Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

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 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 show more 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

A real-life survival story that is scarcely believable, Touching the Void is, to begin with, scarcely readable but goes on to become a psychological tour de force. The first fifty or sixty pages are a slog, as the build-up to the disaster lacks any real, well, build-up. There's no attempt at providing context or explanation to the trek or a portrait of mountaineering in itself, leaving the reader at a loss. There's also a lot of jargon unexplained, from belays and sticht plates to cols and Prussik knots, and the writing in this early part is clunky and laden with unnecessary prosing. In these early sections, it's almost as if the text was written for serialization in a mountaineering magazine than for the general public.

All of these show more middling concerns go out the window when disaster strikes at around page seventy, and the rest of the book is indescribably enthralling. Most people know the story by now: Joe Simpson broke his leg near the top of a fearsome mountain in the Andes and his climbing partner leveraged him down an almost vertical cliff-face in the pitch dark to try and get him to safety. When things go wrong during the descent, Joe's partner Simon is forced to cut the rope holding them together and Joe plunges hundreds of feet into a crevasse. Simon understandably believes Joe to be dead and returns to camp, so Joe crawls out of the crevasse and, without food and water, drags his mushy purpling broken leg – now six inches shorter than his healthy one – through blizzards and over rocky ground back to camp over the course of days.

It is a phenomenal feat of endurance, and in contrast to the early pages is well-told by Simpson. From describing the cringe-inducing gruesomeness of the untreated broken leg, through the terror of the pitch-black descent, the lurch of the severed rope and the existential dread of the crevasse, to the delusion and desperation of the crawl back to camp, Simpson is clear-minded, eloquent and completely riveting. The time spent in the crevasse is particularly astonishing: to my mind no greater expression of the communion between man and the raw forces of nature can be found. There's no story quite like this and, speaking selfishly, it is to our great benefit that the person it all happened to was also one able to tell the story so eloquently. show less

Amazing true story of climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates and their horrifying ordeal on Siula Grande in 1985 in the Peruvian Andes. After reaching the summit via the previously unclimbed west face, they ran into trouble on the descent. Joe Simpson takes the reader through his near-death experience on the mountain. During the critical segments of the climb, Simon Yates’s perspective is included. The writing is wonderful, especially considering Simpson never set out to be a writer. It is filled with vivid descriptions of the terrain as well as the details of mountaineering techniques. I felt fully immersed in the narrative. Simpson has a knack for conveying his innermost thoughts and emotions in a relatable manner. It is intense and show more engrossing. It is a story of physical and psychological trauma, as well as one of friendship. I have always been fascinated by those who take extreme risks to accomplish a self-imposed goal, and especially if they involve activities in an exceptionally cold environment. Highly recommended to those who enjoy true stories of survival, mountaineering, or extremely perilous adventures. show less

Since I deliberately seek out books about mountaineering disasters and obssess about those just as much as the mountains themselves, I can hardly complain that in most of the those books, people die. It's my own damn fault.

Despite that it was so nice to read a book where, just this once, everybody lives! It's quite amazing in that way, but I guess with only three people around, one staying in base camp, the odds for everyone surviving was slightly highter than usual.

Except, the fact that Joe Simpson survive is seriously unbelievable. Since breaking my ankle last year I've become quite sensitive to reading descriptions about bones breaking and oh my gods, I can't believe he managed to do a single thing of what he did with a broken leg, show more nevermind all of them. It took two hours for me to get to a hospital and get some drugs, it took him well over a week. I can't even begin to understand the amount of pain one has to be in to survive that.

I also can't believe he went back to shoot the documentary and there was zero psychological help available to him? True, he doesn't seem like he believes in that kind of thing, but the film crew surely must have known better? No wonder he got panic attacks, especially when they LEFT HIM ALONE!? I liked the documentary, but that was pretty fucked up.

Anyway, this truly is an amazing story about survival at all odds and it's nice to see that sometimes, occassionally, people do manage to beat all the odds. show less

“Life can deal you an amazing hand. Do you play it steady, bluff like crazy or go all in?”

Talk about a spine-chilling, knee-jerk experience. Me, describing this book? That is it. The best way to describe this book; it is an Experience. It doesn’t help that this isn’t my usual type of read, but it has been in my stacks for ages and dang it, this year I’m trying to clear these things out!

Joe Simpson and his friend Simon Yates are mountain climbers. EXTREME mountain climbers. They set out to climb a previously untested mountain range in the Andes Mountains. It was cold. It was dangerous. It was exhilarating. In the beginning of the book, the cold, the wet, the loneliness…I was left wondering what in the world these two men show more could possibly see fun about doing what they were doing! It just sounds miserable! But then, just like a good author should, Simpson provided the reason for me:

For the first time in my life I knew what it meant to be isolated from people and society. It was wonderfully calming and tranquil to be here. I became aware of a feeling of complete freedom-to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to, and in whatever manner. Suddenly the whole day had changed. All lethargy was swept away by an invigorating independence. We had responsibilities to no one but ourselves now, there would be no more to intrude or come to our rescue…

That quote comes from near the beginning of the book, as they are on their way up that crazy mountain. He intentionally weighs it down at the end there, doesn’t he? Come to our rescue…. Still makes me shiver.

It’s no mystery that Joe Simpson fell on their return trip down the mountain. It’s no secret he survived. He wrote this book! Knowing that shouldn’t prevent you from wanting to read this book. The fall takes mere moments in words. It’s what comes after. After; is why you need to read this book. The physical journey, the spiritual journey, the pain, and fear, and hope, and despair…these are reasons why you need to read this book. Joe Simpson, and Simon Yates, lay it all bare for the world to see. It is a moving, painful, and breath-taking journey to read. And it’s cold; very, very cold. I challenge you to read this book and not feel COLD. The things these two men go through…it’s epic. It’s an epic story of survival and a moving story of friendship and bravery not quite like anything I’ve read before. Highly recommended and shows I really should step out of my comfort zone every once in awhile! show less

I was gripped by this fantastic book from start to finish. I have always been interested in the stories of people who choose to test themselves against nature in all its beauty and indifferent savagery, and this book certainly did not disappoint; atmospheric, moving, desperate, harrowing- it took me through pretty much every emotion just reading it, the thought that somebody really went through this ordeal is unimaginable.

There are a few technical terms in this book that I didn’t understand- so it was handy to be reading the Kindle version so I could easily look them up, but this in no way took away from such an astonishing story of survival and friendship. In fact, the relationship between Simon and Joe after Joe’s injury was show more unlike anything I’ve ever read before: the realisation that you rely so utterly on somebody else, or indeed the knowledge that someone relies so utterly on you must be mind-blowing. I can’t even begin to guess how I would react to being in either of their situations.

To put it simply, I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was reading it and I know I will keep on thinking about it a long time after. I can honestly say this is one of the best and most moving books I have ever read. show less

Many people have commented on the writing as separating this book from other survival books, and I agree. Obviously an incredible story in itself, but Simpsons attention to detail and equal measures of humor, despair, hope and hopelessness bring the story to life. Simpson departs from the heroic ideal to see the times he almost quit, the utter defeat he flt, and as a result helps the reader see a great accomplishments is many tiny victories more than one great act.