The friction on his knee.

5. Who witnesses two climbers in Europe fall to their deaths the year before?
(a) Richard Hawking and Ian Whittaker.
(b) Simon Yates and Jon Sylvester.
(c) Simon Yates and Joe Simpson.
(d) Al Rouse and Maurice Herzog.

6. What do the climbers use to help them see at night?
(a) LCD screens.
(b) Head torches.
(c) Starlight.
(d) Flashlights.

7. While Joe struggles to dig a snow cave, Simon struggles to do what?
(a) To dig his own snow cave.
(b) To thaw out his fingers.
(c) To repair his head torch with his bare fingers.
(d) To repair his sticht plate with his bare fingers.

8. Joe notes in the chapter "On the Edge" that any accident needing a rope to break a fall would be...
(a) Just what they need.
(b) Ideal.
(c) A bummer.
(d) Fatal.

9. What is Joe attempting to do when he falls and injures himself?
(a) He is attempting to look over the edge of a cornice.
(b) He is attempting to reverse-climb a small cliff.
(c) He is attempting to slide down a scree slope.
(d) He is attempting to jump a crevasse.

10. Joe recalls an incident with climber Ian Whittaker in which country?
(a) England.
(b) France.
(c) New Zealand.
(d) Zaire.

11. How does Joe describe the look in Simon's eyes when he tells Simon that he has broken his leg?
(a) 'Exhibiting an instant connection to my plight.'
(b) 'Full of...a distance given to a wounded animal which could not be helped.'
(c) 'Unthinking.'
(d) 'As if he were saying "No comment"'.

12. When Joe and Simon move together, Joe moves only when...
(a) Simon gives him the signal.
(b) The whiteout is over.
(c) He can see Simon.
(d) The rope moves.

13. After lowering Joe down, what is Simon's signal that Joe needs to take his weight off the rope?
(a) Three flashes of his head torch.
(b) Three tugs on the rope.
(c) Three arm waves.
(d) Giving slack to the rope.

14. When referring to their experience on the ridge, Simon tells Joe that he is...
(a) Not recalling what happened.
(b) Ready to do it again.
(c) Disoriented.
(d) Freaked out.

15. What does Simon insist that Joe not do on this trip?
(a) Smoke marijuana.
(b) Smoke cigarettes.
(c) Snore.
(d) Drink beer.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is directly under Joe when he hangs in front of the ice wall?

2. In his climbing rhythm, Joe says to look at what?

3. How does Joe describe Simon's eyes?

4. What do the climbers run out of in the chapter "On the Edge"?

5. What is a pitch?

(see the answer keys)

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