Read the passage; then, answer the questions that follow.

excerpt from "the final assault" from high adventure by edmund hillary

immediately i realized that we were on dangerous ground. on this very steep slope the snow was soft and deep with little coherence. my ice ax shaft sank into it without any support and we had no form of a belay. the only factor that made it at all possible to progress was a thin crust of frozen snow which tied the whole slope together. but this crust was a poor support. i was forcing my way upward, plunging deep steps through it, when suddenly with a dull breaking noise an area of crust all around me about six feet in diameter broke off into large sections and slid with me back through three or four steps. and then i stopped; but the crust, gathering speed, slithered on out of sight. it was a nasty shock. my whole training told me that the slope was exceedingly dangerous, but at the same time i was saying to myself, “ed, my boy, this is everest—you’ve got to push it a bit harder! ” my solar plexus was tight with fear as i plowed on. halfway up i stopped, exhausted. i could look down 10,000 feet between my legs and i have never felt more insecure. anxiously i waved tenzing up to me.

“what do you think of it tenzing? ” and the immediate response, “very bad, very dangerous! ” “do you think we should go on? ” and there came the familiar reply that never you much but never let you down: “just as you wish! ” i waved him on to take a turn at leading. changing the lead much more frequently now, we made our unhappy way upward, sometimes sliding back and wiping out half a dozen steps and never feeling confident that at any moment the whole slope might not avalanche. in the hope of some sort of a belay we traversed a little toward the rocks but found no in their smooth holdless surface. we plunged on then upward. and then i noticed that, a little above us, the left-hand rock ridge turned into snow and the snow looked firm and safe. laboriously and carefully we climbed across some steep rock and i sank my ice ax shaft into the snow of the ridge. it went firm and hard. the pleasure of this safe belay after all the uncertainty below was like a reprieve to a condemned man. strength flowed into my limbs and i could feel my tense nerves and muscles relaxing. i swung my ice ax at the slope and started chipping a line of steps upward—it was very steep but seemed so gloriously safe. tenzing, an inexpert but enthusiastic step cutter, took a turn and chopped a haphazard line of steps up another pitch. we were making fast time now and the slope was starting to ease off. tenzing gallantly waved me through and with a growing feeling of excitement i cramponed up some firm slopes to the rounded top of the south summit. it was only 9 a. m.

i looked at the route ahead. this next piece wasn’t going to be easy. our rock ledge was perched right on top of the enormous bluff running down into the western cwm. in fact, almost under my feet, i could see the dirty patch on the floor of the cwm which i knew was camp iv. in a sudden urge to escape our isolation i waved and shouted, then as suddenly stopped as i realized my foolishness. against the vast expanse of everest, 8,000 feet above them, we’d be quite invisible to the best binoculars. i turned back to the problem ahead. the rock was far too steep to attempt to drop down and go around this pitch. the only thing to do was to try and shuffle along the ledge and cut handholds in the bulging ice that was trying to push me off it. held on a tight rope by tenzing, i cut a few handholds and then thrust my ice ax as hard as i could into the solid snow and ice. using this to take my weight, i moved quickly along the ledge. it proved easier than i had anticipated. a few more handholds, another quick swing across them, and i was able to cut a line of steps up onto a safe slope and chop out a roomy terrace from which to belay tenzing as he climbed up to me.

question 6 (2 points)
what effect does the point of view have on this narrative?

question 6 options:

a. it invites readers to experience making life or death decisions.

b. it lets readers witness hillary’s respect for tenzing’s opinion.

c. it shows readers how hillary's and tenzing’s levels of climbing knowledge compare.

d. it gives readers an intimate experience of the extremes of a mount everest attempt.