Touching the Void by Joe Simpson

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson is a true survival account about mountaineering, resilience, and the will to live. The book recounts Simpson’s own harrowing experience in 1985 when he and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, attempted to ascend the 6,344-meter (20,813 ft) Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.

After a successful summit, disaster struck on the descent when Simpson broke his leg—a near-death sentence in such extreme conditions. Yates attempted to lower him down the mountain using a rope, but as a storm raged and visibility worsened, Simpson was unknowingly lowered over a sheer drop. With no way to communicate and Yates unable to hold him any longer, Yates made the agonizing decision to cut the rope, sending Simpson plummeting into a deep crevasse.

Miraculously, Simpson survived the fall. Despite excruciating pain and dehydration, he managed to crawl and hop for three days across miles of ice and rock, eventually reaching base camp—just before Yates was about to leave, believing him dead.

Written in raw, vivid detail, Touching the Void is both a thrilling adventure story and a deep meditation on survival, fear, and the human drive to persevere against impossible odds.

Along with this book, Simpson was interviewed for a documentary about his experience, also called Touching the Void, which can be watched in supplement to reading.

Our club's questions touched on the following:

• What did you think of Simon and Joe's relationship? Was Simon's too "cold" towards Joe, or was this a required mentality for this type of activity?

• Why do humans pursue extreme activities like this?

• What benefit to humans get from seeking life-or-death activities?

• Does mountaineering require a certain personality type? Is there a level of selfishness involved?

• Would we have cut the rope if we were in Simon's position?

• What traits do a person need to have to survive Joe's situation?

• Was the backlash Simon received justified? Would we have told the truth?

This book was immensely gripping, and our group loved reading it. Much of the discussion was focused on whether we would have cut the rope; nearly all of us agreeing that it was necessary for Simon's survival. We were all thoroughly impressed by Joe's will to live and his methodic survival tactics; the mental strength Joe needed to persevere is unparalleled. Would we have been able to do it?

Group mean rating: 9/10