Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

Simpson’s 21-year-old climbing partner during the expedition described in Touching the Void was Simon Yates The author depicts Yates as his foil and admits to envying him, describing him as “an easy friend: dependable, sincere, ready to see life as a joke” (18). The description implies that, by comparison, the author views himself as a more difficult and somber personality. Simpson’s account of Yates’s valiant attempt to help him down the mountain with a broken leg illustrates the teamwork of mountaineering. By risking his own life in the process, Yates demonstrated loyalty and a feeling of responsibility toward Simpson. Touching the Void recounts how Yates saved his climbing mate’s life more than once. In addition to assisting Simpson after he broke his leg, Yates’s resistance to leaving base camp meant that his friend did not crawl back to an empty camp. Ironically, even Yates’s decision to cut the rope that connected him to Simpson ultimately allowed his climbing partner to escape the crevasse. Yates’s momentous decision is central to the narrative, illustrating the book’s themes of The Psychology of Survival and The Ethics of Responsibility in Extreme Conditions.

In the aftermath of the Peruvian expedition, Yates’s bravery and achievements were overshadowed by unfair characterizations as “the man who cut the rope.” Simpson wrote Touching the Void to redress the public perception of Yates as an antagonist. The book’s dedication to Yates, “for a debt I can never repay” (7), acknowledges that Simpson owes his life to his former climbing partner. Meanwhile, the inclusion of Yates’s perspective of events both before and after he cut the rope offers insight into the complexities of his decision. The text conveys both Yates’s psychological turmoil and the physical danger to his life at the crucial moment. Yates has stated that Touching the Void is a faithful account of events. However, he has expressed dissatisfaction with the docudrama of the same name, believing that the film failed to sufficiently contextualize his decision.

Following the Peruvian expedition, Yates continued to attempt unclimbed routes with other mountaineering partners, climbing Eiger’s North Face shortly afterward. He owns an expedition company, Mountain Dream, and has written nonfiction accounts of his adventures in Against the Wall (1997), The Wild Within (2012), and The Flame of Adventure (2001).

Although the central survival narrative of Touching the Void does not feature Richard Hawking, he played a key role in events once Yates and Simpson returned to base camp and needed assistance. Simpson and Yates met Richard, who was also young, adventurous, and British, in Lima. Therefore, the non-climber’s presence at base camp during the mountaineers’ ascent of Siula Grande was not part of their original expedition plan. However, by staying behind, Richard was able to care for Yates when he returned exhausted and dehydrated. In addition, Richard played a crucial organizational role in returning the group to civilization when Simpson required urgent medical treatment. His ability to speak Spanish facilitated negotiations with Spinoza and other local people to get Simpson to a hospital in Lima. Richard’s role in the story thematically illustrates The Ethics of Responsibility in Extreme Conditions by underscoring Simpson and Yates’s failure to prepare for a crisis that might require outside assistance.