Touching the void

Good evening. I drank German beer today. It was good.

7a) Write a letter to Joe’s parents explaining what happened and why you cut the rope.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Simpson,

I was Simon. I had climbed Siula Grande with Joe.
I’m very sorry, I killed Joe when we were getting down the Siula Grande.
We were exhausted and Joe had injured his leg.
To survive, I had cut the rope which tied us each other.
I am going to do my best to pay for the crime for your son.
Once again, I am so sorry for what I have done.

Simon

7b)
Q1) Did Simon make the right decision to cut the rope?
A1) Yes he did. If he didn’t do so, they would be dead.
Q2) Would you have done the same?
A2) No l wouldn’t. I would select to die together.
Q3) If you were Joe, would you forgive Simon?
A3) Of course, I would forgive him.

Yoichi

Toucing the Void

[Click on the title to watch the trailer for the film - 2 mins. Jim]

After Reading Question 9
Wrie a short summary for a cinema guide explaining what the film is about and encouraging people to go and see it.

This is a true story about two men who climbed one of the most difficult and dangerous mountains in the world. Joe and Simon were good friend and they had done a lot of climbing together.They were a good team, they know everything that other's thinking. One day, they challenged Cordillera Huayhuash mountain range, a group of mountains in the Andes in Peru.
Could they stand at the summit? They met a lot of problems!How did they do?What did they judge?It would change their fate. In the film, there are beautiful view of mountains in the Andes. This is a first time, the camera had entered in the Andes. Thrill, friendship, hard work of climber and surprise.At last, could they survive?Result is in the film. Go to the cinema soon.

Touching the Void

After I'd finished the book, it's hard to believe the book is fact-inspired, and I felt like what was really exciting about this story was not its attractiveness, but the fact that it's a true story. All of comment and thinking carrys a lot of weight.Story in the climbing generally tends to place more emphasis on excitement and less on psychological-descriptions. The book I've read has a lot of psychological-descriptions and these word are impressive even though it's abridged edition book.

The story was move into the movie which called "Unmei wo waketa zairu". I knew the title and it previously didn't attract me, however now I want to see the movie.

Touching the Void

Touching the Void was made into a highly successful documentary film in 2004. Write a short summary for a cinema guide explaing what the film is about and encouraging people to go and see it.

In 1985, in the Peruvian Andes, two young men, Joe and Simon, were climbing the ice wall.
Everything looked fine, but they couldn’t possibly realize that cruel happening was waiting.
On the way of coming down, Joe broke his leg and fell into crevasse. Simon had to make a terrible decision to cut the rope or to die together.
This is a true story which shows what is courage and friendship. You must be excited and impressed.

Flame of Adventure - book report

I actually read this book during my trip to the UK (most of it on the way there because British Airways is rubbish) in July - I haven't posted about it because I lost it on my way back. I don't like losing books (just have a look in our office - our shelves have four times as many English titles as the library does!)

This is a mountaineering/biographical book. The author is Simon Yates. I know he isn't famous here. Which I find amazing, because he and his best friend lived one of those "urban legends". Find out for yourselves - google a bit? His best friend's name was Joe Simpson.

This book actually annoyed me. I understood this man's situation after his trip to South America. I grew up in Sheffield; I even climbed on some of the crags - I doubt my scrabbling efforts up Burbage Edge or Stannage rated much. "V Diff" was my limit.

I found this book annoying, because I got the feeling that no matter how traumatic Simon's experiences were, he made a series of dumb mistakes, and seemed to be a difficult person to be around. Maybe it's just the way he has written about his experiences in Pakistan etc, but I wouldn't enjoy travelling with him - no matter how fabulous the sccenery was!

In contrast, Simpson's books are breath-taking; "Beckoning Silence" in particular rates as one of my favourite all-time books. Flame of Adventure doesn't hold a candle to it.