Joe Simpson Touching The Void

their lives that caused their relationship to be disastrous. Without these influences in their lives,

Touching the Void is a book about two guys, by the names of Joe and Simon. They are professional rock and mountain climbers. They are the best of the best and decide to team up to take on the Silu Grande. One of the biggest mountains in the world. It is that decision they make that will change their lives forever.

In order to continue climbing Everest, many aspects of climbing need to be improved before more people endanger their lives to try and reach the roof of the world. The guides have some areas that need the most reform. During the ascension of Everest the guides made a plethora mistakes that seemed insignificant but only aided in disaster. The guides first mistake is allowing “any bloody idiot [with enough determination] up” Everest (Krakauer 153). By allowing “any bloody idiot” with no climbing experience to try and climb the most challenging mountain in the world, the guides are almost inviting trouble. Having inexperienced climbers decreases the trust a climbing team has in one another, causing an individual approach to climbing the mountain and more reliance on the guides. While this approach appears fine, this fault is seen in addition to another in Scott Fischer’s expedition Mountain Madness. Due to the carefree manner in which the expedition was run, “clients [moved] up and down the mountain independently during the acclimation period, [Fischer] had to make a number of hurried, unplanned excursions between Base Camp and the upper camps when several clients experienced problems and needed to be escorted down,” (154). Two problems present in the Mountain Madness expedition were seen before the summit push: the allowance of inexperienced climbers and an unplanned climbing regime. A third problem that aided disaster was the difference in opinion in regards to the responsibilities of a guide on Everest. One guide “went down alone many hours ahead of the clients” and went “without supplemental oxygen” (318). These three major issues: allowing anyone up the mountain, not having a plan to climb Everest and differences in opinion. All contributed to the disaster on Everest in

Being responsible is a huge factor in guiding a mountain climbing team. There are a lot people on each team, and some are more experienced then others, so it takes a lot of coordination and cooperation from everyone. Rob Hall, because of his experience, knew he was responsible for making sure that everyone on his team was prepared for the summit of Everest. With that knowledge Rob Hall utilized his organization skills and "he'd fine-tuned a remarkably effective acclimatization plan" (p.74) that would enable all members of the team to adapt to the scarcity of oxygen in the atmosphere. Along with making sure he had an arrangement for how to acclimatize his team he also managed to consult "with the leaders of all the expeditions planning to climb Everest in the spring," and they agreed on which team "would be responsible for establishing and maintaining a route through the icefall" (p.80). Rob Hall had a very heavy load that he was responsible for as a guide in 1996 and he demonstrated how reliable he was in the way he took care of business using his ability to plan ahead and stay organized.

Similarly to the relationship shared by Amy and Lucas in the short story Gore, my

Romantic relationships are great, you are with the one person who truly understands you and there is no greater feeling. Lucy and Ed are trying to make a romantic relationship work but they didn’t start it with honesty. “Lying isn’t my idea of romance”. Lucy and Ed began their relationship based on lies. Ed “thinks about her finding out” he is “Shadow”. Ed “thinks about her being disappointed because” he is

This topic is relevant in today’s society because the price for climbers having fun might be for those climbers and rescuers losing their lives. If there is an accident or someone gets hurt because of a crime, society should give rescue services. But if someone is doing something that is obviously dangerous and they don’t have the proper training, it is not up to society to help them. So the next time someone is trying to climb Mt. Everest, they should look out for the green

Mt. Everest’s summit has always seemed an unattainable goal for most people. The idea that most people have is that if I can climb Mt Everest, I can accomplish anything. To have the money and desire to try to attempt it is one thing, but being able to endure the punishment is quite another. Beck Weathers, one of the climbers on this particular expedition, had such severe frostbite that he had to have his right arm, nose and the fingers on his left hand amputated. Everyone on the expedition suffered the rigors of Everest. The two expert guides, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, lost their lives due to a violent storm that ripped through during their descent from the summit. Their impaired judgment also contributed to their demise. Everest is no respecter of persons. Mt Everest is the most respected mountain in the whole world and if

One of the most important qualities that an elite climber must have is leadership. The elite climbers and guides must be able to meet a number of new people that are strangers to each other and build some sense of a team. Krakauer does not have a strong background in leading groups or building comradery, which is key for a climb like Everest. Krakauer says himself, “In climbing, having confidence in your partners is no small concern” (40). He also mentions how the actions of one climber can “affect the welfare of the entire team” (40). The type of group he climbed with on

“In climbing, having confidence in your partners is no small concern. One climber’s actions can affect the welfare of the entire team”(37)

Relationships are a result of what people put into it and what they take out. In The Odyssey by Homer, relationships show up as respectable, loyal, and moral. While other examples are corrupt, and immoral. Also relationships shows up in Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey. Some of the examples have great connections, and some other ones have no connection at all. The Last book I found some examples on relationships is Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie. The examples I found were romantic or just as a friend. The Odyssey, Beauty Sleep, and Midnight Pearls all have wonderful, and romantic relationships and other are horrible, not good relationships.

To start off it is important to realize that a spiritual bond is goes much deeper than a person’s surface needs and desires. A spiritual connection is a bond between two souls and its intense nature allows it to last even the harshest conditions. The speaker and his wife from “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” have a relationship that has reached this level as well, “Dull sublunary lovers’ love / (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit / Absence…” (Donne 13-15). “Sublunary” lovers refers to people whose relationships have not reached a spiritual level. Since, the relationship is “dull” and is physically oriented, the couples rely on intimacy and touch in order for the relationship to thrive. The speaker’s relationship with

There are many different kinds of relationships, and all of them require a commitment and an understanding between people. There are ties of friendship, relationships with family, those that we have with co-workers, and there are relationships in which two people are romantically involved. Regardless of the type of relationship, the desires are the same, to have perfect harmony between all connected. However, since we are human, a perfect relationship usually does not exist. When relationships are broken, or venture upon rocky seas, there comes a time when a person must decide if the union is important enough to work on mending the relationship.

The audience can relate to Joe and feel sympathy for him because he was a good man who did many great things for his family and in the end paid the ultimate price. Towards the end of the play, Joe's son Chris anguishes over the fatally flawed decision made by his father, thus eliciting the sympathy of the audience. However, this is not enough to detract from the audience relating to Joe as a

Joe is not just a companion but also in some ways a paternal and even