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

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the book's opening quote, who could not allow Mount Everest to remain untouched?

2. In the Kanchung chapter, how many lectures was Messner scheduled to give during his European lecture tour?

3. When Messner realized that he needed a sponsor in order to gain access to the mountains in China, what did Messner consider offering to his sponsor in exchange for the sponsor's commitment to help Messner?

4. How many of the expedition's porters were killed in the avalanche that occurred during the third attempt to reach Everest's summit?

5. Who had a special camera with him on expeditions in 1922 and 1924?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the British recognize as too difficult a route in the 1920s and 1930s that is still not climbed to this day?

2. How did the first person to want to scale Mount Everest alone first learn about Mount Everest?

3. In 1922 and 1924, the British set up their base camp in the shelter of a moraine under the end of the Rongbuk Glacier. Why was this spot considered ideal?

4. According to the Kanchung chapter, the first person to want to scale Mount Everest alone was not a mountaineer. Why did this person believe he could scale Everest with no experience?

5. What made Messner's ascent of the Abruzzi Ridge different from that of previous mountaineers?

6. When the climbing team woke up in the Sherpa hut in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, why was the team headed to Syangpoche?

7. When a tourist at the hotel asked Oelz why he climbed Everest after learning that he and Messner had reached the summit in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, how did Oelz respond?

8. What unusual item was a standard item placed in the rooms by the hotel in Syangpoche in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter?

9. When the climbing team reached Syangpoche in the early pages of the Mount Everest-Fairytale and Reality chapter, they were unsuccessful in completing their task. What was their task and why were they unsuccessful?

10. As the book opens, Messner reflects on his first ascent of Everest. What did the mountain mean to Messner?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare Reinhold Messner and George Mallory.

a. How were these two men similar? How were they different?

b. Compare the role that mountaineering played in each of their lives. How was each person affected by mountaineering, both positively and negatively?

Essay Topic 2

Compare Reinhold Messner's experiences on Mount Everest during his first summit attempt when he was part of an expedition team and during his second summit attempt when he was climbing solo. What changed for Messner between his first and second ascents? What lessons had Messner learned during his first attempt that he applied to his second attempt? Would Messner have been successful climbing solo if he had not already reached the summit as part of a group?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the book, there were several situations where Messner almost lost his life. Identify at least three instances where Messner's life was in danger and detail how he escaped from death. What lessons had Messner learned from his previous mountaineering experience combined with the experience of those mountaineers that had gone before him that allowed Messner to survive?

(see the answer keys)

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