View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did the team wait until the lines were put into place?

2. Who evacuated with Fox via helicopter from Mount Everest?

3. Whose death has become a national story in his country?

4. Who is waiting for Fischer when he reaches the Everest summit because he feels indebted to him?

5. Who blames himself for bringing bad luck to Fischer?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which route did the Indian team take in order to reach the summit?

2. What risks go up as the oxygen in Krakauer's tank begins to decrease?

3. Why does Krakauer move quickly on his way up to Camp Three?

4. What does Fischer do with his oxygen tank when he begins to make his descent from the summit?

5. What are the physical effects of Weathers' miraculous rescue and recovery from Everest?

6. Why does Pittman fall to the ground as they are approaching the summit?

7. When Hall doesn't tell his group when they will be turning back when they reach the summit, what does Krakauer interpret this to mean?

8. What happens to Krakauer and other climbers from Hall's group when they fly back to Katmandu?

9. What has happened to Weathers, according to Hutchison's discovery?

10. What is the eventual fate of Anatoli Bourkeev?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The idea of competition among the teams seems to also affect the outcome of the climb to the summit. Some feel it's a race rather than an achievement for themselves.

Part 1: What teams seem to be in competition during this story?

Part 2: Does the idea of competition seem to help the hikers or hurt them? Why? In what ways?

Part 3: How might competition have been avoided among the teams? Could it have been avoided? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In reaching the summit, it can be a amazing feeling of accomplishment. But it almost seems anti-climatic when you realize you still have to go back down - and quickly.

Part 1: Describe how Krakauer feels when he reaches the summit. Are his feelings positive? Negative? Mixed?

Part 2: Do you think hikers might rethink their plans if they knew they only had a few moments to spend on the summit itself? Why or why not?

Part 3: What might you do in the few moments you'd spend at the top of Everest?

Essay Topic 3

The leaders of the teams, Scott Fischer and Rob Hall, were very experienced climbers on Mount Everest. At the same time, their eventual demise shows they were just as powerless over the mountain.

Part 1: Describe the character of Rob Hall. What was he like? What makes him a strong and a weak leader?

Part 2: Describe the character of Scott Fischer. What was he like? What makes him a strong and a weak leader?

Part 3: Compare and contrast these two figures. How are they alike and how are their different?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 692 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample