FREE TOUCHING THE VOID: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL PDF Anne Collins | 79 pages | 15 Jan 2008 | Macmillan Education | 9780230034457 | English | Oxford, United Kingdom Touching the Void by Joe Simpson | LibraryThing A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Touching The Void Joe Simpson. Transform this Plot Summary into a Study Guide. Joe proved his doctors wrong. He continued mountain climbing after two years of physical rehabilitation. From tohe attempted to climb the North Face of Eiger in Switzerland six times but had to abort due to bad weather conditions. Today Simpson is an author and motivational speaker. In the summer ofJoe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, decide to conquer an unclimbed route in the Peruvian Andes. The two young and headstrong men choose to climb the daunting West Face of the 20, foot Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash mountain range. If they are successful, their feat would be considered a major achievement in the mountaineering community. The attempt will test the physical endurance, bravery, and the will to live of two friends. On the ascent, the two climbers take turns serving as the lead and the belay point while roped together Touching the Void: Intermediate Level a foot rope. The journey begins with significant obstacles in the first few days. Joe and Simon overcome snowstorms and dangerous terrain to reach the summit. They are about four miles above sea level at the summit. Their climb is an incredible achievement. Joe and Simon are not able to celebrate their accomplishment for long. The ascent has taken them longer than they had planned due to bad Touching the Void: Intermediate Level. After running out of fuel for Touching the Void: Intermediate Level stove, they are no longer able to melt snow and ice to drink. They need to make a quick descent 3, feet to Touching the Void: Intermediate Level glacier below before they run out of daylight and more bad weather hits. As they make their descent down the dangerous, near-vertical North Ridge, Joe has an accident. He slips down an ice cliff and breaks his right leg and ankle. He worries that Joe will not make it off the mountain alive. Simon must now attempt to rescue Joe. Simon creates one foot rope by tying two foot lengths together. The knot in the ropes does not fit through the belay plate, a piece of climbing safety equipment used to control the rope and act as a friction brake. Joe has to stand on his left leg to create enough slack in the rope to keep rethreading the rope through the device. Using this complicated maneuver with the ropes, Simon attempts to lower Joe down the mountain. At first, this system works. The conditions around the two men get worse by the minute due to darkness and a storm. Simon makes a mistake because he cannot see or hear Joe. Simon inadvertently lowers Joe off of an outcropping. There is nothing Simon can do but hope that Joe can climb the rope. As Joe cannot let Simon know what Touching the Void: Intermediate Level happened, he tries to climb the rope. He tries to create a Prusik knot, which is a friction hitch that attaches two ropes together so they can be adjusted easily. His knot is not tied properly. This causes him to drop one of the cords. Joe is suspended into space Touching the Void: Intermediate Level more than an hour, thinking he is going to die. Simon is now fearful that they will both die as they are tied to the same rope. Simon makes an extremely difficult decision. To Touching the Void: Intermediate Level his life, he must cut the rope. His belay seat was not going to last much longer. Joe begins falling. He thinks that Simon must have fallen. Simon, who believes that Joe is dead, spends the night in a snow cave. He is racked with guilt and grief. After the storm ends, he completes the descent to base camp the next day. He does so despite hypothermia and extreme exhaustion. When Joe awakes, he is miraculously still alive. He finds that he has landed on a small ledge. He assumes that Simon will believe that he is dead. Instead of killing Joe, the cutting of the rope may have actually saved his life. Instead of enduring further exposure to the freezing wind, he landed in a more sheltered spot. Joe discovers that the rope has been cut and that he must make it down the mountain by himself to survive. After the storm, Joe now has to work the way down the mountain. He finds an exit back onto the glacier. Joe then has to crawl, walk and struggle the five miles back to base camp. In addition to his injuries, he is also starving and dehydrated. The agonizing journey will take every last ounce of his physical and spiritual strength to survive. He manages to reach base camp hours before Simon plans to leave and return to civilization. Touching the Void was made into a docudrama survival film of the same name in Touching The Void Summary | SuperSummary Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. As the two slowly attempt to descend down to escape the brutal cold and weather, a technical miscalculation results in Simon--in a desperate attempt to save his own life, believing that Joe has already or will soon die on the mountain--having to make the difficult decision to literally cut the rope that ties the two of them together, leaving Joe on the mountain to face a in his mind certain death. Of course, as the subtitle states, Joe does not in fact die, but rather somewhat miraculously, while facing tremendous pain and severe dehydration, manages to slowly make his Touching the Void: Intermediate Level down. I've had this book on my radar since finishing Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster a couple months ago, and I feel like that's the obvious book to compare this one too. While there were things that I liked about this one, I think that Krakauer's was Touching the Void: Intermediate Level better overall. This one was at many points extremely technical in its use of mountaineering jargon and other terms, making details of what the two were facing often somewhat hard to understand, though I did like the inclusion of pictures throughout the book. Also and perhaps relatedly, the first half or so of the book was, in my opinion, quite slow to get through. However, I do think that the pace definitely picked up after the accident, and I think that Simpson did a good job of capturing his internal mental state throughout his solo descent. I saw the documentary first which I'd give 5 stars - really worth watchingthen read the book. Simpson isn't the most exciting writer, but the story itself is incredible, and the emotional honesty that he and Simon Yates both provide gives it power. Simpson's gradual mental and physical collapse as he tries to survive is riveting. But I think it is Yates' heroism and the impossible choice he had to make - and then live with - that will stick with me. That they were also incredibly reckless somehow makes it more interesting. I mean, they took so many risks, how could they not see this coming? Ah, to be young and Touching the Void: Intermediate Level and invincible again. Touching the Void: Intermediate Level you play it steady, bluff like crazy or go all in? Me, describing this book? That is it. The best way to describe this book; it is an Experience. Joe Simpson and his friend Simon Yates are mountain climbers. They set out to climb a previously untested mountain range in the Andes Mountains. It was cold. It was dangerous. It was exhilarating. In the beginning of the book, the cold, the wet, the loneliness…I was left wondering what in the world these two men could possibly see fun about doing what they were doing! It just sounds miserable! But then, just like a good author should, Simpson provided the reason for me: For the first time in my life I knew what it meant to be isolated from people and society. It was wonderfully calming and tranquil to be here. I became aware of a feeling of complete freedom-to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to, and in whatever manner. Suddenly the whole day had changed. All lethargy was swept away by an invigorating independence. We had responsibilities to no one but ourselves now, there would be no more to intrude or come to our rescue… That quote comes from near the beginning of the book, as they are on their way up that crazy mountain. Come to our rescue…. Still makes me shiver. He wrote this book! The fall takes mere moments in words. After; is why you need to read this book. The physical journey, the spiritual journey, Touching the Void: Intermediate Level pain, and fear, and hope, and despair…these are reasons why you need to read this book. Joe Simpson, and Simon Yates, lay it all bare for the world to see. It is a moving, painful, and breath-taking journey to read. I challenge you to read this book and not feel COLD. Highly recommended and shows I really should step out of my comfort zone every once in awhile! Amazing true story.