2. On the wild drive over steep, cliff hugging roads between Zhangmu and Nyalam, your Tibetan drivers do what when five pigeons are slow to get out of the road?

1. Stop the truck and get out to 'shoo' them off the road where they were in potential danger of getting 'tired out' (4)
2. Gun the engines (-3)
3. High-five each other at the unexpected good fortune and attempt to hunt some fresh dinner. (0)
4. Stop the truck and wait respectfully until the birds were done with whatever they were doing in the road. (1)
   Sherpa Tip: Buddhists believe all life to be sacred.
   Answer Explained: They may be Buddhists, but they've still got places to be. Check this dispatch.

3. Just above Nyalam, which Himalayan giant is visible from what Tibetan pass?

1. Shishapangma from Tsong-La (3)
2. Makalu from Pang-La (0)
3. Cho-Oyu from Twang-La (-1)
4. K2 from Tsong-La (-3)
5. Dhaulagiri from Pang-La (-1)
   Sherpa Tip: From Tibet, one would be hard pressed to view even the biggest mountains of Pakistan.
   Answer Explained: So inspite of your very helpful Sherpa, some of you still thought K2 could somehow be spotted from Tibet. It's in Pakistan, people. Check this dispatch to rule out the other possibilities.

4. Eric Simonson describes the drive out of Tingri on the way to Base Camp as being like...

1. From Vegas to Los Alamos (1)
2. From Winnemucca to Elko (3)
3. From Cape Cod to Martha's Vineyard (-3)
4. From Denver to Crested Butte (-1)
   Sherpa Tip: Oddly enough, there is no swimming whatsoever on the trek to Base Camp.
   Answer Explained: Simo's not really a Cape Cod kinda guy anyway. Check this dispatch for his poetic analogy — gotta suck for those of you who missed this... being the headline and all.

5. You've just set up Base Camp. Now you...

1. Break out the whiskey! (0)
2. Start working out to get back into peak physical shape after the long drive into BC (-3)
3. Eat, sleep, and tell lies about past climbs (5)
4. Put on your down suit and stumble around yelling, 'Hey look at me. I'm a Yeti!' (-1)
   Sherpa Tip: Climber Dave says, 'one armed push-ups... no.'
   Answer Explained: Check the dispatches and Everest FAQ for several mentions of how climbers try to rest as much as possible. Those of you who chose the Yeti number are the reason Americans are mocked abroad. We like your style, but we're just saying...

6. A disagreement comes up about whether the climbers from Mallory & Irvine's 1924 expedition really entertained each other in their tents by reading poetry to each other. Who is right?

1. Jochen Hemmlab who says that indeed this was the usual means of passing tent time for the British climbers. (3)
2. Tap Richards who says, ya, but they weren't reading the poetry. They had it memorized. (1)
3. Conrad Anker who says, dude you gotta be kidding me, those guys were playing poker, just like us. (1)
4. Jake Norton who says, didn't you guys do any homework on this? They were reading issues of Time magazine delivered to BC by expedition sponsor Time-Warner. (-3)
   Sherpa Tip: Of the expedition team members, one has done the most homework.
   Answer Explained: If you had any doubts about the Time-Warner sponsorship, you should have checked the team bios to find out that Jochen Hemmlab has studied the history of Mallory and Irvine more than any one person reasonably should. He'd be the guy to know what they were doing, how they were doing it and what they were wearing at the time.

7. All yesterday your partner complained about a 'killer headache.' Now after one night at ABC, he is vomiting and walking funny. Your diagnosis?

1. High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) (0)
2. Too Much Easy Cheese! (-1)
3. Transient Eschemia (TIA) (0)
4. High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) (3)
   Sherpa Tip: Easy Cheese causes HAFE.
   Answer Explained: Check the dispatches for various mentions of altitude illness and the associated symptoms.

8. According to Dave Hahn, what's most likely to disrupt your sleep at Intermediate Camp?

1. Conrad Anker during a fierce bout of rotisserie sleeping (0)
2. Yaks breathing, farting, snorting, ringing their bells as they move about the camp (3)
3. Gale force winds sweeping down off the North Col (1)
4. Tibetan herdsman getting serious about their next meal (-3)
   Sherpa Tip: Don't ask me, I sleep like a rock!
   Answer Explained: You know you're in Tibet when... Check this dispatch for the colorful details.

9. According to Dan 'the' Mann, what might he use to date the East Rongbuk glacial moraine?

1. good, old fashioned charm (-2)
2. plants, snails, and bones (3)
3. snowlines along the valley wall (-1)
4. variations in the equilibrium line (-1)
   Sherpa Tip: I love western movies! 'Dead or alive, you're coming with me.'
   Answer Explained: Proving yet again that climbers can be smart AND pretty, check the glaciology feature.

10. You might meet the guy who will one day lead your Everest expedition by:

1. Pitching in with him to buy Reinhold Messner's unused oxygen bottles on Hidden Peak. (0)
2. Helping him out of a crevasse while on a guided climb of Mount Rainier with Ed Viesturs. (4)
3. Helping him and Warren Harding push the car he's living in off the road at Yosemite. (0)
4. Self arresting on the Godwin-Austen as Pete Shoening demonstrates good form in a boot-ax belay. (0)
5. Swapping lies on the way To The Summit of Denali with Ray Genet. (0)
   Sherpa Tip: Don't be silly! Why would Reinhold Messner have oxygen bottles?
   Answer Explained: Yup, all would be likely scenarios (except for that Messner thing), but check this dispatch for the way it really happened to Dave Hahn.

11. The Camp VI area below the NE Ridge is a good place to search for Mallory and Irvine because the British Expedition of 1933 found what on the ridge above?

1. A tweed jacket with a fountain pen in the pocket that was known to belong to Mallory. (-3)
2. A tea bag of an English brand that Irvine was known to favor. (-8)
3. An ice ax with red tape on it, the way Mallory often marked his gear. (-3)
4. An ice ax with three notches on it, the way Irvine often marked his gear. (5)
   Sherpa Tip: Clues to a fall are sometimes left in the fall line.
   Answer Explained: They were British, but they weren't totally nuts. No fountain pens, no tea bags, check the history feature for the famous story of the ice ax.

12. You're searching for artifacts on the down-sloping rocks at 27,000', wearing crampons and oxygen mask. What do you do when you see your teammate signaling to meet far below?

1. Get on the radio to find out what's up before risking the dangerous and lengthy descent. (-5)
2. Take off your crampons before attempting to downclimb the slick rock. (-5)
3. Take off your oxygen mask so you can see where to place you feet on the downsloping rock. (-10)
4. Descend slowly, being careful to watch every foot placement on the exposed rock. (8)
5. Use the old fixed ropes on the slope to support your weight on the exposed descent. (-8)
   Sherpa Tip: All decisions on Everest must be deliberate.
   Answer Explained: Check this dispatch to have Dave Hahn acknowledge that at altitude, you never do more work than is absolutely necessary, but when working to solve the biggest mystery in mountaineering history, you may not want to draw the attention of everyone on the mountain tuned to the same radio channel. Going without oxygen or crampons, or relying on questionable ropes is playing too fast and loose with the big mystery of the rest of your life.

13. The greatest obstacle on the Northeast Ridge is:

1. The downsloping traverse from Camp VI to the First Step (-4)
2. Not being able to carry enough oxygen for the complete ascent and descent (-4)
3. Corniced snow on the summit ridge (-4)
4. The exposed, vertical rock of the Second Step (6)
   Sherpa Tip: Drawbridge and executioner.
   Answer Explained: Survey says, the Second Step is the stuff Northeast Ridge nightmares are made of. Check this dispatch for one of the many detailed and scary references made to it in this cybercast.

14. Six climbers from your team are in high camp in position for a summit bid. The weather forecast has possible snowstorms within 24 hours. How do you handle the summit bid?

1. Send everyone down and wait for better weather. (2)
2. Plan to send three up the next morning to make a summit and beat the weather, but have three fresh to offer help if necessary and mount a second bid later. (5)
3. Have all hunker down in high camp to wait out the weather before making a summit bid. (-10)
4. Send everyone up in hopes of making the summit and descending before the weather gets bad. (-2)
   Sherpa Tip: Much can change on Everest in 24 hours.
   Answer Explained: High camp is a bad place to weather out a storm, and the extended stay at altitude will exhaust climbers and waste oxygen. Sending everyone down may mean no opportunity for later summit bids, so you'd better be certain there's some seriously bad weather on the way soon. Check the dispatches for general discussion of how summiting Everest requires climbers to stick their necks out farther than usual, but how important it is for a responsible expedition to have support climbers available up high to help if things go bad on the summit bid, even if it may cost them their own window at a summit climb.

15. You're 12 hours into your summit bid and moving up the NE Ridge of Everest in a snowstorm. The biggest risk you're facing now is:

1. The descent. (20)
2. Walking off the corniced summit ridge. (-6)
3. Running out of oxygen. (0)
4. Pitching off the Second Step while free climbing it. (-12)
5. Pitching off the Second Step while carrying up the gear of your partner who free climbed it. (-12)
   Sherpa Tip: Losing track of time is very dangerous on Everest.
   Answer Explained: Listen to the tension in Eric Simonson's voice as he carefully reports that his climbers Anker and Hahn have summited, but that the team isn't celebrating until they've safely descended to camp. One of the biggest decisions climbers face is how long they can keep ascending given the conditions (weather, time, personal skill and stamina) so that they will still be able to descend safely. Most accidents in climbing occur on the descent. The Sherpa Tip here should have helped to rule out the last two answers, since the summit dispatches indicate the climbers were well above the Second Step 12 hours into the summit climb.

16. What is the Yellow Band?

1. The yak charpi in Base Camp on the Rongbuk Glacier. (-30)
2. A Chinese retro band inspired by the Beatles 'Yellow Submarine' and sponsored by Mellow Yellow. (-30)
3. A band of yellowish rock encircling upper Everest. (30)
4. Climbers' reference to the North Col where a small neighborhood of wind-hardy yellow tents is pitched in the height of the climbing season. (-30)
5. A short pitch of sandstone rock at 28,300' on the NE Ridge of Everest in the area of the Second Step. (-30)
   Sherpa Tip: Rock and roll, baby! If you miss this one, you shouldn't climb a ladder without supervision and a sturdy belay.
   Answer Explained: The Sherpa here covers it.

17. How was the Second Step first climbed?

1. By a ladder (brought up by the first Chinese expedition) which been used to ascend the Step ever since. (-50)
2. Barefoot by Chu Yin-hua who took off his boots to climb the vertical rock at 28,300'. (-20)
3. By Chu Yin-hua who stood on the shoulders of his climbing partner to reach the top of the Step after the barefoot attempt failed. (51)
4. By Sir Edmund Hillary who free climbed a vertical crack spanning the Step. (-50)
5. By the 1960 Chinese expedition using pitons that barely held in the rock but offered enough support to ascend the Step. (-50)
   Sherpa Tip: Research history to appreciate modern accomplishments.
   Answer Explained: Check this dispatch or Just The Facts.

18. Which of the following is not one of Dave Hahn's reasons for climbing Everest?

1. Because it's still there. (-60)
2. Can't beat the food. (-60)
3. ??? and !!! (-60)
4. Everest is higher than any other mountain. (-60)
5. It's less work than guiding Rainier. (130)
   Sherpa Tip: Ask the climbers — this is a frequent question.
   Answer Explained: Check the Everest FAQ feature also referred to as "Ask The Climbers" for Dave Hahn's first attempt at skirting this issue or see the dispatches for the many follow up efforts to explain that the big "why" question really can't be answered.