The Cold Rock Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1938

The first attempt was made in 1934, with the climbers reaching 2,900m. In 1935 and 1936 attempts were made which resulted in the climbers being killed. Two froze to death in what came to be called "Death Bivouac" and four died in terrible weather conditions whilst trying to retreat back down the mountain.

In 1938 two German and two Austrian climbers Anderl Heckmair, Heinrich Harrer, Fritz Kasparek and Ludwig Vörg, made it to the summit. It took them three days and they were almost too exhausted to make it safely back down. World War 2 meant a halt to any further expeditions and it was not until 1947 that the north face was climbed again.

Answer: Everest

George Mallory was part of the first three British expeditions to Everest. He and his partner, Andrew Irvine, disappeared in 1924. The final sighting of them put them only a few hundred metres from the summit. For many years their fate was unknown, although they were assumed to have died. Irvine's ice axe had been found in 1933, but, although several expeditions had searched, no bodies were ever found. Following a report that a body had been seen a new expedition was mounted in 1999, and within hours the body of Mallory was found. Whether he and Irvine reached the summit and died on the way back down, or whether they died prior to making the top remains the subject of intense speculation in the mountaineering community.

Answer: K2

In 1900 Crowley was in Mexico, and it was here he started climbing. He and a friend, Oscar Eckenstein, who was also interested in mystic religion, climbed several mountains in the area. In 1902 this led to them leading the first expedition to try to climb K2. During the climb Crowley was quite ill with snow blindness, flu and malaria. Several of the rest of the part were also ill and the climb was abandoned at 20,000 feet. In 1905 he led an expedition attempting the first climb of Kangchenjunga. After four of the party were killed in an avalanche the expedition was forced to turn back after reaching around 21,000 feet. The exact height they reached is disputed as Crowley said he thought it was nearer 25,000 feet.

All of the incorrect answers are people involved with Crowley during his time as a member of "The Golden Dawn".

Answer: Saint Elias Mountains

Located in the south west Yukon area, Mount Logan is the highest peak in Canada and the second highest in North America. An expedition to climb it was planned in 1924, but because of funding problems it was postponed until 1925. A group of Canadian, British and American climbers conquered the peak in June of that year. Due to tectonic activity Mount Logan is still growing.

Answer: Annapurna

Situated in Nepal, Annapurna was climbed by Frenchmen Herzog and Lachanal in 1950. It is considered one of the most dangerous mountains to climb, with the south face being especially difficult. At one stage it had the highest fatalities to climber ratio of any of the great peaks.

Mont Blanc was first climbed as far back as 1786 by a pair of mountaineers from Sardinia.

The Matterhorn was climbed in 1865 by an international expedition.

Aconcagua was climbed in 1867 by Matthias Zurbriggen from Switzerland.

Answer: New Zealand

Reverend William Spotswood Green explored New Zealand's Southern Alps in 1882, and this led to the founding of the New Zealand Alpine Club. They continued the exploration of the peaks which led to the first ascent of Mount Cook on Christmas Day 1894. In 1888 Reverend Green led the first exploration of the Selkirk mountains in North America, and again his activities led to further exploration.

He wrote the first book about the Selkirk mountains, "Among the Selkirk Glaciers". He is looked upon as one of the pioneer alpinists of the area.

Answer: Japan

Junko Tabei got bitten by the climbing bug whilst on a school outing. As a child she had been regarded as "sickly", and her adult height was only 4ft 10in. Despite this she became the first woman to scale Mount Everest, reaching the peak in 1975. She was part of a 15 strong all female team. Only a few days into the expedition all the climbers and some of their guides were buried by an avalanche. Dug out by other Sherpas, they carried on and Tabei reached the summit twelve days later. She went on to be the first female to climb the seven summits, which are the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

She was the founder of the Ladies Climbing Club (Japan).

Answer: Kibo

Situated in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. It has three volcanic peaks, and Kibo Peak, sometimes also called Uhuru peak, is the highest at 5,895 metres. Mawenzi and Shira peaks are classed as extinct volcanoes, but Kibo is classed as dormant, so could, theoretically, erupt again. The last eruption is estimated at between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago.
It was first climbed in 1889 and there have been regular ascents ever since. Trekking on Kilimanjaro is a popular tourism activity.

Answer: The Shackleton Expedition

Mount Erebus was first climbed, to the volcano rim, in 1908 by members of the Shackleton expedition. It contains a lake of red hot lava and is an active volcano. In recent years it has been continually active since 1972 which makes any ascent a very risk business.

In 1979 it was the scene of an air disaster when an Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight crashed into it in white out conditions killing all 257 people on board. The summer ice melt still reveals debris from this crash on the slopes of the mountain.

Answer: Climbing it is forbidden

In both 1985 and 1986 there were unsuccessful expeditions to Gankhar Puensum. In 1988 a team that set off from Tibet climbed a subsidiary peak. However, after opening up for mountaineering in 1983 Bhutan had a change of heart, and in 1994 banned climbing any peak over 6000 metres out of respect for local religious beliefs.

In 2003 this was taken further and all mountaineering was banned. One report shows the Tibet/Bhutan border crossing the peak of the mountain so, in theory, it could be climbed from the Tibet side, however, this border position is based on an expedition report from a team climbing one of the subsidiary peaks.

Internationally recognised maps show the whole mountain being within Bhutan's borders.