Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set out to climb the west face of the Siula Grande in the
Peruvian Andes. It was 1985 and the men were young, fit, skilled climbers. The west face,
remote and treacherous, had not been climbed before. Following a successful
three-and-a-half-day ascent, disaster struck. Simpson fell a short distance and broke
several bones in his leg. With no hope of rescue, the men decided to attempt descent
together with Yates lowering Simpson 300 feet at a time in a slow, painful process that
could have potentially been deadly for both. One further misstep led to Yates
unknowingly lowering his injured partner over the lip of a crevasse. With the gradient
having gone from steep to vertical, he was no longer able to hold on. Certain they were
about to be pulled jointly to their deaths, the only choice was to cut the rope. How
Simpson survived the fall, and made it back to base camp is a story that will astound
and inspire. In Touching the Void, Yates and Simpson return to the Siula Grande for the
first time to retell their story.
