PEAK by Roland Smith

What had Holly learned during her time on Everest? How had she changed? Pg. 154

1. She was getting older2. The mountain is bigger than her and being alone, considering all of her relationships that had gone bad, was a humbling experience.

What were Peak's three options when climbing the Woolworth Building ? What did he decide to do? Why?

1. finish the climb 2. Climb down - over 500 feet. Wait for rescue.He decided to keep going up because his mom would "get him" if climbing the building didn't.

Describe ABC. What did they go through to get there? Pg 119

21,161 feet it is a pile of rubble between a glacier that looked like it had been formed by frozen sewage and rotten rock wall. It had ankle breaking rocks and life ending crevasses.

What surprised Peak the next morning? How was he feeling? Pg 107

28 degrees - no wind - best weather he had seen yet and he was disappointed. His throat was sore, muscles and joints felt like broken glass

Why was the situation at ABC potentially critical?

A storm is coming; winds at 73 MPH and gusts over 100; there were 2 cases of HAPE - 1 severe and 1 mild

Why did they say that at Camp Five, "you were on your own"? (p. 156)

After Camp 5 there is little chance of rescue from air or by foot. Air is too thin for helicopters and at that point no one can really help the other. "To each his own." If you die past this point, your body remains on the mountain.

Why was Peak arrested?

Against the law to climb skyscrapers and tag them with graffiti

What did JR mean when he said they would have to figure out the story? Pg 144

At then end of the climb, the outcome could change what the meaning of the story was. It could become about friendship b/t Peak and Sun-jo or about Josh and Peak or Sun-jo and Zopa.

Why were they keeping Peak's attempt to summit a secret? Pg 80

Chinese - if they found out about putting a 14year old, they would pull the climbing permit; could not have an American beat their own record.

What advice did Peak's mother give him about the climb?

Focus on the task Don't think about anyone but yourself Harden yourself inside ; your guts need to be stone cold Concentrate on the climb and stop when you know it is time

What was the Everest Base Camp like? Why was Peak so surprised? Pg. 70

Gigantic tents everywhere; it looked like an outhouse, garbage dump with decades of crap. "You expected it to be pristine but it wasn't"

Why didn't Peak tell Josh about the letters he received or wrote home? Pg 125

He felt that he didn't deserve to know because he had never even written one letter to him while he was on this mountain. Having been able to receive mail, Peak now realized that Josh had gotten every one of his letters over the year and had not returned any of them.

How did Peak get an unexpected surge of energy from Zopa? Pg. 161

He gave him positive words. He said "You did it. You have a chance at the summit" He had just chastised Sun-jo as being too slow.

Why was Peak feeling confused and mad? Pg. 138

He had many unanswered questions;

What did Peak realize about his climbing ability? How?

He had only climbed skyscrapers at sea lever and when Sun-jo passed him he realized he needed better lung capacity for the thin air.

What was going on with Sun-jo? How was Peak feeling? Pg 122

He has become very sick. Peak is feeling better than he has in his life.

How did Zopa surprise Josh and the climbing team? Why? Pg 130

He is Sun-jo's grandfather - he had planned from the beginning to have Sun-jo climb to summit. Even though he is direct competition with Peak, he only wants Sun-jo to be known as "Youngest Free Tibetan"

How did his dad react to having him with him now? Why?

He kind of ignored him. They had separate rows on each flight; asked him to pretend he was the big brother; said he was happy but was really stand offish and made lots of excuses not to hang out with Peak.

What happened to Zopa? Why?

He was arrested because he didn't how his papers to Captain Shek and b/c Shek couldn't find the boy

Why did Peak have to acclimate first? What is HAPE? Pg. 46

High Altitude Pulmonary Edema; body has to get used to thin air; if not lungs will fill with fluid and you can't breathe, you go into a coma and the only treatment is O's at a lower altitude.

What things did they do on their way to Base Camp? Why? Pg. 66

Hiked with full back packs alongside the truck everyday for 10 days. Talked and got to know each other along the way. Climbed every night

Why did Peak have an argument with his father? What happened as a result?

His father approached him about writing letters back to him mom. He told him that they wrote him so it was only right to write back. Josh said that they had an agreement that he would handle Peak's mom. Peak said there was no such thing and then got mad and told his father that he knew he had received all of Peak's letters over the years and not once had written back.

What did Peak mean when he said, "I would have liked it better if he had come to New York to save me because I was in trouble, not because he was in trouble." ? (p. 78)

His father was in deep debt and needed money - if Peak made the climb successfully he would be rich

What is "self-arrest"? pg. 88

If you started sliding down the mountain you better know how to dig your crampons and axe into the ice to stop your self and hand on for deal life.

What is K2? Give specifics. Pg.54

K - Karakorum 2 - 2nd peak T.G. Montgomery listed on a survey in 1856

What is a Gamow Bag? What is it used for? Pg. 99

Made by Igor Gamow - it is an airtight bag - high altitude have low pressure - when someone gets HAPE you place the inside the bag, zip it up, fill with air equal to air at sea level and climber can breathe again.

3. How was the climbing group feeling? Why? Pg 111

Needs O's, thin air, weak, gasping, dehydrated

What is unusual about Peak's school? What was he known for?

No grades, no real name only known as the Green Street School, K-12, prodigies galore and Peak is known for being their writer.

What was unusual about Zopa? Pg. 57

Not a frail monk - powerful arms and legs and when he changed into every day clothes he looked like a movie star.

What punishment did Peak get (give the specifics)? Why?

On probation until the age of 18; fine of 150,000.00 refundable if he meets his sentence; gag order, no discussions and he must leave town with his father.

Where was his dad taking him? Why?

Originally Chiang Mai, Katmandu then to Everest - to climb up the North side of Everest in Tibet; before his 15th birthday; youngest climber ever.

What type of business did his father run? Why? Pg. 71/72

Peak Experience - adventure travel com; for amateurs or experienced climbers alike.

What injury did his mom have? How did it happen?

Rock climbing in her back yard; fell 30 fell to the ground. She had a shattered hip and broken back.

How did Holly surprise Peak? Why do you think she was feeling this way now? Pg 121

She was now carrying her own backpack on way down and beat them back to base camp by 30 mins.

How were they going to get the injured and sick climbers down?

Sherpas were going to take them down but they had to wait until they were at Camp 5 to retrieve them.

Why did Zopa want Sun-jo to make it to the summit? How did Peak feel about it? pg 141-142

So that Sun-jo would not have to become a Sherpa; the notoriety of the climb would be enough to get him back in school. This helped to center Peak in that he realized only you can make then climb; not a partner

What advice does Peak's English teacher give him? Pg. 1

Start out with a hook; brutal truth in your own voice regardless of what society believes/thinks

What gear did his father get him? How did he react? Why? Pg. 52

Stove, rope, crampons, titanium ax, thermal gloves, camera, O2 regulator, altimeter watch, etc - Almost made up for all the missed birthdays, etc. If you give a climber all of this stuff it's like Christmas.

How did Peak successfully get away with climbing skyscrapers?

Studied them, inside and out; planned exits (elevators), put duct tape on the roof door and the slept in the stairwell until morning when the building was reopened for business he would just walk out.

What did Josh reveal to Peak about why he owed Sun-jo and Zopa?

Sunjo's dad, Zopa's son, Kitar was the man who saved Josh's life 2 years ago and he died as a result of rescuing him

What was the plan for getting the C team up the mountain? Why?

Team would be Sun-jo, who would pose as a herder, Peak, part of film team, Film Crew who would be filming for a documentary on Sherpa's and Holly would be writing the story on Sherpa's. They would be led by Zopa, Yogi and Yash.

Why was Peak in so much trouble?

The mayor was in the building at a reception and they thought he was a terrorist and then a couple of days later, a young boy with no experience tried to climb a building and fell, losing his life.

What was wrong with the climbers who were above Peak's group?

There were 2 cases of HAPE at Camp 6 and 1 mild one at Camp 5 - 2 climbers had left after midnight to go to the summit and hadn't been from since

Why were the herders and porters so important? Why were the others annoyed with them? Pg 110

They carried of the materials the climbers needed. On the downside, walking behind Yak dung was not fun and when things went missing Herders were usually the ones blames.

What threat did the other climbers give Josh? Why?

They told Josh that no one on the climbing team would go to the summit if he brought Peak along with them. They would return home and sue him.

Why were his parents so well known in the mountain climbing world? What had they accomplished?

They took the summit of El Cap in record time of 32:43, and broke other climbing records as well.

How was Peak being treated by the other climbers? Why?

They were mad because he was going to the summit so they told him that everything he ate and drank and wore was probably paid for by them.

Why did Peak say that the twins were his best birthday present ever?

They won him over; they were brilliant, hilarious and worshipped the ground he walked on

What did Peak realize about why his father had brought him to Everest? pg. 75

To be youngest climber ever to reach summit

What does the phrase, "climb high, sleep low" mean? Why did Josh need to take people up to ABC now?

To climb to approx 1000 feet a day is OK as long as you come back down and sleep at a lower altitude. He needed to get people acclimated to be able to climb further up the mountain.

Where was Peak headed the next morning? With who? Why? Pg 101

Up the Mountain towards ABC with Zopa and Sun-jo to get Josh and Leah - The film crew went with them (JR. Will and Jack)

Why did Peak "tag" buildings? Sketch his "tag" below. Pg. 7/8

Why? It is the mystery of how it is done. - like graffiti - in his opinion there isn't enough mystery -2 blue mountains is the tag

What got you out of the "death zone"? (p. 85)

Your blood oxygenation and luck; fitness level helped

How was Peak going to get to the Base Camp? How high up is it? pg. 51

Zopa, former Head Sherpa, not a Buddhist monk would get him there to base camp in a couple of weeks. The height is 18,000 feet.