Mountain Madness

Congratulations!!

All you have to do to achieve this is to climb one of the world's highest mountains!

Here's how it works:

• You need a group of 3 people.
• Each of you will be climbing a different mountain.
• Among the three of you, you must select which mountain each of you will be climbing. If you can not decide, assign alphabetically by your last names. 
• Below, you will find links to websites that will help you get the feel of the mountain to climb.
• Do your research together, so that you can learn the strategies of the other climbers.
• Remember, the team climbing with you has knowledge and skill, but the big decision as to how many days it will take to climb to the top is yours.
• Don't forget to keep track of your trip, including all calculations. Without these, you will not truly fulfill this once in a lifetime experience.
  

Here are pictures of Mt. Denali. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Here are pictures of Mt. Everest. 1 2 3 4 5
Here are pictures of Mt. Kilimanjaro. 1 2 3 4 5

Read the stories and learn from people who have climbed the mountain before you. Where did they struggle? Do you think the rate of climbing changed as they approached the peak? Did they have time to eat & sleep everyday? How much time did they take to let their bodies adjust to new levels of atmospheric pressure?

Stories:        Everest        Kilimanjaro        Denali 

After reading these stories, locate the type of gear you will need to bring for this mountain climbing trip here. Make a list of the 5 most essential pieces of gear you think you will need. Use the chart below. What is the total cost? Be sure to include answers to these questions in the evaluation.

Looking at the pictures of your mountain above, locate the data that focuses on peak above sea level (rise) and the base measurement of the mountain. Half of this base measurement (run) will be used to compute the slope of your mountain. 

Slope = (rise)/(run)

For help, check out this link on computing slope.

Find out the slope of the other two mountains, being climbed by the other team captains. It is good to stay on top of their strategy as well as yours.

Is your slope a bigger number than the slope of the other two mountains? The bigger the number, the larger the slope, and the steeper the mountain is you are climbing. Is your mountain steep? Do you recall from the climbing stories any mention that a steep climb is a tougher climb? Gather this kind of information for your final presentation.

By using the Pythagorean theorem, you will figure the distance you need to climb to get to the peak of your mount. Using the same numbers you used for slope, compute the distance you will need to climb.

The basic formula is:  

Distance to climb = Square Root of (rise² + run²)

For more help in understanding the Pythagorean Theorem, check out this link or consult your teacher.

Compute how many days it takes to climb to the top of the mountain with these rates:

• Mount Denali:    Your team averages 200 ft/hour. You climb 10.167 hours per day on average.
• Mount Everest:    Your team averages 400 ft/hour. You climb 9.8 hours per day on average.
• Mount Kilimanjaro:    Your team averages 225 ft/hour. You climb 6.583 hours per day on average.

Use the formula:

Days = (Climbing Distance)/(feet per hour x hours per day)

Remember, climbing is not a matter of winning but rather getting you and your team to the top safely.

Now, you have successfully climbed three mountains. As the helicopters pick up your teams and take you to safety, you now have the task ahead of summarizing your work. 

 -         Written report-  Include all important aspects of the climb in a typed report.  You must answer all questions that were posed throughout the WEBQUEST.  You will be evaluated on content as well as conciseness and overall appearance of the paper. 

 -         Presentation-  Include all important aspects of the climb in an oral presentation.  All group members must participate, and you will be videotaped for evaluation.  No written work is necessary, but visuals will give a better overall impression.  You will be evaluated on content as well as creativity and enthusiasm.

 -         Lead a Group Discussion-  Include all important aspects of the climb by leading a group discussion.  Present facts and prepare thought-provoking questions to ask of your classmates.  Prepare an outline of main topics and specific results that you will be sharing.  If not all aspects of the climb are included in the discussion, an additional short written paper can be included.  You will be evaluated on content as well as invoking a discussion and knowing your facts.

This document was created by Kerry Wilson, Chad Nelson, Susan Algrin, and William Dieck, students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater studying in the Department of Education.  They completed the original version of this document while students in Developmental Reading, during the fall semester in 2001, under direction of Anne D'Antonio Stinson. Any comments or suggestions should be mailed here.

This page is best viewed using Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.