51 pages • 1 hour read
Joe SimpsonTouching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1988A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: “On the Edge”
Simpson realized that he had an inexplicable feeling of dread just before Yates fell through the cornice. He followed Yates along the ridge line, fearing it would collapse. As they descended, Simpson slipped and fell into Yates, who fortunately remained upright. As it grew dark, they went back up to the nearest ridge to sleep. Yates’s fingers were frostbitten, so Simpson dug the snow cave, and both were irritable. They ate their remaining food since they hoped to reach base camp by the afternoon of the following day.
A year earlier, Yates and his climbing partner Jon Sylvester were in the Mont Blanc range of the French Alps. Two Japanese climbers were following close behind them. Yates fell, but the belay piton saved him. Soon afterward, Yates and Sylvester saw the Japanese climbers fall to their deaths. Although the climbers were attached to the same belay piton that saved Yates, this time, it was torn from the rock. Witnessing the accident led Yates to reflect on the random nature of fate.
