It's a Long Way to the Top Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pakistan

Up until the end of the 20th century, this mountain had only been climbed once, and two of the climbers had to be hospitalized after their return. It is a difficult climb not only because of its altitude and steepness, but also because of its height above the surrounding area. The south face rises almost 10,000 vertical feet in just one mile of horizontal distance.

Answer: Denali

Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) is the tallest peak in North America. Cook and Barrill claimed to have climbed two peaks on the mountain. Other climbers were skeptical because the distances involved between the two peaks were such that it would have been very difficult to have covered that distance in the time they said they did. By 1909, Barrill had begun to back off his claims. Ninety-two years after the climb, Robert Bryce was able to disprove their claims by getting an uncropped copy of the released photo that showed a wider view of the area and found the exact spot where the photo was taken. Scandal abounded in the mountain-climbing community. If Cook and Barrill had still been alive, they would have had to hang their heads in shame.

Answer: A section of the crust that is uplifted while retaining its internal structure

A massif is a large section of the planet's crust that has been uplifted in a single mass by pressure from the magma below it without breaking up the block. It can be comprised of a single large mountain mass or it can be a group of connected mountains. Annapurna I is also famed because it was the first 8,000-meter peak that was scaled on the first attempt.

Answer: The Eiger

Even though the Eiger isn't really that tall at 13,025 feet, the fearsome and deadly north face has 5,900 feet of nearly vertical rock and ice and has been nicknamed Mordwant ("death wall"). For someone like me who won't go higher than three rungs on a ladder, it gives me the willies just thinking about it.

The train will take you up to a little over 11,000 feet where the views are said to be spectacular. I think I'll just take their word for it.

Answer: Mount Hood

Mount Logan and Mount McKinley (Denali) are in Alaska and Mount Rainier is in Washington. Mount Hood is the tallest mountain in Oregon.

The morning after the thirteen were stranded, one adult and one student left the cave to get help. They managed to get through the blizzard back to the lodge, but they were unable to explain the location of the snow cave that contained the other eleven students and leaders. Portland Mountain Rescue had already assembled in response to reports of an overdue climbing party. For two days, over 150 searches risked their lives trying to find the snow cave, but it wasn't until the weather cleared on the third day that they were able to find it. Final death total was seven students and two faculty members. Then the lawsuits began.

Answer: Kangchenjunga

Kanchenjunga, which I could never spell without a cue card, means "The Five Treasures of of the High Snows". The number five is for the five prominent peaks and the five treasures are salt, gold, precious stone, sacred scriptures and invincible armor. They will be revealed to the devout only when the world is in peril. Out of respect for the religion that holds this mountain scared, climbers stop just short of the summit.

It was first climbed in 1955 and as of 2020, fewer than 250 had reached the top. It is estimated that for those who try to reach the summit, one out four will die in the attempt. Sounds like a good reason to take up another hobby.

Answer: Piton

A piton is a steel spike that a climber drives into the side of the cliff face that will support a rope. The use of pitons has declined somewhat with the rise of "clean climbing" which means attempting to climb while leaving little or no trace. RURP is an abbreviation for a "Realized Ultimate Reality Piton" which is not much bigger than your thumb.

It is intended for use where only small seams or cracks are available. I'm not sure I would trust my life to something this small, but I guess that's what makes mountaineering so exciting.

Answer: Annapurna

Exact figures are difficult to calculate and will vary from year to year, but it is estimated that for the climbers who attempt Annapurna, only three out of five will survive. From 1990 to 2012, 191 climbers took the mountain challenge of scaling this mountain and 61 died in the attempt, nine of them on the way back down from the top.

Besides the danger of falling, there is the danger from falling ice, bad weather, freezing to death, as well as cerebral edema and pulmonary edema).

Answer: Yeti

The Yeti, Abominable Snowman, metoh-kangmi, or "Wild Man of the Snows" is a mythical biped, similar to Bigfoot, that lives in the Himalaya Mountains. Many local residents consider them to be gods. The main evidence for the Yeti is footprints seen by many mountaineers, including Sir Edmund Hillary.

The other three choices listed are genuine residents of the Himalaya Mountains, but to my knowledge, none of them are considered to be gods.

Answer: Matterhorn

Shaped kind of like the sorting hat in the Harry Potter movies, the Matterhorn is one of the tallest peaks in the Alps and Europe. Because of its intimidating shape, it was not successfully climbed until 1865 and was the subject of an international competition to reach the top.

The first team to reach the top was a seven-man team, and four of them fell to their deaths on the way back down. Disney World uses a scaled-down reproduction of Matterhorn for a ride in their theme park in Florida.