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.