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

Simpson’s tale of survival in Touching the Void underscores the perils of mountaineering. His account of breaking his leg, falling into a crevasse, and the numerous near-disasters preceding these accidents emphasize the sport’s perils. While the memoir is ultimately an inspiring account of survival against the odds, Simpson’s story also explores the psychology of mountaineers who actively place themselves in potentially fatal environments.

In a 2023 systematic review of mountaineering psychology, Dr. Patricia Jackman assessed data on mountaineers’ personality traits and the sensations they experience while climbing. The review notes that climbers typically display above-average mental toughness, a strong desire to test themselves, and a propensity for risk-taking and sensation-seeking activities. Jackman points out that mental toughness has both “benefits and drawbacks” in mountaineering (Jackman, Patricia C., et al. “The Psychology of Mountaineering Systematic Review.” International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2020). She asserts that this quality is essential in providing the motivation and stamina to persevere in challenging conditions. It also enables individuals to stay calm and logical in a crisis and “facilitate[s] more adaptive coping responses” (Jackman). On the other hand, Jackman argues that mental toughness can exacerbate already dangerous situations by making individuals reluctant to give up an ascent despite signs that it would be the most reasonable course of action.

The paradoxical elements of mental toughness that Jackman describes are evident in Touching the Void. Yates responded rationally and unemotionally in a crisis when he cut Simpson’s rope rather than allowing himself to be dragged over the cliff too. Meanwhile, Simpson’s adaptation to traverse the mountain with a broken leg demonstrated his ability to adapt. However, the mountaineers’ determination to summit Siula Grande countered their strong survival instincts. Although they gave up the ascent of training peaks when conditions become dangerous, they did not do so on Siula Grande, climbing at night and risking treacherous conditions. Simpson’s memoir also conveys the “positive affective response” that Jackman identifies in many mountaineers: When things are going well, “the extreme challenges and adventure involved in mountaineering” prompt a sense of elation and a feeling of being more vividly alive (Jackman).

In addition, Touching the Void explores the allure of unclimbed routes for mountaineers. Since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully summited the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, in 1953, few mountains remain unclimbed. Consequently, ambitious mountaineers increasingly turn to new routes on peaks that other climbers have already summited. Touching the Void describes how Simpson and Yates chose the most challenging (and previously unclimbed) route up Siula Grande’s West face. In his essay “Rules of Ascent,” Paul Sagar analyzes why mountaineers often choose the hardest ascent routes to reach mountain summits, arguing that an “informal, but very real, rule of mountaineering is that the harder an ascent, the more prestige and respect it deserves” (Sagar, Paul. “Rules of Ascent.” Aeon, 2017). In Touching the Void, Simpson underscores the importance of his achievement being recognized, reflecting that if he and Yates died, no one would ever know they successfully summited the West face. The concern tacitly acknowledges the kudos his achievement would garner in the mountaineering world. In discussing the psychology of mountaineers, Sagar cites philosopher Bernard Suits, who in his book The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia presents extreme mountaineering as a “game” in which individuals choose to “overcome unnecessary obstacles” (Sagar). Sagar then concludes: “For mountaineers, simply getting to the top can’t be the goal, in and of itself. Getting to the top via particular means—and thereby overcoming ‘unnecessary obstacles’—is what counts” (Sagar).

Simpson’s memoir explores a further psychological feature of mountaineering through one of his memoir’s central themes: The Ethics of Responsibility in Extreme Conditions. Yates’s decision to cut the rope connecting him to Simpson represented a life-or-death decision in the face of extreme circumstances. While Simpson defends Yates’s choice throughout the book, his praise was not shared by public opinion or even some members of the climbing community. While most mountaineers, including Sir Chris Bonington, agreed that Yates made the only rational decision, a minority felt that cutting the rope betrayed the absolute trust crucial between paired climbers. The incident led to debate among mountaineers about acceptable ethics in the “death zone” (above 8,000 meters, or approximately 26,000 feet). Author and mountaineer Jon Krakauer explores this concept in his book Eiger Dreams, asserting that extreme mountaineering conditions leave “so little margin for error that climbers now commonly begin their ascents with the understanding that if things go wrong, the bond between ropemates […] may be discarded in favor of a policy of every man for himself” (Krakauer, Jon. Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains. Lyons Press, 1992, p. 150).