Touching the Void mountaineer tells of his climbing life

Best known for his harrowing expedition to the Andes documented in Touching the Void, Simon is one of the most famous and accomplished exploratory mountaineers of his time.

Life and death is a common phrase used to express a difficult decision, but few people ever really have to face the reality of that choice. Simon is a man who had to take such a decision, whilst trapped on his descent from Peru’s Siula Grande with climbing partner Joe Simpson. Believing Joe to be dead on the end of the rope joining the pair, and being slowly pulled off the mountain whilst losing all feeling in his hands, Simon was forced to make the difficult decision to cut the rope that joined them in order to save his own life – a story retold in the best-selling book and the BAFTA award-winning film, Touching the Void, that made both men household names.

Since this fateful expedition in 1985, Simon has gone on to climb in some of the most remote and rarely explored mountain ranges of the world. From the Arctic to the Antarctic, Alaska to Central Asia, there is hardly a significant range he has not visited. His three books (Against the Wall, Flame of Adventure and The Wild Within) not only chart over 30 years of mountaineering exploits, but also provide personal reflections on topical issues of the time such as how digital communication has changed the experience of mountaineering.

Come along and witness Simon’s tireless journey from that mountain in Peru to some of the remotest on the planet and share with him the drama, excitement and beauty of modern, lightweight alpinism. Told with wit, dry humour and lavishly illustrated with images and video collected on his great climbs.

My Mountain Life with Simon Yates is at the Hall For Cornwall on Wednesday, September 20, at 7.30pm. For informationand tickets go to hallforcornwall.co.uk or call 01872 262466.