Touching the void: the story between life and death of Joe Simpson

When it comes to gallantry and mettle, Joe Simpson's name might come first. This British mountaineer, born in 1960, had to overcome life to keep breathing after a serious accident in the Peruvian mountains. Raised in a multicultural family of Scots and Irish, this Englishman began his adventure in the world of mountaineering thanks to the motivation of one of his teachers, who was able to visualise the deep interest that the then child had in nature, sports and hiking.

The man who survived death

Joe Simpson has a life story that could easily be the script for a fictional film. Many would believe that it is impossible to survive falling from a height of 30 metres in rather precarious climatic conditions.but this Briton managed to do so for no apparent reason.

The year was 1985, Simpson was a young man full of dreams and goals who wanted to conquer the top of the world. Siula GrandeHe would not do it alone. He was accompanied by one of his best friends, Simon Yates, who was just 21 years old at the time. He would not do it alone, he was accompanied by one of his best friends, Simon Yates, who was only 21 years old at the time.

No one had ever conquered the summit of this sacred mountain, but the daring of these two young men made them the first to set foot on this peak of more than six thousand metres. The victory felt very big in their chests, the pride of having conquered one of their wildest dreams could not be contained in their souls, but they were not the first to reach the summit. happiness would not last long.

Everything that goes up must come down, and so the two friends began the descent down a mountain that no one had ever managed to climb all the way up, knowing that they were the first to achieve a feat that was impossible for many to even think about. Everything was going well at first, but after a few minutes, Simpson and the two friends were on their way. would meet his worst nightmare.

A few metres into the descent, Joe stumbled on some ice, causing him to fall and receive a severe blow to his tibia that caused a fracture. Simon tried to help him by creating a rope mechanism to drag him along with him at every step, but another unforeseen event further complicated matters.

As if that wasn't enough, Simpson got stuck on a cliff. His best friend didn't want to let him go, so he held him for 45 minutes with all his might until he made a tough decision: cut the rope to drop itwhich would lead to his certain death. Against all odds, Joe managed to survive for three days with no food, no water and extensive injuries to his body.

With what little strength he had left, Joe managed to crawl to the main hut to seek help, leaving all the staff there perplexed. How did someone manage to survive after falling from a height of 30 metres? It is hard to imagine, but it is true.

Survival technique

Joe knew that his friend Simon wasn't going to rescue him from the first minute, because he simply couldn't see or hear him so he devised a survival plan so as not to die in the snow in a country that was not their own.

He set small goals every 20 minutes. He had to crawl with all the pain in the world after fracturing his tibia and knee, but the desire not to die in that cold was stronger than anything else. He blocked all his emotions to optimise time, not to waste energy, to focus only on what is survival.

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He had hallucinations, he would faint, he would lose consciousness a little bit. He was prepared for death, but his intuition led him to continue. After three days of intense trekking he made it. Without expecting it, his friend Simon was there along with the tour guide, Richard, who was trying to treat the wounds of both climbers.

A story to tell

Three years after the event, Joe Simpson published a book in which he recounts all his experiences on the mountain that almost took his life. He decided to call it Touching the void, which quickly became one of the best-selling books in the UK.

The inspirational story of this man who faced his darkest fears for a living earned him a NCR Book Prize in 1989 for his publication which is still sold on all digital platforms.

From real life to the big screen

15 years after the incident that marked Joe Simpson's life forever, the world was able to know his story through a masterful documentary directed by Kevin Macdonald, in which recounts in detail every second of the horror they went through.

The documentary lasts about an hour and a half in which you will laugh, cry and be impressed with each of the experiences told there. You can watch it without any problem through Youtube, we assure you that will completely change your outlook on life even if you are going through a difficult time. ç

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This feature film won the Bafta Award for Best British Film at the 2004 ceremony. It was also nominated for three British Independent Film Awards and was recognised at the Mar de Plata Film Festival in the Best Documentary category. Do you need any other reason to see it?

Life after horror

After what we have experienced, Joe Simpson is an internationally successful motivational speaker. In them, he recounts his experience and encourages others to keep fighting for what they long for.

Did you know that Simpson is mentioned in Ali in the Jungle, one of the songs by the rock band The Hours, where the phrase goes: like Simpson on the mountain as a reference to putting yourself before life?

Source: Wikipedia.

He has also used his talent for writing to create such masterpieces as The Water People, The Sound of Gravity, Walking on the Wrong Side of the Grass, The Ghost Game, The Silence that Calls, Storms of Silence, The Sound of Gravity, The Sound of Gravity, The Sound of Gravity, Walking on the Wrong Side of the Grass, The Ghost Game, The Silence that Calls, Storms of Silence y falling into darkness.