There have been many inspiring mountaineering stories over the years, but none more incredible than the story of Joe Simpson (the author) and Simon Yates. After summiting the formidable Siula Grande in Peru, Simpson accidentally falls a far distance down the mountain face and breaks his leg in the process, thus disabling him from climbing. Yates, still tied in with Simpson but much higher up on the mountain, presumes Simpson to be dead and cuts the rope linking them together, causing Simpson to plunge 150 feet into a crevasse. Miraculously, Simpson survives, and the rest of the book describes his arduous journey crawling his way back to base camp to catch Yates just hours before he was about to leave. “Void” is truly a tour-de-force.
