Touching the Void (book) Touching the Void (book) Touching the Void is a 1988 book by Joe Simpson, recounting his and Simon Yates' successful but disastrous and nearly fatal climb of the 6,344-metre (20,813 foot) Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. It has sold over a million copies and has been translated into over 20 languages. In 2013 the 25th Anniversary eBook edition of Touching the Void was published by DirectAuthors.com. It features additional photography from the expedition. Simpson and Yates reach the summit of the previously unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande. Upon descent, Simpson slipped down an ice cliff and
The Mountaineers (opera) had a new work ready. Somerville is credited with the conception of "The Mountaineers". He was travelling in a train through the Rhine Valley when the idea came to him: "I had been glancing idly at a guide book, but the opening lines of a quaint legendary tale relating to some little village in the mountains suddenly held my interest, and when I had read it through I realised that here was the ideal story for an opera. Only the climax would have to be altered, for the story ended on a tragic note." Somerville showed "The Mountaineers" to Workman,