Siula Grande - Touching The Void Ascent

Touching The Void Ascent

In 1985 Siula Grande was climbed by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. Their ascent was made famous by Simpson's book Touching the Void, which describes the ascent and subsequent harrowing descent of the mountain. The book was made into a film of the same title in 2003. Although they ascended the West face, and thereby became the first to reach the summit by that route, they chose the North Ridge (first descended in 1936 by an Austrian team) for their descent, which was made almost impossible by horrible weather. All subsequent climbers have avoided the ridge and rappelled back down the face. As of 2012 the south face has not been climbed.

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Famous quotes containing the word ascent:

    I lay awake awhile, watching the ascent of the sparks through the firs, and sometimes their descent in half-extinguished cinders on my blanket. They were as interesting as fireworks, going up in endless, successive crowds, each after an explosion, in an eager, serpentine course, some to five or six rods above the tree-tops before they went out.
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