Touching the Void

By Joe Simpson

A climber's fall sparks a desperate survival battle in the Andes.

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218 pages

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Bookroo's summary

After a catastrophic fall in the Andes, Joe Simpson faces a brutal fight for survival with a broken leg and dwindling hope. As a blizzard rages, his partner, Simon Yates, makes a heart-wrenching decision to cut the rope, believing Joe lost. Yet, against all odds, Joe crawls through the icy wilderness, battling starvation and frostbite. Will he reach safety before it's too late? This gripping tale of endurance and friendship tests the limits of human spirit and courage.

From the publisher

Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching base camp hours before Yates had planned to leave.How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival, and a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship.

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