Joe Simpson

I read this after reading Touching the Void earlier this year and being completely blown away by it, and decided to read more books about climbing because something about it seems to resonate with me even though I'm not a climber myself and I don't even know anybody who is!

This book was an interesting combination of Joe talking about various different experiences while climbing, some personal experiences from his own life, and also accounts of earlier climbers who attempted the north face of show more the Eiger, which all built up to Joe's decision on whether to climb the face, and also his feelings about climbing and whether to continue. At times it was almost a little strange to read about such personal feelings- almost like reading somebody's diary that would usually be private, but I admire Joe's honesty and the combination of both a pragmatic attitude to climbing mistakes, paired with some beautiful descriptions of the emotions evoked by climbing- of which I think Joe's description of being caught in a storm on the south face of Les Drus was one of the most stunning.

This book, and others like it, raise all sorts of interesting questions- such as how to balance the desire to do something potentially life threatening with the fact that family and friends want you to be safe, along with weirdness of sometimes feeling most alive when close to death, which Joe mentions on a few occasions. I think this is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much- because human emotions seem to make so much more sense in these more extreme environments, and you can see that in many ways we're designed for coping with the immediate risk and dangers that activities like climbing throw at us, whereas in the "real world" everything is so drawn out, anxiety goes on for hours, days, weeks, months over risks that aren't life and death they are just ongoing worries. It is uplifting and life affirming to read about emotions in such a different environment- the powerful descriptions of ecstatic joy at achieving a goal tinged with sadness when it is over, the fear and awe and respect for the mountains, the enjoyment and absorption in the climbing.

I guess this book might not be for you if you prefer one long "story" rather than a collection of different experiences, but for me (perhaps because I have a background in psychology!) reading about Joe's feelings towards climbing and whether or not it is worth the risks was a really rewarding experience and I think that for anyone who is troubled with asking what life is for or why we are here I feel like the answer is hidden inside books like this, and inside people who follow their dreams to the very end. show less

After being blown away by Touching the Void, This Game of Ghosts took me by surprise in that it started with Simpson's account of growing up as an army brat in Malaya and Germany, with boarding school in England during term time. At first it felt a bit disappointing - interesting enough from another writer, perhaps, but not what I'd expected from Simpson. However, he doesn't let the reader down, and it later becomes a useful backdrop to understanding what makes these crazy, risk-taking show more mountaineers tick. If Simpson's anything to go by, the mountaineers of tomorrow are the primary school kids of today who are already on first name terms with their local accident & emergency staff. You know the kind - a dangerous combination of excess energy and fearless recklessness and several plaster casts down before they're in double figures.

This Game of Ghosts is both a prequel and sequel to Simpson's horrific Andes accident recounted in Touching the Void. The latter was gripping, can't-look-away horror, so it seemed unlikely that any follow up book could hold a candle to it, but in many ways This Game of Ghosts takes the drama up a notch and the reader into utter disbelief. Even the most risk-averse armchair reader could probably cut Simpson some slack for being unfortunate enough to have that dreadful accident in the Andes, but then you learn in This Game of Ghosts that he'd had not one but two major falls before that in the Alps which could have killed him, and incredulously goes back to climbing after the Andes fall and is almost killed in Asia.

This is not just a book of mountain escapades and disasters; it's an unsentimental, self-deprecating introspection of reckless passion, loss and what drives mountaineers to take such enormous risks time and time again. The ghosts in the title refers to the huge number of young friends Simpson loses in the mountains over the years, many of whom beam at the camera in photos included in the book, young twenty-somethings who appear carefree and high on life.

I found this book hugely affecting, in many ways more than Touching the Void simply because Simpson exposes just how huge the risks are for those addicted to serious climbing, no matter how experienced.

4.5 stars - sobering yet utterly riveting. True rubber necking territory. Simpson triumphs once again. show less

Set 10 years before Jon Krakauer's account of the Everest disaster in Into Thin Air, the setting of this mountaineering disaster memoir is Siula Grande in Peru.

The premise of these mountaineering disaster books is generally familiar - a group of total nut jobs decide to scale some utterly impossible mountain face, weather closes in, horrific accident happens. Nonetheless, these climbing books draw me in every time. The mountains are my happy place, and when I watched serious climbers going show more up and down the Mont Blanc cable car in Chamonix a couple of years ago I had a stab of envy at their nerve, their freedom of not being held back by their fears. I could never take the risks they take (I worry about the ski lifts holding), but I'm quite happy to join in their adventures from my armchair. It's interesting that so many mountaineers are truly excellent writers as well, and Joe Simpson is no exception.

Touching the Void is famous for recounting the disaster where Simpson's climbing mate Simon Yates ends up cutting the rope that Simpson is dangling from over the side of a cliff to save himself. The subsequent documentary film that followed the book left Yates feeling angry that it was a one-sided portrayal of the accident, with the film leaving out the extensive hours he'd spent trying to save Simpson's life before he made that fateful decision. In this memoir, Simpson is unequivocal in his support for Yates' actions. Having fallen and badly broken his leg, Yates spent hours lowering Simpson down the mountain before unwittingly lowering him over a cliff in the dark. With Simpson tangling in mid air, when the rope ran out Yates was unable to pull Simpson back up, and as Simpson's weight would ultimately pull him off the mountain too he eventually took the decision to cut Simpson away.

This is the ultimate story of survival against the odds, and despite falling many feet down a crevasse Simpson somehow survives and manages to literally crawl back to camp three days later (I hope this isn't a spoiler, but as he wrote the book I think it's fairly obvious that he didn't die).

My own perspective on Yates' action is that yes, he had no other choice if he wanted to stay alive, and Simpson was likely to die anyway either way. However, I did find myself questioning his actions after he got down the mountain and regained some strength. He automatically assumed that Simpson was dead and made no attempt to go back to the lower slopes of the mountain to check, or to see if the body could be recovered for his family. The two climbers had no radios and were climbing in a very remote area without any rescue helicopters on speed dial, so I was surprised that he was so quick to assume the worst and not clutch on to any chance of survival and rescue. He was only 21 at the time, and part of me wonders if he feared Simpson giving a more damning perspective of his actions if he survived. Some sections were Yates' account (written by Simpson but with Yates' input and blessing), and I was surprised by his cool mental ability after a day or so to try to already put the accident behind him. The two are no longer friends today, with Yates stating that they "no longer have anything in common", and I'm not overly surprised.

The fact that Simpson carried on climbing after two years of rehabilitation, and went on to have another accident in a serious mountain climb tells you everything about the mentality of mountaineers. They know the risks are very real, but the pull of the mountain and the climbing experience transcends everything.

5 stars - I was totally gripped by this book and would have read it in one sitting if circumstances had allowed. The quality of writing was excellent, and I'll definitely be seeking out some of Simpson's other titles. show less

This is my third Joe Simpson book, and probably my last; no reflection on the quality of his writing (which is once again superb), but I feel I've probably read the best of him now, and there are only so many more mountains left to climb with him.

As touched on to an extent in This Game of Ghosts, Simpson is now seriously considering giving up climbing. The tally of friends lost to the mountains grows every year, and despite his climbing ability improving year-on-year, the danger and show more fragility of climbing expeditions is more and more at the forefront of his mind. In the first half of the book, he jumps between a number of climbs which seem there to serve one main purpose - a back-story so yet another friend's death could be written about. Perhaps because he'd already covered some of this ground in This Game of Ghosts it rubbed me up the wrong way a little in The Beckoning Silence, feeling included for the sake of sensationalism and selling books.

In the second half of the book, Simpson is talked into tackling the north face of the Eiger by a climbing friend, and at this point I really settled into the book, absorbed as always by his ability to make the mountains come alive. I've skied in Grindelwald, the closest town to the Eiger, so for that reason this account particularly hooked me in as I could visualise the areas he was talking about. Simpson also delves into some of the history of the doomed Eiger climbers of the 1930s who paved the way for other climbers, and I really enjoyed his retelling of their stories (which were new to me) and the fantastic photos included. Sadly, there's yet more tragedy on the mountain at the same time that Simpson and his friend are climbing, yet somehow his writing is so immersive that I found myself torn between wondering why anyone ever climbs mountains this difficult and desperately wanting to experience it for myself. It's not too hard to guess which sentiment will ultimately win me over, but it's testament to Simpson's writing skill that he does leave you with a great pull for the mountains.

4 stars - an incredibly skilled writer, but probably with little more to say that's new and shocking by the time you've read a few of his titles. show less