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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 does Simon lower Joe each time before he descends himself?
(a) Approximately 150 feet.
(b) Approximately 300 feet.
(c) Approximately 300 meters.
(d) Approximately 300 abseils.

2. On their first night on Siula Grande, what do Joe and Simon sleep in?
(a) A natural cave.
(b) A man-made cave.
(c) A pigsty.
(d) A tent.

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

4. At one of the lowering changeovers, Simon smiles at Joe, and Joe realizes that their partnership...
(a) Is accident-prone.
(b) Had been a bad idea.
(c) Is just as effective and had turned from climbing to rescue.
(d) Has gone from bad to worse.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When Joe first looks at his knee after his fall, how does he describe it?

2. When thinking about being left on the mountain, Joe feels himself "teetering on the edge of..."

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

4. When Joe and Simon move together, Joe moves only when...

5. Joe says that what is infectious?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Simon cut the rope?

2. While trying to find the North Ridge again after leaving the summit, what happens to Simon?

3. Describe Simon's feelings at the end of "The Final Choice".

4. On page 65 in "On the Edge", Joe says, 'Funny how my anxiety [about Simon's frostbitten fingers] seemed to have more to do with whether he would be able to carry on climbing after we got down rather than concern for his injuries'. Why is this statement significant?

5. After breaking his leg, why doesn't Joe ask Simon for help?

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

7. Describe the first bivouac site on Siula Grande.

8. 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?

9. While thinking about the possibility of having fallen off the ridge while roped together, Joe talks about what incident witnessed by Simon?

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

(see the answer keys)

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