S25 Analyze the Reading A Discuss the questions Search the text to find the evidence to support your answers. 1. Analyze pacing and suspense What techniques did the authors use that helped create suspense? Discussion Starter: One technique the authors used to create suspense is . . . 2. Predict What do you think will happen to the climbers? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer. How can you confirm your prediction? 3. Analyze sources, facts, and details Find one detail from the text that is a fact. What source do you think the authors used to confirm this detail? Find a detail in the text where you think the authors may have used their creativity to fill in gaps of knowledge. Discuss. B Discuss the questions 1. What do you think makes people want to climb mountains, even if it is a dangerous and possibly deadly activity? 2. In the reading, the authors explain that some people saw climbing K2 as an act of courage, while others saw it as a “selfish stunt that benefits no one.” Discuss your opinion of climbing K2. 3. What parts of this story would you like to learn more about? 4. Do you want to change your rating of the reading? Why or why not? C Make connections 1. The climbers in Buried in the Sky were not fully prepared for their climb. What other activities do you know of that can be problematic (causing problems) for someone who is unprepared? 2. Who does Chhiring remind you of? Identify a person you know in real life or a character from a story you have read. 3. What is another sport or activity that involves danger and skill? D Write Write a paragraph describing the impossible situation the characters in Buried in the Sky are facing. Describe what it might take to make survival possible. The climbers are . . . and the challenges they face are . . . In order to survive, they would need . . . E Revise Share your paragraph with a classmate and give each other suggestions for improvement. Rewrite your paragraph and incorporate the feedback. Note It! What character traits or skills are necessary to overcome impossible odds? Make a list. The Power of Possibility 73 Watch the video where the students discuss the Study Group prompt. Buried in the Sky Buried in the Sky is a suspenseful story of climbers facing impossible odds. What techniques do the authors use to create suspense? Why might an author use these techniques when writing about an historical event? “They created such a suspenseful true story about striving to make the impossible possible that you don’t want to stop reading! ” Study Group Rate the Reading Summarize and Synthesize 1. Ask and answer questions What questions did you ask as you read the excerpts from Buried in the Sky? Were all of your questions answered? If not, how might you find the answers? 2. Analyze chronology Use an events and time markers chart to note important events in the story. Then, use your chart to help you summarize the story in the order the events happened. 3. Synthesize How do pacing and suspense enhance the excerpt from Buried in the Sky? Write a synthesis. Note It! Summiting the highest mountains in the world is a dangerous endeavor. List the dangers. ▲ Caleb ▲ Margarita ▲ Finn ▲ Jas Rating Rate the excerpt from Buried in the Sky from 1 to 5 stars. Justify your rating by explaining what you liked or did not like. READING STRATEGY Synthesize Review Synthesize in the Intro Chapter Part II. 72 CHAPTER 1 AFTER YOU READ slithered into the abyss. Above, a lip of ice curled like the barrel of a crashing wave. 7 Oxygen depletion had turned Chhiring’s mind to mush. Hunger and exhaustion had broken his body. When he opened his mouth, his tongue froze; when he gasped for breath, the moistureless air scoured his throat and lashed his eyes. 8 Chhiring felt robotic, cold, too tired to think of what he’d sacrificed to get to K2. The Sherpa mountaineer, who had summited Everest ten times, had been consumed by the mountain for decades. A far more difficult peak than Everest, K2’s summit is one of the most prestigious prizes in highaltitude mountaineering. Chhiring had gone despite his wife’s tears. Despite the climb costing more money than his father had made in forty years. 9 Chhiring had made it to the summit of K2 that evening without using bottled oxygen, vaulting him into an elite group of the most successful mountaineers, but the descent wasn’t turning out as planned. He had dreamed of the achievement, a heroic reception, even fame. None of that mattered now. Chhiring had a wife, two daughters, a thriving business, and a dozen relatives who depended on him. All he wanted was to get home. Alive. 10 Normally, descent would be safer. Climbers usually go down during the early afternoon when it’s warmer and daylight shows the way. They rappel, leapfrogging off the ice while attached to a fixed line to control their speed. In avalanche-prone areas around the Bottleneck, climbers descend as quickly as possible. This cuts exposure time, minimizing the chance of getting buried. Getting down fast was what Chhiring had planned on, depended on. 1. Comprehension ¶ 1–10 Where is Chhiring? What is he trying to do? 2. Analyze art, photos, and captions How do the photos and captions help you better understand what you’ve read on this page? Which photo or caption did you find most helpful? Why? 3. Analyze suspense and pacing How do the authors build suspense in ¶ 7? Inspect the Text GLOSSARY depletion (n) decrease in size or amount summited (v) made it to the top descent (n) process of climbing down a mountain leapfrogging (v) jumping over obstacles, as in the children’s game “leap frog” avalanche-prone (adj) likely to su er avalanches (collapsing snow and ice) Analyze Chronology ¶ 6–9 In ¶ 6, Chhiring is at the Bottleneck of K2 at midnight. In ¶ 9 the author says “Chhiring had made it to the summit of K2 that evening.” Does this happen before or after he is at the Bottleneck? ▲ An avalanche can be deadly to climbers. The Power of Possibility 61 Preview 1. What do the pictures in the text tell you about the setting? 2. Scan Look quickly through the text for unfamiliar words and make a list. Look up the words. 3. Predict What elements of the historical event will cause suspense? PURPOSE FOR READING Notice what techniques the authors use to create suspense in the retelling of fighting impossible odds. from Buried in the Sky by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan Prologue The Death Zone The Bottleneck of K2, Pakistan The Death Zone: about 27,000 feet above sea level 1 Hanging off the face of a cliff, an ice axe the only thing between him and death, a Sherpa climber named Chhiring Dorje swung to the left. A massive ice boulder ripped off above, hurtling toward him. 2 It was the size of a refrigerator. 3 The underbelly caught, and the mass flipped, cartwheeling down. It tore past, skimming Chhiring’s shoulder, then vanished. 4 Brooof. It slammed into something below, shattering. 5 The mountain shook with the impact. Powder shot up in a column. 6 It was about midnight on August 1, 2008, and Chhiring had only a hazy idea of where he was: on or near the Bottleneck of K2, the deadliest stretch of the most dangerous mountain. At roughly the cruising altitude of a Boeing 737, the Bottleneck stretched away from him into the darkness below. In the starlight, the channel seemed bottomless as wisps of fog GLOSSARY Sherpa (n) member of the Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet, renowned for their skill in mountaineering underbelly (n) bottom cruising altitude (n) height in the sky that an airplane flies during a flight READING STRATEGY Ask Questions Asking questions as you read can help you understand elements of the story better. Ask yourself: Who is the reading about? Where are they? What is happening to them? Analyze Chronology ¶ 6 Notice the authors provide a date and time of this event. What day and time is it when Chhiring is on or near the Bottleneck? 60 CHAPTER 1 ENGAGE WITH READING Meet the Authors Amanda Padoan and Peter Zuckerman Amanda Padoan is a writer, historian, and mountain climber. In 2004, she climbed Broad Peak, a mountain near K2 in Tibet. On this climb, she met Karim Meherban, who later lost his life in the K2 tragedy of 2008. Losing her friend inspired Padoan to research and write about the story of that tragic day. Peter Zuckerman is Padoan’s cousin, a journalist, and a nonfiction author. As part of his journalistic process, Zuckerman took climbing lessons with two of the surviving climbers—Chhiring and Pasang. In an interview, Zuckerman described this experience, saying it “shaped the kinds of questions [he] asked, the descriptions [he] wrote, and the angles [he] took, making the book more precise and compelling.” Facts, Details, and Sources Authors of historical nonfiction texts must do extensive research on their topic to ensure their writing is accurate. Research can include: • using primary sources (firsthand accounts of a topic) • interviewing people who witnessed the event • studying the time period or place the event took place Sometimes authors who did not experience specific events firsthand must fill in gaps of knowledge. They may fill in these gaps creatively with things that might have happened based on the facts. This type of writing is called creative nonfiction. As you read a nonfiction text, analyze the facts and details. Ask yourself: • Where did the author get this information? • Was the source reliable (able to be trusted)? • Is the author filling in gaps of knowledge? Analyze Watch the book trailer for Buried in the Sky by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan. Book Trailer React to the Trailer Watch the video. Answer the questions. Note It! What historical topics or events would you enjoy researching and writing about? Make a list. It sounds like the people in Buried in the Sky are facing impossible odds. I’m interested to read the story to learn more. What do you think it will take for them to survive? Do you think survival is possible? Academic Vocabulary extensive (adj) definition example synonyms antonyms forms The Power of Possibility 59 50 Chhiring wasn’t using bottled oxygen, which made his summit gear simpler. In his tent, he slurped two liters of tea and sprinkled sacred salt in his soup. The excitement quivered to his fingertips. With a grin, he asked Eric whether he was ready for the Bottleneck. Sure, Eric replied. 51 As Eric nodded off to sleep, Chhiring remained awake, anxious, as though he’d never climbed a mountain before. If all went well, he would reach the Bottleneck before sunrise, tag the summit before 2 p.m.— Shaheen’s suggested turnaround time—and return to his tent in Camp 4 before dark. Chhiring recited a mantra under his breath. The Death Zone distorted his sense of time, and it seemed as though only minutes had passed when his Suunto wrist altimeter glowed a quarter past midnight. Time to move. 52 With a rustle, he slid out from the warmth of his sleeping bag and, sloughing off the ice crystals, zipped up his downsuit. Stomping his feet into the heels of his boots, he scooted toward the tent flap, stuck out his legs, and strapped on his crampons. Hoisting his pack, he left to find the rest of the lead team. 53 They were waiting: Pasang and Jumik of the Korean team; Pemba Gyalje of the Dutch; Muhammad Hussein and Muhammad Khan of the Serbian team; and someone else, a Basque climber Chhiring didn’t recognize. Who was this stranger, and where was Shaheen, who had promised to supervise rope placement through the Bottleneck? 54 The stranger introduced himself as Alberto and explained that he had climbed from Camp 3 in the night. “Shaheen is sick,” he said. “He won’t be coming.” 55 Chhiring was indignant. “Right when we needed him, Shaheen was gone,” he recalled. “We did not like [Shaheen]. All the sherpas were saying things about him that we probably should not have said.” Their voices brittle in the dry air, they wondered whether Shaheen had feigned illness to avoid the toughest climbing. They questioned whether the truant had actually summited K2 before. 1. Comprehension ¶ 53–55 Why are the men upset with Shaheen? 2. Analyze facts, details, and sources Whose perspective is shown in ¶ 55? Where might the author have gotten this information? 3. Expand vocabulary ¶ 55 Use context clues to figure out the meaning of the word feigned. What clues did you use? Inspect the Text GLOSSARY turnaround time (n) point at which climbers must begin their descent mantra (n) words or sounds repeated to bring calmness or motivation distorted (v) misrepresented wrist altimeter (n) device worn on the wrist that determines altitude truant (n) person who doesn’t show up for work, school, or other obligation without explanation Tip! Chronology ¶ 51 Notice the phrase “If all went well, he would reach . . .” This phrase is a clue that the time markers “before sunrise,” “before 2 p.m.,” and “before dark” are not actually telling when the events took place. This is a hypothetical (imagined, but not actually true) scenario that could take place under certain circumstances. READING STRATEGY Ask Questions ¶ 51–55 Ask a question about the people or events. The Power of Possibility 69 48 “Rope was missing, ice screws were missing, and I was thinking, ‘What? We’re at 8,000 meters [about 27,000 feet] but we don’t even have the essentials,’ ” recalled Swedish climber Fredrik Sträng, who had come to make a documentary. With the summit bid due to start at midnight, nothing could be done anyway, so Fredrik tinkered with his video camera. “It was a beautiful night. We were a big team, and I thought, ‘We can probably do this. We can probably do anything.’ ” 49 Pasang spent the evening preparing oxygen canisters, which were carrotcolored and had the Russian word poisk (search) scribbled across the side. Each three-liter aluminum cylinder contained 720 liters of oxygen, weighed five pounds, and cost $385. When turned on, the odorless gas hisses out of the can, past a regulator, and into a face mask originally designed for fighter pilots. Pasang set the flow rate to one liter a minute. He rubbed moisturizer on his clients’ cheeks and fitted the masks onto their faces. That night, as his clients sucked bottled oxygen, every inhale and exhale sounded mechanical, a Darth Vader-ish pwuh-kwah. Pasang told his clients to turn up the flow from one to two liters per minute when they started climbing in the morning, and each planned to consume three bottles during the twentyhour trip to and from the summit. GLOSSARY essentials (n) supplies that are absolutely necessary summit bid (n) point in a mountain climbing expedition where climbers approach the top of the mountain Darth Vader (n) character from the science fiction series Star Wars who is known for his loud and unique breathing through a mask Analyze Facts, Details, and Sources ¶ 48 What additional information does the quote from Fredrik Sträng provide? Why do nonfiction authors include quotes in their writing? ▲ There are 14 mountains in the world that measure over 8,000 meters (26,247 ft) over sea level. ▲ A climber rests and uses his oxygen canister. 68 CHAPTER 1 ENGAGE WITH READING After You Read • Rate the Reading and Summarize and Synthesize sections support reading comprehension and critical thinking. • Study Group discussion encourages students to express their own evidence-based ideas about the text. • Analyze the Reading asks text-specific and text-dependent questions that build to discussions and a writing task. Engage with Reading • Students prepare for the reading by meeting the author and previewing the text. • Students then engage with a variety of literary and informational readings—both canonical texts as well as texts by new voices. • Systematic Inspect the Text questions provide ongoing evaluation. Study Group video provides a model of students engaged in an academic discussion of the reading selection. • A Book Trailer sparks students’ interest in the reading. • A Video Chat allows students to react to the trailer along with a virtual student. • Students follow along with an audio recording of the text. The recording provides a model for pronunciation and fluency. xxvi Chapter Walk-Through CHAPTER WALK-THROUGH
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