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"A truly astounding account of suffering and fortitude."
—The Times (London)
Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.
The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall but, crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten, was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson hopped, hobbled, and crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching the base hours before Yates had planned to break camp.
How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival; a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship.
"Told with lyrical quality and stunning immediacy, Touching the Void transcends its genre and becomes accessible to readers who have never had any desire to climb a glacier."
—New York Newsday
"A gripping narrative that should excite armchair adventurers everywhere."
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Simpson touches a nerve of the mountaineering community and the hearts of others."
—Los Angeles Times
"Riveting, even compulsivereading."
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
A tale of mountain-climbing adventure in the Andes. "A truly astounding account of suffering and fortitude."--The London Times
Beneath the Mountain Lakes
I was lying in my sleeping bag, staring at the light filtering through the red and green fabric of the dome tent. Simon was snoring loudly, occasionally twitching in his dream world. We could have been anywhere. There is a peculiar anonymity about being in tents. Once the zip is closed and the outside world barred from sight, all sense of location disappears. Scotland, the French Alps, the Karakoram, it was always the same. The sounds of rustling, of fabric flapping in the wind, or of rainfall, the feel of hard lumps under the ground sheet, the smell of rancid socks and sweat - these are universals, as comforting as the warmth of the down sleeping bag.
Outside, in a lightening sky, the peaks would be catching the first of the morning sun, with perhaps even a condor cresting the thermals above the tent. That wasn't too fanciful either since I had seen one circling the camp the previous afternoon. We were in the middle of the Cordillera Huayhuash, in the Peruvian Andes, separated from the nearest village by twenty-eight miles of rough walking, and surrounded by the most spectacular ring of ice mountains I had ever seen, and the only indication of this from within our tent was the regular roaring of avalanches falling off Cerro Sarapo.
I felt a homely affection for the warm security of the tent, and reluctantly wormed out of my bag to face the prospect of lighting the stove. It had snowed a little during the night, and the grass crunched frostily under my feet as I padded over to the cooking rock. There was no sign of Richard stirring as I passed his tiny one-man tent, half collapsed and whitened with hoar frost.
Squatting under thelee of the huge overhanging boulder that had become our kitchen, I relished this moment when I could be entirely alone. I fiddled with the petrol stove which was mulishly objecting to both the temperature and the rusty petrol with which I had filled it. I resorted to brutal coercion when coaxing failed and sat it atop a propane gas stove going full blast. It burst into vigorous life, spluttering out two-foot-high flames in petulant revolt against the dirty petrol.
As the pan of water slowly heated, I looked around at the wide, dry and rock-strewn river bed, the erratic boulder under which I crouched marking the site at a distance in all but the very worst weather. A huge, almost vertical wall of ice and snow soared upwards to the summit of Cerro Sarapo directly in front of the camp, no more than a mile and a half away. Rising from the sea of moraine to my left, two spectacular and extravagant castles of sugar icing, Yerupaja and Rasac, dominated the camp site. The majestic 21,000-foot Siula Grande lay behind Sarapo and was not visible. It had been climbed for the first time in 1936 by two bold Germans via the North Ridge. There had been few ascents since then, and the true prize, the daunting 4,500-foot West Face had so far defeated all attempts.
I turned off the stove and gingerly slopped the water into three large mugs. The sun hadn't cleared the ridge of mountains opposite and it was still chilly in the shadows.
'There's a brew ready, if you're still alive in there,' I announced cheerfully.
I gave Richard's tent a good kicking to knock off the frost and he crawled out looking cramped and cold. Without a word he headed straight for the river bed, clutching a roll of toilet paper.
'Are you still bad?' I asked when he returned.
'Well, I'm not the full ticket but I reckon I'm over the worst. It was bloody freezing last night.'
I wondered if it was the altitude rather than the kidney-bean stew that was getting to him. Our tents were pitched at 15,000 feet, and he was no mountaineer.
Simon and I had found Richard resting in a sleazy hotel in Lima, halfway through his six-month exploration of South America. His wire-rimmed glasses, neat practical clothing and bird-like mannerisms hid a dry humour and a wild repertoire of beachcombing reminiscences. He had lived off grubs and berries with pygmies while dug-out canoeing through the rain forests of Zaire, and had watched a shoplifter being kicked to death in a Nairobi market. His travelling companion was shot dead by trigger-happy soldiers in Uganda for no more than a dubious exchange of cassette tapes.
He traveled the world between bouts of hard work to raise funds.Usually he journeyed alone to see where chance encounters in aliens countries would take him. There were distinct advantages, we thought, to having an entertaining watchman in camp to keep an eye on the gear while Simon and I were out climbing. It was probably a gross injustice to the poor hill farmers in this remote spot, but in the backstreets of Lima we had become suspicious of everyone. Anyway, we had invited Richard to come up and join us for a few days if he wanted to see the Andes at close quarters.
It had been two days' walk from where the bone-shaking bus deposited us after 80 heart-stopping miles up the mountain valleys. Forty-six people were crammed into a ramshackle vehicle designed to carry twenty-two, and we were not fortified by the sight of so many wayside shrines to dead bus drivers and their passengers. The engine was held together with nylon string and a flat tire was changed with a pick-axe.
By the end of the second day, Richard was feeling the effects of attitude. Dusk was gathering as we approached the head of the valley, and he urged Simon and me to go ahead with the donkeys and prepare camp before dark; he would take his time to follow. The way was straightforward now - he couldn't go wrong, he had said.
Slowly he staggered up the treacherous moraines to the lake where he thought we were camped and then remembered a second lake on the map. It had begun to rain and grew increasingly cold. A thin shirt and light cotton trousers were poor protection from…
Anonymous
Posted Sun Feb 26 00:00:00 EST 2012
Touching the Void was a book full of suppense. The story gave a great look at truly how dangerous and mind-boggling ice climbing can be. It was full of descriptive words, that at somepoints made it hard to understand, but there was a glossary in the back to help with the climbing phrases and mountain areas. The book starts with Joe Simpson and 2 of his friends at base camp. He tells a story of a previous attempt to summit. During this attempt they end up being rescued after one of their snow cave collapses and all of their gear is lost down the mountain. Now during the current story Joe Simpson and Simon Yates are attempting the same summit. They reach the top but on the way down disaster strikes. Joe falls off an edge and ends up breaking multiple spots in his leg. Joe and Simon are able to come up with a way to get both of them down when Joe falls off the edge sliding down. He ends up falling, while Simon is still at the top. Simon not knowing if Joe was alive had to cut the rope. Joe wakes up at the bottom and has to find his way back to base camp on his own. There are a few parts in the book told from Simons point of view but it is mainly from Joe's point of view. To me the book was mainly about his fall but that was not the only part that made the book great. The fact that Joe Simpson's friend Simon Yates were so close and even with Joe's first injury they never left eachother. After Joe's fall he was still concerned about the life of his friend and whether or not he was ok. This book showed the courage of Joe Simpson through his whole journey and how even when something has gone wrong in the past he still goes on with the adventure. This book was very suspenseful and very hard to put down. I would definitly recomend this book!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.As a frequent reader of adventure related books, I found this tome to land in my top 10%. The pacing and intimacy of the writing kept me enthralled as I read into the night.
Based on the true story of two young men enduring a crisis high on an icy mountain, it certainly made me appreciate my mundane life on terra firma.
Not only is this a book of roller coaster highs and lows but gives wonderful insight into the survival instinct of man. While I would like to think I could possibly endure this harrowing experience, the truth is that I would probably succumb to the elements. Anyway, it was fun to place myself in that situation if only in my mind.
As a bonus, the book can be viewed as a leadership guide. Keeping cool under pressure, maintaining a clear mission and making tough, sound decisions in a timely manner. All critical to great leadership.
I highly recommend this book and hope you find this review helpful.
Michael L. Gooch, Author of Wingtips with Spurs
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2010
Touching the Void is a phenomenal true story about Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. The two young men decide to try to climb the heart stopping West-face of Sirula Grande. Though it was extremely cold, and a very difficult few days to reach the mountain's summit, they succeeded. Only a short while later did the unthinkable happen, Joe had fallen and broken his leg. Even though Simon was sure that Joe would die, he tried to help him down the mountain, until his own life was at stake and was forced to cut the rope connecting the two men. Simon, thinking then that Joe had died struggled back to camp at the base of the mountain, alone. Joe, with his broken leg had survived when Simon cut the rope, and he too struggled back to camp; first by trying to hop on his good leg and then resulting to crawling on the ground. A few days later, after fighting for his life, Joe reached their camp just a few hours before Simon had planned to leave. There are many different messages throughout this novel; however, there is one major theme. 'Never give up until you succeed, or die trying' is definitely a major theme because the entire book is a story of Joe and Simon's determination to reach the summit of the mountain and then, each by themselves, to get back to camp alive. It was a very difficult journey for Joe because of his broken leg, but because he never gave up and kept doing his best to reach the camp, he survived. I really like how descriptive the author was and that each of the men told the story from their own point of view after they got split up. This was very helpful for me to grasp what exactly was happening and to understand what both of the men were going through. Also, the words the author used in order to describe things were so specific that it really helped me to feel like a part of the story. However, in certain parts of the book that explained all of the pain that Joe was going through with his leg, this became a con because it was a little bit disturbing. Other people should read Touching the Void because it is an amazing story about survival and never giving up. It is a very descriptive novel which helps to put you right into the author's shoes, which makes this such a fantastic novel. Over all, on a scale from 1-10 (one being the worst) I would rate this novel as a nine.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Amazing story of survival! Well told and written with excellent photo's and drawings to help you understand the area, route or to just better understand what happened. I am not myself a risk taker yet love to read stories such as this and was not disappointed. Descriptive and includes a listing of certain terms was helpful to better understand the adventure of climbing. The story itself was inspirational to say the least and I am still astounded at the author's survival. Incredible!! I felt like I was there for every last second of his accounting.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Tyinthemountains
Posted Sat Apr 24 00:00:00 EDT 2010
This book is extremely hard to put down (I know because i would read this during my lectures in class). It is an awesome story and by far one of the best books i have read. I would recomend this book to anyone.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Mar 28 00:00:00 EDT 2010
Joe Simpson's adventurous Touching the Void was released in 1988 and has since then become a monument in the genre of non-fiction survival tales. It has even inspired a motion picture of the same name. In only 224 pages, Simpson manages to artfully recount a time where his life was hanging by a thread (at times, quite literally). He and his best friend Simon Yates attempted to climb the Siula Grande in Peru, a mountain tipping 6,000 ft, a feat, which had been attempted, but never accomplished. The tension immediately sets in as Simpson paints the isolation he and his friend are in, inculcating to the reader right from the start that in those mountains there would be no rescue if disaster were to happen. If I have one criticism of the book it's how predictable it is, you know that the man will survive, because he lived to write a book about it. However, that manages where to also be where the book shines. It is how Mr. Simpson survives, through the pain and with such perseverance, which makes this book a classic. It's as if you are with Mr. Simpson throughout his ordeal, feeling the hardships and discomfort he is going through as you go along. Simspon truly makes you question the limits of what a man can endure. This book is not just for anyone interested mountaineering tales, I sure as hell am not, it's just overall a truly brilliant piece of literature that connects with the anybody who has undergone struggle.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 EST 2010
Joe Simpson's account of what he endured on Siula Grande takes you beyond a retelling of the facts of what happened. He shares his innermost thoughts and fears. You can't help but wonder how he was able to endure and ultimately survive in a situation where death would have put an end to his suffering. Very well written.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2009
Touching The Void By: Joe Simpson
REVIEW
This is a climbing memoir with suspense and action to spare. It is in the Andes Mountains with sub zero temperatures extremely harsh temptures. I thought this was a good book the author used very good descriptive language. I could imagine the setting of the book better than any book I've ever seen or read before because of the several pictures and maps. This book gave me a new respect for Mother Nature in the mountains. The perils and sheer pain they endured in this environment was indescribable. I could look back at the map and pictures to see what part of the mountain they were on so I could better understand the setting and the danger they were in.
On a rating 1-5 I would have to give this a 5 because it was an excellent book. It had rich descriptive language except it was hard to understand what they were talking about. The climbing equipment and parts of the mountain for example, even with the glossary at the back of the book. One of my favorite and most memorable quotes from this book was "The cruelty of it all sickened me. It felt as if there were something deliberate about it, something preordained by a bored and evil force... All that time struggling just to cut the rope." This is a quote from Simon when after he cut the rope. I could not fathom his pain and guilt from killing his climbing partner. This book is one of the best action/adventure books I've ever read and I enjoyed reading every page.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Jan 18 00:00:00 EST 2008
¿There was 100 feet of air between me and the dark outline of the crevasse¿. You¿re probably wondering how in the world did Joe Simpson the, author of this memoir Touching The Void, get into this life threatening position? Joe and his climbing partner Simon Yates set off on this blistering cold adventure. They reached the 21,000-foot summit of Siula Grande, located in Peru. Disaster strikes, and Joe plunges off a vertical ice ledge and ends up breaking his right leg, rupturing his right knee, and shattering his right heel. When it seemed as if they were out of hope, they come up with a daring plan that almost worked until Joe ends up dangling an estimate15 feet below a sheet of ice that is protruding 6 feet from the ice cliff, 100 feet above the ground. They where stuck Simon couldn¿t go down because he was holding onto Joe and at the same time Simon was in the process was being dragged off the mountain, to make matters worse for the pair Joe couldn¿t climb up. Joe Simpson is a powerful writer who makes you feel like your there with him, even though it takes place on a mountain. He not the kind of guy who talks about the tools and equipment all the time, so it¿s not a super technical book anyone can read and relish it. His style is more laid back, but lets you peek inside to who he truly is and talks about his emotions. I liked this book because it sucked me right into it and kept me turning the pages. I would definitely give this book 5 stars, and I would absolutely recommend this book to any mountaineer or anyone who enjoys a good book about survival, adventure, companionship, and the desire to live.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Dec 10 00:00:00 EST 2007
The book Touching the Void was an interesting novel. It was very suspenseful and had some interesting pictures. The author went into a lot of detail sometimes too much detail. I liked how he let both of the men be narrators. But sometimes with the narrators swapping it could get confusing. When he got his leg broken the book slowed down a lot. It got just to be too slow. The author was on the same subject way too long. The rest of the book after him breaking his leg was too slow. The last half of the book was bad.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2007
This is one of the most amazing mountaineering survival stories I've read, and the movie is well worth the buy as well.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Jun 17 00:00:00 EDT 2005
I read this book when I was going through a difficult time in my life and hearing Joe Simpson's story gave me the courage to face life head-on. If a human is capable of surviving an accident of this magnitude, I truly believe that life's smaller problems and inconveniences can easily be overcome. A truly inspirational story. I had to go out and rent the documentary which I believe is even better than the book. I was on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time!!!!! I completely reccomend this book and movie to anyone who needs a little bit of inspiration in their lives!!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Feb 28 00:00:00 EST 2005
Excellent Inspiration The awesomely true adventure story Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson, is the account of two men¿s epic battle against time, nature, and ultimately themselves. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates are experienced mountain climbers and good friends. For their next task they attempt to tackle the very dangerous West face of a mountain in the South American Andes. No one has made it down alive from this route, but Joe and Simon will be the first. Or will they? Be prepared to never put this book down. From beginning to end readers will be at the edge of their seats anticipating what is in store on the next page. Not only is this book amazing in the sense that it is a true story, but it is tremendously inspiring. Many people would simply quit, give up, if they were put in the same situation of the lead character (being trapped on a mountain alone with a broken leg). But the way Simpson looks fear in the eye and says ¿I¿m not scared¿ is sure to be an excellent inspiration the un-inspirable. After reading this book one will never look at adversity in the same way again. ---J. Peña
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sat Nov 23 00:00:00 EST 2013
Loved the book, loved the movie. What a story!
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Posted Wed Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Name: unknown. Just call her cassi. Age: looks 17, but is much older...... MUCH older. Gender: figure it out. Description: black cloak covers most of her body and shadows her face. Underneath the cloak is unusual darkness, and you cant se details. History: like i would tell a complete stranger! Powers: can create and control energy. Crush/boyfriend: i had one..... once..... but not for a while, and wont be getting another. Other: honorary timelord (dont diss the doctor or your death will be painful and agonizing)
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Name: Unity Kestrol ~••~ Looks: dark hair, violet eyes, pale skin ~••~ Age: 16 ~••~ Personality: weird, an optimistic pessimist, but smart ~••~ Species: weirdo who reincarnates every time she dies into something else, but right now, a shapeshifter ~••~ Best form: a guinea pig! ~••~ Crush: he<_>ll no! ~••~ Bf: did you NOT see the crush? ~••~ Other: ask
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Full Name: Francis Grim Wolf Dreg Poizon Death Skyshringer.<br>Age: Thirteen or fourteen. At least that's what I pass as.<br>Appearance: I have dark, dark blond hair that hangs down to my eyes, sometimes in them, and a not-so-tan face. v.v<br>Clothes: I wear my hoodie, which changes colors, a dark pair of Levis, and beat up Nikes. Underneath the hoodie I wear a plain grey shirt, and my World Pendulum.<br>Powers: I'm a World Builder, hence the World Pendulum, which channels my molecular manipulation. I'll explain more if you ask.<br>Status: Single.<br>Personality: It fluctuates.<br>Weapons: I have assorted daggers, Vortex Balls, and shurikens hidden in my clothes.<br>Creations: My favorite one, Morpheus, is a six foot black robot that doubles as an exoskeleton. But that's not the greatest part. It can absorb any object into its body, increasing its mass and whatnot. And the bigger it gets, the more stuff it can absorb. The Vortex Balls aren't really much; you press the top in, and it zooms around and demolishes anything in a fifty foot radius, minus you. Flux is Morpheus's relative, from...California, and he is made of extremely small grey spheres called Hufers. This means he can extend or decrease his height, project weapons from his body, etc.<br>Birthday: This isn't my real birthday, but it's July 26th.<br>I'm tired, so that's the end.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu May 23 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Over the past few weeks I have been reading the book Touching the Void. It is an autobiography written by Joe Simpson. The two main characters are the author Joe Simpson and his partner Simon Yates. The two of them talk about their adventures mountain climbing. This book takes place in the mid 80's on the mountain of the Siula Grande in Peru. This mountain range is located in the Waywash mountain range in the Peruvian Andes in South America. The furthest peak reaches 20,814 feet above sea level, well about the heavens. This beautiful movie was made famous by this book, where Joe and Simon talk about their ascent and subsequent descent on the mountain. They ascended the West face witch is very remote and treacherous part of the mountain. They became the first to reach the summit by that route, nobody has ever climbed that face of the mountain before. They also chose the North Ridge for their descent, which was made almost impossible by winter storms. Joe and Simon made the ascent with no problems, it was challenging but they over came those problems and kept climbing. It was the descent of the trip what made this story life changing. After a couple days into their descent down disaster struck. Simon feel a short distance and ended up breaking a couple bones in his leg. They had no hope of being saved and Joe didn't want to leave Simon up on the mountain alone to die. So they decided to try an attempt at getting both of them down safely. Using a rope 300 feet long then began the slow process of lowering down Simon bit by bit. This was working for quit some time now tell they ran into even more trouble. Joe feel over a cliff on the edge of the mountain and had no way of climbing back up, so Simon makes the decision to cut the rope, in attempt that at least one of them will survive. Joe falls into a crevasses, Simon doesn't really know what to do. So assuming that Joe is dead Simon starts to keep heading down the mountain very slowly. The book is about the story of how they did this.
I thought this was a really good book and I would reconmend it too anyone who is interested in the outdoors, mountain climbing, or adventures stories. Anyone who is interested on reading about the miraculous story on the survival of these two men should pick up a copy of this book at once. The story behind this is truly amazing. These men both should have died 19,000 feet in the air, once Simon broke his leg neather of them should have made it down. Under the circumstances Joe should have just left Simon to die and get himself off the mountain while he had a chance. But Joe wasn't about to leave his partner behind, and that is truly heroic and makes the book so much better in my opinion. In a normal situation like this the injured person would be left behind, because there really ins't a lot to do in this situation. I also liked how this book was written by the guy who survived this. The book being an autobiography makes it a lot more interesting and makes it more enjoyable to follow. I think this story is a lot better when it is told by the person who was actually there and not somebody who was just writing about the experience. You can tell their is a lot more detail and emotion that goes into the story, which i believe makes it a lot better story. I also enjoy that the author shares what was going through his mind during the story and you know exactly how he feels. You can tell that this story isn't just made up and fake. It keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next. The story beyond this is very interesting and to listen to their day to day activities is truly astonishingon how they survived in such harsh environments with not to many resources.
One of the things I found the most interesting would be when they dug caves in the snow to use as shelter. I think that would be crazy how they just spent the night under the snow, 20,000 feet in the air. I don't think I could do it, I would always have this feeling like I am going to fall or something bad is going to happen. I don't think I could even do the climbing they were doing because they could fall at any time and bring both of them down to their deaths. At some points throughout the story they where climbing vertical ice walls with nothing more then some ropes, ice screw, crampons, and ice pikes. What they acompished is truly amazing in my eyes, and the fact that they reached the sumit without no problems is awesome. The hardest part for the author I would beilve is the part where he broke his leg while still up on the mountain. I wouldn't know what to do and I would probably just panic and freak out. Expecialy if I was all alone, trying to descend this mountain safely. To be honest I would probably give up and just wait to die. It's jaw dropping how the Simon kicks away the pain and using only one leg somehow manages to get down the mountain and into safety. It's a really good story and I reconmend anyone to read this book and listen to the story of Joe and S
Anonymous
Posted Fri Feb 22 00:00:00 EST 2013
Couldn't put it down.
I was up until the wee hours for many nights because I just couldn't put down this book. I'd go into work tired and with blood shot eyes promising to get a good night's sleep. But then I'd open up the book again and be up all night reading it. As a weekend peak bagger myself, I just found the story amazing, riveting, gripping, and one of the most suspensful that I have ever read. You will not regret reading this book.
Anonymous
Posted Thu Jan 08 00:00:00 EST 2009
Great book about survival, it's amazing what the human body and spirit can endure.
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Overview
"A truly astounding account of suffering and fortitude."
?The Times (London)
Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments ...