Touching the Void

I love the mountain. My father is a passionate mountaineer and our parents would take my brother and me on trips to the mountains every summer in our childhood. Those remain some of my best vacations. The feeling you have when you are on the top of the mountain has no comparison… Without much effort, you empty your thoughts and what you experience is absolute freedom. All these emotions came back to me when I watched Touching the Void last week and were probably what made a remarkable true story even more impactful. Without pretending to know more about it than I do, I believe that you have to know a little about the mountain to understand why for some people this is their life.

The film was based on the international best seller of Joe Simpson, one of the two young professional mountaineers who, in May 1985, set off to scale the unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande, a remote and treacherous peak in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson and Simon Yates reached their summit, but shortly after starting the descent, an accident turned their daring expedition into a desperate fight for survival. A lesson of life, camaraderie, human endurance and undying motivation to live when your experience and every ache in your body tells you that in fact your chances of survival are close to zero. I’ll tell you this: Joe Simpson is now one of my heroes. 18 years later, at the time this movie was made, he still had tears in his eyes when he was recounting his story. His book is already on my wish list.

video: YouTube

5 Responses to Touching the Void

Elisabeth Ruth wrote on
--> 14 May 2013 at 11:33 am

Trully inspirational! This is something I need to see. The book may come in handy, also:) Thanks, Ada
LatteLisa wrote on
--> 14 May 2013 at 5:24 pm

I think I have only seen parts of Touching the Void, not the entire film. But it is interesting to find this on your blog today because a friend of ours climbed the Ama Dablam in the Himalayas a few years back with Simon Yates and a few other Icelanders and made a documentary about it.

Mountain climbing hasn’t really been my thing (I have only climbed a few in Iceland and that was certainly nothing risky) but I have friends who love this sport.
- classiq wrote on
  --> 14 May 2013 at 5:50 pm
  
  Lisa, I haven’t climbed anything risky either (well, I’ve climbed the highest mountains in Romania, but they are not higher than 2.544 m, they are not quite easy to climb, but they don’t require professional equipment either, not in the summer anyhow), but I love this sport and when I see people willing to risk their lives to climb a mountain and the sacrifices they make, I can not but admire them. They remind me that you must put so much passion into what you do if you want your work to be worthwhile. And there is something else about this story: it’s a bit controversial, as Simon Yates was practically accused that he left his friend die. I won’t say more, but it’s interesting to watch.
Nadya's Side Of The Road wrote on
--> 14 May 2013 at 6:13 pm

Looks very interesting. I also love mountains so much!

Have you ever seen movies Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight with Julie Delpy? I think you’ll like them. Movies are not about mountains, but about love. Very good movies. I met Julie Delpy last Thursday after Before Midnight Premiere. She is amazing actress and person. I had 2 minute conversation with her and she is just outstanding!
- classiq wrote on
  --> 14 May 2013 at 6:40 pm
  
  Nadya, I have to admit I haven’t seen those movies, so thank you for pointing them out. I’m sure it was lovely to meet Julie Delpy, if only for a few minutes.