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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do the climbers run out of in the chapter "On the Edge"?
(a) Gas.
(b) Food.
(c) Snow for melting into water.
(d) Worry.

2. How do Peruvian flutings contrast to European flutings?
(a) They are made of snow.
(b) They appear to defy gravity.
(c) They are made of yellow rock.
(d) They are difficult to see.

3. As Simon lowers Joe down the mountain, how is Joe facing?
(a) Face down, head first.
(b) Face up, feet first.
(c) Face up, head first.
(d) Face down, feet first.

4. How does Joe try to gauge their height on the mountain?
(a) By checking his GPS.
(b) By checking the map.
(c) By checking his wristwatch altimiter.
(d) By looking at nearby peaks.

5. Simon tells Joe that he is knackered. What does this mean?
(a) He is dumbfounded.
(b) He is trying to shake off what he just saw.
(c) He is very tired.
(d) He is cinched up in his knap-sack.

6. A hundredweight of icicles falls on Joe's head. How much is this?
(a) 100 kilograms.
(b) 100 pounds.
(c) 100 grams.
(d) About 100 icicles.

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

8. Before recounting the Mont Blanc incident, Joe determines that Simon...
(a) Is indeed frostbitten.
(b) Is suffering from altitude sickness.
(c) Has broken his leg.
(d) Is going to leave without him.

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

10. What is a sticht plate?
(a) A camming device.
(b) A belay device.
(c) A cooking utensil.
(d) A high-altitude breathing apparatus.

11. What do Norma and Gloria sell to Richard and Joe?
(a) Two Donkeys.
(b) Muslin bags.
(c) Homemade cheese.
(d) Goat's milk.

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

13. What is a patina?
(a) A Peruvian flatbread that Gloria cooks for Richard.
(b) The ceiling of a snow cave.
(c) A thin layer that appears slowly over time.
(d) A type of mountaineering skate used to descend slopes.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What part of the body does a gaiter cover?

2. A character in the book recounts an incident where one climber is dragged off a cliff while roped to his partner. What nationality are these climbers?

3. How does Joe compare his fitness with Simon's?

4. After his accident with Ian, Joe regains his desire to climb, except for the dread of what?

5. Joe notes that some of the icicles are as thick as...

(see the answer keys)

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