An

Introduc+on to Peak

A Novel Wri7en By Roland Smith

2015HappyEdugator

About the Author

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon

Favorite possession at age 5 was an old
manual typewriter
Went to Portland State University and majored
in English
Worked part-Fme in college at a childrens zoo,
this led to a full Fme posiFon at the BIG zoo and
a lifeFme of working with animals
Lives today on a small farm with his wife, and
spends a lot of Fme in his basement typing. He
would like to spend the next twenty years
wriFng stories about animals
He loves all food that starts with the leQer P
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Overview of the Plot

Peak is the story of fourteen year old Peak
Marcello, who is arrested for scaling and
vandalizing the Woolworth Building in New
York City. While he is in jail, a boy dies
imitaFng his stunt, and the city wants to make
an example of him. When he goes to court, his
father, Josh, who he barely knew, oers to
take him to live with him in Thailand. The
judge will only let Peak go with his father or
stay in jail, so Peak ends up leaving the
country with his father.
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Overview of the Plot

On their way to Chiang Mai, which was were
Peak was expecFng to go, Josh reveals that
they are going to travel to Kathmandu instead.
Josh really wants Peak to climb Mt. Everest, so
that Josh can get 1,000,000 dollars for sending
the youngest person to climb Everest. Peak
does not gure this out at rst, but later
realizes that his father only bailed him out of
jail so he could come and climb Mount
Everest and make his father the money he
needs to reFre.
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Main Characters
Peak, a fourteen year old boy raised by his
mother and stepfather; the protagonist
Josh Wood, Peaks father, one of the best
mountain climbers in the world, who was not
around when Peak was growing up
Sun-jo, a Nepalese boy, only six days older
than Peak, who also climbs the mountain
Zopa, a monk, helps Sun-jo and Peak up
Mount Everest
Holly Angelo, a reporter from New York,
covering Peak's story; she climbs Mount
Everest with them
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Important Themes
Loyalty- Friendship, and what it really means
Values- Such as teamwork, perseverance, and
truth
Rela+onships Family, friendships, teacher and
student
Survival Daily life on Mount Everest
Change Learning to make wise and moral
decisions, thinking of others before self
Courage To take chances for what is right, to
stand up for yourself
Interdependence Peak becomes dependent on
Josh. Peak and Sun-jo are dependent upon each
other for support up the mountain.
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SePng
The Woolworth Building
in New York City

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Bangkok, Thailand

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Base Camp-Mt. Everest

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Some Important Vocabulary

Ascent: to climb up ; an upward ver3cal movement
Acclima+ze: adapt, get used to, become accustomed
Gamow bag: an inatable pressure bag with a
completely controlled environment with pure oxygen,
used for trea3ng al3tude sickness
Audacious: bold, daring, or fearless
Precarious: dangerously unstable, unsafe
Duress: the use of force or threats to make
somebody do something
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Climbing Mt. Everest

Since Mt. Everest is the highest mountain in
the world, it is a great accomplishment to
climb it. However, it requires a lot of money
and equipment to get to the top. It also
requires a healthy and physically t body.
Near the top, there is no oxygen. The top part
of the mountain is called the Death Zone.
Nothing can live at that alFtude for long.
Climbers must carry oxygen to make it to the
top and get back. It is very dangerous, and
very expensive!
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Pass the Physical

Before you can even think about climbing the
highest peak in the world, you must be
examined by a physician and who will approve
for you to go. So, before you can get started,
you will have to pay for the doctor and the
medical tests.

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Papers
In order to climb Mt. Everest, you have to
apply to the government of the country from
which side you are climbing (either Nepal or
China) for permission. You also have to pay
registraFon fees for this, which can cost
upwards of $25,000!

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Guides
You will also have to shell out some money to pay
for a guide. Sherpa are naFve Nepalese mountain
guides who help people get to the top. Their
bodies are used to high alFtudes. However, to
pay a Sherpa team to take you to the top can cost
between $65,000 and $100,000! Without a
Sherpa guide, however, it is unlikely you will be
successful in reaching the summit. Ajer you pay
for permits and guides, you sFll have to buy
equipment.
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Equipment Needed

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Yaks
You cant carry all this
equipment up the
mountain without help.
You will have to rent a
yak to carry your
equipment up to base
camp. Yaks cost about
$150 per day!
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Oxygen Masks and Tanks

When climbing to the top
of Mount Everest you
need an oxygen mask to
keep you alive. It is a
necessity when you are
trying to accomplish this
magnicent climb.
Oxygen tanks cost $500 a
boQle and most climbers
need 6 boQles!

Body Suit
You will need insulated clothing as it gets very
cold near the top. Temperatures are ojen far
below zero! You will need thermal underwear,
too!

Gloves!
You also need gloves to
go climbing. If you
dont protect your
hands from the biQer
cold, you could get
frost bite and possibly
lose your ngers.
Gloves also protect you
from gekng your
hands burnt while you
are sliding down the
rope.

Boots!
You also need boots to keep your toes warm
and to protect your feet. You wouldnt want to
be wearing ip ops or regular tennis shoes for
this climb!

Belay Rope
You use a belay rope to
climb the higher
montains. It is a safety
rope. Climbers use it to
exert fricFon on a
climbing rope so that a
falling climber does not
fall very far.

Crampons
Crampons are tracFon devices that reduce the
chance of slipping. They are spikes that are
put on the boQom of a boot. Climbers shove
them into the ice for tracFon and to test to
see if the ice is stable enough to climb on. The
crampon was rst designed and made in 1908
by an English rock climber and mountain
pioneer named Oscar Eckenstein.

Carabiners
A carabiner is a metal loop with a sprung gate
and is also used to quickly connect the
components in safety-criFcal systems. They
can then be locked so they cant spring open.

Pitons
A piton is a metal spike that is used to help
you climb. You can slam it into the ice, aQach
a rope, and pull yourself up with your
muscles. It is driven into any seam or gap in
the ice or at surface of ice. It also acts as an
anchor if a climber slips, to protect the
climber from falling o the mountain. You also
need to carry a hammer to set the piton in the
ice.

Tent and Sleeping Bag

You will need a weather resistant tent that
can be staked down and withstand high
winds. You will also want to have a warm
sleeping bag!

Shovels
Shovels are
important in case
there is something
buried in the snow
and you need to
get it. You also
need a shovel
when you have to
place your stakes
for your tent.

Altimeter watch
This is a watch that not only tells you the Fme,
but it tells you how high you are above sea
level. It will help you determine whether you
need oxygen or not. When your brain gets low
on oxygen, you cannot think clearly. You
should have equipment you can depend on to
help you make decisions.

Ice Axes
You need ice axes to climb on verFcal ice walls!

Ladders
You may have to use a ladder like a bridge to
cross large crevices in the glaciers.

Think About It
Do you think you could climb Mt. Everest?
Would you want to?

History of Climbing Everest

Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing were the rst
people to ever make it to the summit on May 29,
1953.
Previously, the mountain had been thought to be
insurmountable. It rises 29,035 feet.
In 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine
came close to making it to the top, but they were
last seen at 28,300 feet on their way up. They did
not come back alive from their climb. If they
made it to the top, no one will ever know.
Mallorys frozen body was recently discovered
on the mountain.

The Youngest Climber

The youngest climber to make it to the top of
Everest is 13 year old American Jordan
Romero, who made it to the summit in 2010.

Routes to the Top

North Ridge Climbing Route in 3D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=gSEEitbGYeY

South Ridge Climbing Route in 3D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuA14Z2QadM

Enjoy the Book!

Predict: Does Peak make it to the summit?

READ ON AND FIND OUT!

2015HappyEdugator