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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How far from the nearest village do Joe, Simon, and Richard pitch base camp?
(a) 56 miles of rough walking.
(b) 5 miles of glacier.
(c) 28 miles of easy walking.
(d) 28 miles of rough walking.

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

3. How many hours do Joe and Ian hang on the rope before being rescued?
(a) 1.
(b) 2.
(c) 21.
(d) 12.

4. What is the first thing Simon says to Joe after Joe tells him about the broken leg?
(a) 'What happened?'
(b) 'I'll abseil down to you.'
(c) 'Are you sure it's broken?'
(d) 'Are you okay?'

5. What are Joe Simpson and Ian Whittaker doing when the ground breaks out from underneath them?
(a) Getting ready to sleep.
(b) Belaying.
(c) Abseiling.
(d) Digging a snow hole.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what route do two climbers witness the deaths of two other climbers?

2. What is a patina?

3. What side of Siula Grande do Joe and Simon have the ambition to conquer?

4. What do the climbers use to help them see at night?

5. When Joe and Simon move together along the ridge, how far behind Simon does Joe follow?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Joe tells Simon that he has broken his leg, he describes the pitiful look that Simon gives him as, 'a distance given to a wounded animal which could not be helped' (p74). From Simon's point of view, why does he give him this look?

2. On the first practice climb to Seria Norte, Joe loses sight of base camp and immediately notices what?

3. What observation does Joe make about tents in the opening scene of the book?

4. At the beginning of "Disaster", what is Joe's attitude?

5. Why does Joe consider standing on the summit an unsettling anticlimax?

6. Why do Simon and Joe avoid the issue of discussing their game plan after Joe's injury?

7. What worries Joe and Simon the most about the final part of the route to the summit?

8. On the eve of the summit conquest, what does Simon do that leaves Joe in disbelief?

9. Joe says that a 'warm feeling' stays with him while Simon lowers him. What 'warm feeling' is he referring to?

10. What happens on The Bonatti Pillar on Les Petits Drus in the French Alps?

(see the answer keys)

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