What other than climbing makes climbing much harder?
Oxygen tubes that get tangled and make breathing hard.
What kind of things did Mark learn from the Sherpas?
Not to change any clothing for the time it takes to change could subject him to frostbite.
How old and what grade was Mark when he started climbing?
12 and in 7th grade.
Why is Mark no interested in "ball" sports?
He likes endurance sports such as hiking, running, and lifting weights.
Who does Mark typically find himself hanging out with?
Older people because they are more mature than his classmates.
Who does Mark want to be like and have experiences like when he reaches that persons age?
Geoff
What does Mark compare his feelings to on his first backpacking trip with Frank?
A surfer, riding on the waves as if Mark were riding waves instead of climbing mountains.
What actions does Mark take to make his first trip to Nepal a reality?
He writes over a 100 letters to different people asking for money.
How does Mark describe ice climbing?
Working on an icy sidewalk that's bumpy and rough, with snow allover.
Who are Sherpas?
People who live in the mountains and work as guides.
What is Diamox?
Medicine that helps maintain fluid balance in the body to control altitude sickness.
What is Mark's first ascent in the Himalayas?
Tsergoki, which is 16,000 ft. high.
What is the Sleeping Vishnu statue?
Vishnu is the protector of the universe and keeps people safe.
What does Mark learn from the National Outdoor Leadership School?
Leadership, cooking, skills, and most importantly resourcefulness.
What is a pilgrimage?
Religious ritual in which one tries to get as high to heaven as you can go.
What are the rituals that take place when people reach the summit of a mountain.
Peeing on the mountain to mark ones scent, taking photos, and putting up prayer flags and summit flags.
What are two things Mark does that remind us he is a normal teenager?
He eats lots of junk food and thinks about girls.
What does Mark say about staying inside your "comfort zone"?
Pushing yourself beyond those comfort zones allows you to grow.
What to Mark's parents want from him before he goes to Everest?
To have the best equipment, training, and all-out commitment.
What bargain did Mark make with his teachers and parents in order to climb during school time?
Stay up in school, do assignments, and be very grateful to Mr. Krupowicz.
What mountain is 23,000 ft. tall and in the western hemisphere?
Aconcagua.
Nepal is on what side of Everest?
South
Tibet is on what side of Everest?
North, the more difficult side to travel.
What does Mark compare his first steps on Everest to?
The first scene of a world-premiere movie, the first day of school, or the first ball thrown on opening day.
Why does Mark decide to return to ABC?
His thumbs could have frostbite.
What is ABC?
Advanced Base Camp
Why was Mark not able to summit Mt. Everest?
He broke a rib from coughing so much.
What does Ama Dablam mean in English and why was the summit named after it?
It means pendant and the summit is shaped like a pendant.
What did both Mark and his mother win at the end of the trip?
His mother won the dablam by bargaining for it and Mark won the success of the mountain.
What does Mark want to be when he grows up?
An emergency room doctor.
What is a Himalayan traffic jam?
A lot of yaks on a narrow passageway.
Who is Jake?
Trekker from base camp.
What does taking a girl's scarf mean in Nepal?
That you are in love.
What does Mark compare to "a platter of lumpy mashed potatoes with globs sticking up here and there" and how many people have died there?
Khumbu Icefall; 60
What is a particularly dangerous section of snow in the ice fall?
Mousetrap.
What does Mark say all high-altitude climbers have in common?
They are not in shape.
What did Mark find out about his father?
His ear infection is really cancer.
The original summit date for Everest is May 8th...why did they change it and what did they change it to?
They changed it because Scott Fischer and Rob Hall were making an expedition for May 10th and they changed it to May 11th.
What happened at Camp IV the night before they were supposed to summit?
A terrible storm came.
Which two important people died in the storm of '96.
Rob Hall and Scott Fischer
Which mountains does Mark head to as an assistant leader with Roger Gocking?
Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya
Who becomes like a brother to Mark during the time his father has cancer?
Jabion.
Why is Mark so disgusted toward Richard, the boy he assists in climbing?
Richard has no focus in his life and does not even try hard, and is very disrespectful to his parents.
What is Cho Oyu?
One of the 10 highest mountains in the world on the Nepal, Tibet border.
What does Mark say is the key to success on summit day?
Organization
What is Mark's theory about carrying oxygen?
That the oxygen it uses to carry the heavy tank is not worth the oxygen the tanks provide.
As Mark shows the slides at Middletown school, what does he begin to realize?
He does not want to summit Everest.
What happened on July 21, 1997?
Mark's dad died.
At the end of the book, what is Mark's next big goal?
To climb Mt. Everest and to join the Navy.
Who wrote the book?
Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin
4 mountains that inspired Mark the most?
Mt. Everest, Mt. Aconcagua, Mt. Cho Oyu, Mt. Ama Dablam
4 people that inspired Mark the most?
Jabion, Mark's father, Henry Todd, and Al Burgess
