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Synopsis
Touching the Void is a documentary produced in 2003, directed by the renowned director Kevin MacDonald. The documentary is based of the book Touching the Void, written by Joe Simpson expressing his experience climbing Siula Grande in the late 80's.
The documentary reenacts the near fatal experience that two friend mountain climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates had while attempting to climb a mountain. The two set out to climb the previously unclimbed mountain Siula Grande which is located in Peru. Siula Grande had been previously attempted to be climbed but was never successfully completed. Both men successfully make it to the top of the west face of the mountain. On the descent down, Joe Simpson fractures his leg as result from falling. Due to Simpson not being very mobile at this point, Yates decides to lower him down using a rope to a lower spot as a giant storm is emerging. Unable to see where he is lowering Simpson, Yates later realizes that he has lowered him directly off a cliff where he is now dangling freely. Due to the severity of the storm, Yates is unable to see the predicament his friend is in. Yates, after much contemplation makes the decision that he needs to cut the rope shared between them as there would be no hope for survival for either of them if he didn't. After cutting the rope Yates continues to descend down the mountain after assuming his partner is dead due to the fall. Joe Simpson survives the 150 ft fall but lands in a crevasse in the mountain. Battling the elements with a broken leg, being dehydrated and facing malnutrition he continues to fight and drag himself down the mountain Simpson spends days crawling towards the base camp until he finally makes it there. He arrives completely delirious and has major frostbite over his body to find his partner Yates there.
The documentary reenacts the near fatal experience that two friend mountain climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates had while attempting to climb a mountain. The two set out to climb the previously unclimbed mountain Siula Grande which is located in Peru. Siula Grande had been previously attempted to be climbed but was never successfully completed. Both men successfully make it to the top of the west face of the mountain. On the descent down, Joe Simpson fractures his leg as result from falling. Due to Simpson not being very mobile at this point, Yates decides to lower him down using a rope to a lower spot as a giant storm is emerging. Unable to see where he is lowering Simpson, Yates later realizes that he has lowered him directly off a cliff where he is now dangling freely. Due to the severity of the storm, Yates is unable to see the predicament his friend is in. Yates, after much contemplation makes the decision that he needs to cut the rope shared between them as there would be no hope for survival for either of them if he didn't. After cutting the rope Yates continues to descend down the mountain after assuming his partner is dead due to the fall. Joe Simpson survives the 150 ft fall but lands in a crevasse in the mountain. Battling the elements with a broken leg, being dehydrated and facing malnutrition he continues to fight and drag himself down the mountain Simpson spends days crawling towards the base camp until he finally makes it there. He arrives completely delirious and has major frostbite over his body to find his partner Yates there.
Character Analysis
Touching the Void tells the story of two mountain climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates.
Both men had been on prior expeditions together with other groups but decided to face the challenge of climbing Siula Grande, which had never been climbed before. Although their had been a lot of backlash towards Yates who left Simpson on the mountain, the two are still friends and Simpson still defends the decision of his friend.
Joe Simpson:
Joe Simpson was born in 1960 and has been climbing since a young age. He was born in Malaysia but lived in England for the majority of his life. After the incident in Peru, he released a novel explaining the near death experience he went through. After the climb, he became a motivational speaker where he shared his story across the world.
Simon Yates:
Simon Yates was born in 1963 in England. He has also been climbing since a very young age and has been on many expeditions. After the climb, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding him as he was known as "the guy who cut the rope" which is highly frowned upon in the climbing community.
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