Touching The Void - What Have We Learnt 27 Years On?

In the South American Summer of 1985 two young, enthusiastic and skilful climbers set out to be the first to scale the previously unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were two hardy Englishman on a mission to prove that anything is possible through hard work and dedication. No one could have ever imagined what was to come, and 27 years on people are still asking how?

The two Englishman set out to climb the west face alpine style, which means that the mountain is scaled in one big push with the bare minimum of equipment. Joe and Simon had the climb of their lives in some of the toughest snow conditions in the world. On the morning of the third day they left the west face and stood on the north ridge. This is still heralded as one of the biggest achievements in mountaineering.

The trek back down was treacherous and both climbers knew that 80% of accidents happen on the way down. After misplacing an ice axe placement Joe fell landing on his leg. His Tibia was forced through the knee joint shattering his leg and any hopes of survival.

The type of fracture that Simpson sustained was a compound & closed fracture of the highest degree. Smashing through the knee joint ensured that there was zero mobility and pain of the highest order. Upon Seeing Simpson Yates immediately knew that the expedition had gone from being hard to a battle of survival.

Both climbers at this stage were suffering from acute dehydration and were in the early of stages of hypothermia. Exhausted from the hardest climb of their career they were now faced with the toughest battle in their young lives. Just to get down before the accident would have been tough and now Simon knew that not only was Joe likely to die, but he would also have a slim chance of survival himself if he chose to help his dear friend.

What happened next is forever more locked into mountaineering folklore. Simon quickly got his thoughts together and lowered Joe down the mountain through a combination of sheer strength, determination and skilful rope work. Joe later recalled on how "he had never heard of such a rescue" and to this day it is unsure if it has been repeated. Sadly when they were nearing the bottom of the ridge Joe fell over a crevasse and after a good few hours Simon not knowing what had happened was forced to cut the rope or die himself.

After a 150ft drop by a way of some miracle Joe survived and came round on an ice ledge in the crevasse. If he had fallen 10 cm to the left he would have been dead. Joe battled his mind and body for many long hours certain that he was going to die. However his spirit to survive eventually lead him to climb out of the crevasse whilst suffering from a broken leg, hypothermia and severe dehydration. He spent the next three days crawling back to their base camp with no food, water or help. The story is heralded as one of the most remarkable tale of survival ever.

Twenty Seven years on many still ask why did Simon cut the rope? And how could Joe of survived when us mere mortals are told not to go out in the sun without ten litres of water. The truth is that in some cases first aid principles go out the window and life gets stripped down and simplified. No mountaineering classes were responsible for Joe's survival. It was down to an innate ability to keep going even when it seems like there is no hope. In the words of Winston Churchill "When you're going through hell keep going".

Leading mountain rescue volunteer Geoff Goond believes "life is for learning", and has an infectious passion for first aid. Did you know how to treat a leg fracture? If not then visit the manual handling courses blog @ http://www.train-aid.co.uk for video tutorials.

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/touching-the-void-what-have-we-learnt-27-years-on--289366