I
n May 1985, two climbers, Joe Simpson
and Simon Yates, left their base camp
by a lake and started climbing the
north face of a mountain called Siula
Grande in the Peruvian Andes. This climb
was incredibly dangerous, but the two
men were experienced climbers and
physically fit. On Day 1, the weather was
good and the climb
began well. At night,
they made a snow cave
and slept on the side of
the mountain.
Three days later, after
some very difficult climbing and bad
weather, the two men stood at the
summit. Unfortunately, the weather was
getting worse so they didn’t stay long.
As they were going down a mountain
ridge, a disaster happened. Simpson fell
and broke his knee. Quickly, Yates tied
a rope to himself and then to his friend.
He began lowering Simpson down the
mountain and, for hours and hours, Yates
helped Simpson get down the mountain.
They were getting close to the glacier
at the bottom of the mountain when
Simpson suddenly slipped. This time he
went over the edge of a cliff. He was
hanging in mid-air. Simpson shouted
up to Yates, but the wind was blowing
loudly and Yates couldn’t hear him.