Joe Simpson and Simon Yates had a rough journey up to the major peak in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes. After all, 5000 meters of height is no child's play. After an exhausting day, there came the point when one of them had to take a hard call. With no food and water, only shivers were running down the spine! "You have to cut my rope, I can't bear it anymore!" wailed one of the friends. "Are you crazy? You'll fall to death, man!" shrieked the other.
One thing led to another, and in the blink of an eye, it came to the question of now or never. The other friend did cut the rope, uncertain what destiny laid for them. Little did he know that seven days later, a miracle would turn their world upside-down!
Joe Simpson
Joe Simpson, a British mountaineer was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to a Scottish father and an Irish mother. Mountaineering fascinated him and he wanted to climb the previously untouched West Face of Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash of the Peruvian Andes the moment he graduated from college.
Joe was aware the climb would be deadly dangerous, and he needed a partner who was just as fascinated with mountaineering as he was. It was then his lifelong friend Simon Yates signed up for the adventure with him. The two enthusiasts soon started planning their journey unaware of what fate had in store for them ...
Simon Yates
Simon Yates is an English mountaineer who is known for his tragic feat to the previously unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. He completed the difficult trek along with his friend Joe Simpson under extreme weather conditions.
The ascent was fairly easy as compared to the descent. A dramatic series of events happened during the descent which left both of them struggling to come down alive. Soon, the duo was in the middle of an unimaginable scenario, one that left them helpless and depressed!
Height of 6300 Meters
The two enthusiastic mountaineers were about to ascend the West Face of Siula Grande with a height of 6300 meters. Although the West Face path was considered extremely dangerous and almost impossible, the duo planned the route meticulously.
After a lot of preparation, the two friends hit the road in 1985 to start the climb and chart their names in history. They never imagined in their worst fears what they were soon going to experience. Something that would change their lives forever!
Alpine Style of Mountaineering
Joe and Simon decided to climb through the alpine style of mountaineering, which is a self-sufficient manner, the climber carries all the food, shelter, and pieces of equipment as one climb. However, the complete absence of intermediate camps meant that both the friends were going to be on their own.
As required, the duo had sufficient knowledge of anchor techniques, laying of protection devices, and rescue techniques. Who knew using these rescue techniques would be the highlight of their climb?
Difficulty Level Rises
The first few kilometers were easy, and the duo was able to climb quickly. However, the higher they climbed the more difficult it got because at high altitudes the heart begins to suffer from a lack of oxygen.
The duo did not give up and continued climbing with the same strength and determination. It took them 6 hours to climb the last 50 meters and reach the top to see what they had never witnessed ever before.
The Joy of Reaching the Top
Upon reaching the peak of the summit, the friends were on top of the world both literally and metaphorically. The view was spectacular, something they had never seen before. Every direction they looked they saw snow capped mountains flowing among bright white fluffy clouds.
However, they had only covered half of the journey till now, the descent was going to be a hundred times more difficult in numerous unexpected ways. Was the duo strong enough to face these difficulties?
The Descent
After spending some time at the peak, Simpson and Yates started preparing for the descent, both physically and mentally. Soon after they began to descend via the peaks of North Ridge which as they moved forward found extremely demanding.
The rapid winds and the terrain prevented rapid descent, therefore the pair decided to spend the night in a snow hole on the ridge and resume in the morning with proper lighting. During the night, the friends ate the last of their food and used the last of their fuel to melt snow for drinking water.
Continuing the Descent in The Morning
With daybreak, the pair got ready to resume their descent and reach the base as soon as possible. Although both of them were busy concentrating on the terrain and their descent, back of the mind both of them were extremely happy.
They had managed to do something truly extraordinary and deserved great praise for it. However, after a few hours of continuing the descent something extremely tragic happened, breaking their train of thought.
Joe Fell from An Ice Cliff
During the descent, Joe slipped and fell from an ice cliff, landing awkwardly on his leg. The impact of the fall broke his right leg, crushing his tibia into his knee joint.
Immediately after the fall, both Simpson and Yates could not process what just happened. The deteriorating weather conditions made the situation worse for them.
They Still Continue the Descent
Yates gave Joe a strong painkiller to subside his pain but still, Joe was in excruciating pain. After a lot of thought, the friends came up with a new strategy to continue the descent.
The plan was to use their two ropes to tie both of them together and to lower Joe down the mountain in stages as Yates climbs down. However, the friends did not know the implementation wouldn't be as easy as the plan sounds and would only add to their problems.
Regaining Control
Through this strategy, Yates managed to lower Simpson 910 meters. The process was not easy at all and required great strength, both the friends were feeling extremely exhausted.
Still, the duo thought they were regaining control of the situation and things were now working in their favor. However, soon their hopes came crashing down when another tragedy hit.
Joe Goes Over an Unseen Cliff Edge
Although the duo managed to descend to a relatively safe altitude of the glacier, suddenly Joe went over an unseen cliff edge when Yates was lowering him. Due to high-intensity winds visibility was zero and Yates could not see Joe properly when he was lowering them.
As a result, Joe was now hanging free with Yates holding all of his weight through the rope. Even after repeated trials, Joe was not able to get his weight off the rope for Yates to get some relief. Both of their lives were in severe danger now.
Considerable Times Passes
The two climber friends were stuck in this position for a considerable period of time. In interviews later, Yates estimated more than an hour and a half must have passed.
Joe’s weight on the rope was tiring out Yates and disbalancing him. To avoid being pulled off the mountain and falling, the only way out for Yates was to cut the rope. Yates now had Joe’s fate in his hands and had a big decision to make.
Joe Falls One More Time
After a lot of thought and trying to find another solution, Yates decided he will have to cut the rope. This was the only way to prevent being pulled off the glacier to almost certain death.
With a heavy heart, Yates cut the rope and consequently, Joe fell 15 meters into a crevasse. Yates wished with all his heart that Joe survives the fall, and he could meet him the moment he climbs down the glacier to the crevasse.
Yates Carried on Descending
After the ordeal, Yates was exhausted and suffering from frostbite and hypothermia. The whole day had passed and there was no light for Yates to finish his descent. Yates decided to wait one more night and dug himself a snow cave to wait out the night and worsening weather conditions.
The next morning, with clear weather Yates finished his descent and reached the crevasse through which Joe had fallen. The big question was would he see something hopeful?
Yates Calls Out to Joe
Hoping against all the possibilities, the moment Yates reached the crevasse he started calling out Joe’s name hoping to hear a reply from him. However, to his disappointment even after repeated attempts, Yates did not hear a reply.
Sadly, Yate concluded that Joe did not survive and had been killed when he fell into the crevasse. However, Yate was unaware of the fact that deep into the crevasse Joe was alive and had a huge challenge ahead of him.
Joe Was Still Alive
Miraculously Joe had survived the fall and had landed on a tiny edge within the crevasse. Joe later recalled that he had lost consciousness while hanging on the rope and regained it back when the rope had been cut and he was falling.
However, he was injured and found it almost impossible to climb up the crevasse and rescue himself. He did not have a lot of choices and had to think fast to come up with a solution.
A Snow Bridge
After a lot of consideration, Joe concluded that his only option was to go deeper into the crevasse hoping to find a way out from there. Taking this huge chance, he started lowering himself and soon found himself on a snow bridge.
After crossing the snow bridge, he got on another steep snow slope and was able to climb back onto the glacier. Now the big question was, would he now be able to find his way back to the base camp?
Navigating the Glacier
Joe still had to walk many kilometers through impassable areas scattered with more crevasses and moraines. He could not walk properly and turned into a crawling child.
He gave himself various small goals to be able to keep going further without food and water. He felt it was a true miracle that he survived two falls, and someone was up there looking after him, leading him back to safety and eventually his loving family.
New Way to Move Forward
Joe’s broken leg was troubling him immensely and he found it extremely difficult to keep moving forward. With all the material he had on him, he created for himself a medical splint to keep his injured leg straight.
However, putting all his body weight on the other leg and keeping it balanced was a huge task in itself but with his resilience and strength, he kept moving forward. Only time was to tell whether he would be able to reach the base camp or not.
8 Kilometers Back to The Base Camp
A determined Joe managed to crawl back 8 kilometers to the base camp without food and water. As time passed, he was becoming delirious and beginning to hallucinate but fortunately, his agony was about to end soon.
He managed to reach the base camp only minutes before Yates was intended to leave the base camp. Yates, who was certain he had sent Joe to his death, was extremely surprised and delighted to see Joe.
Urgent Medical Attention
The other pressing task was to take Joe to the hospital because he needed urgent medical attention. During the whole week of the hellish adventure, Joe lost a third of his body weight and his health kept deteriorating rapidly.
Upon returning home, Joe spent more than 6 months at the hospital and was prescribed complete bed rest for a long time. Additionally, he also had to undergo numerous surgeries to regain sensation in his broken leg.
Joe and Simon Continued Participating in Expeditions
When Joe recovered after this tragic incident, everyone including his doctors assumed he would take a break from mountaineering. However, to everyone’s surprise, Joe resumed going on expeditions soon after his recovery.
On the other hand, Simon also continued participating in expeditions and he returned to the Cordillera Huayhuash in 2010, 25 years after his first climb there with Joe Simpson. In 2010 he led a group of trekkers to the base camp of Siula Grande.
Touching The Void
Joe also went ahead to write a book describing his ordeal while climbing Siula Grande. The book was titled “Touching the Void” which was published in 1988.
It became an instant hit and was also adapted into a documentary in 2003 of the same name. Later Joe wrote some more books about mountaineering and how it had changed him as a person.
Resilience and Strength
This is a great story to learn how resilience and strength can allow an individual to get out of difficult situations. If at any moment, Joe or Yates would have lost hope they wouldn’t be alive today.
They did not lose faith and kept moving forward despite all difficulties. If people follow the same attitude in life, they sure will achieve great things.