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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. 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.

2. On what mountain range do two climbers witness the deaths of two other climbers?
(a) The Himalayas.
(b) The Spanish Pyrenees.
(c) The French Andes.
(d) The French Alps.

3. How does the weather look when Joe and Simon start up Siula Grande?
(a) Perfect.
(b) Blustery.
(c) Dreadful.
(d) Foggy.

4. When Joe says to Simon, 'We should top out today' (p41), what does he mean?
(a) We should drink the maximum amount of fluids.
(b) We should reach the summit.
(c) We should beat our altitude record.
(d) We should consume the maximum amount of calories.

5. In his climbing rhythm, Joe says to look at what?
(a) The ice.
(b) The ice axe.
(c) Your watch.
(d) Your feet.

Short Answer Questions

1. Before recounting the Mont Blanc incident, Joe determines that Simon...

2. Joe recalls an incident with climber Ian Whittaker in which country?

3. What is a pitch?

4. When Joe sees Simon's frostbitten fingers, why does he feel anxious?

5. When Joe follows Simon, he is careful to do what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Joe describes the beginning of their practice climb on Yantauri as 'inauspicious' (p24). Why?

2. Why does Simon cut the rope?

3. Explain how Joe feels for the two days immediately prior to setting out for Siula Grande.

4. What occurs to Joe at the beginning of "On the Edge"?

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

6. What is Joe's plan of action if Simon falls through, or off, the ridge again?

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

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

9. 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?

10. When Joe and Simon start their ascent of the first ice wall on Siula Grande, what is Joe's attitude toward what they are doing?

(see the answer keys)

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