QC 4 QuantumBrain

Firstly you don’t need to be a climber to appreciate the brilliance of this book. Joe Simpson has done it again. The Beckoning Silence is part autobiography, part adventure story and life philosophy all rolled into one epic journey, Joe’s life.

Joe wants to tell his story, why he started climbing, his inspirations and motivations?; why he climbed the West face of Siula Grande and how his non-belief in god pulled him through a desperate struggle for survival?; what climbing and the mountains mean to him and the justification of climbing them despite the all so present risk of not returning. Answers to these questions are framed around events in Joe’s life. From the books he read as a child about the North Face of the Eiger inspiring him to learn more about the mountains and eventually to become a mountaineer, to the soul searching moments where justifying the sport seemed almost impossible given the countless friends he had lost along the way.

The Beckoning Silence - Joe Simpson

Flying too high

At various stages during his journey Joe finds himself struggling to find cause to climb any longer. The fear of losing more friends and the realisation that his attitude towards climbing has been little more than a selfish one acts as a turning point in his life. These realisations are bought to head as a lifelong climbing partner and best friend Ian ‘Tat’ Tattersall gives the sport up completely for similar reasons, deciding instead to return to the old days of paragliding. Encouraged by Tat’s apparent wise move Joe too relearns his unforgotten skills in paragliding and takes to the skies. With new advances in technology paragliders seemed to be without much risk and the thrill of being outdoors combined with flying under one’s own expertise brings back many good memories for Joe.

Unfortunately the dream is short lived. News of a Tat’s death whilst paragliding in Greece stuns Joe and forces him into another reality check and to rethink his attitudes on living for dangerous sports. Life isn’t fair. Tat gave up climbing as a retreat from risky pursuits yet it is this retreat that ultimately led to his demise. Astonishingly Joe’s attitude changes once again and a theme so prevalent throughout the book becomes most stressed at this moment. One can only experience life to the fullest closest to death. Joe stares death in the face and continues to paraglide despite his tragic loss in Tat, if anything, it is Tat for which he carries on. When Joe eventually returned to flying he achieves a life long dream of a long distance glide. The glide takes him over the plains and rain forests of Brazil, the tale is told first person without a detail spared. Tat looks down on Joe.

Eigerwand

The latter part of the book tells the harrowing story of the an early attempt on the North Face of the Eiger. Joe has taken time to research down to the very last detail the tragedy of a four strong German climbing party on one of the first attempts at ascending the North Face. The team made up of Andreas Hinterstoisser, Willy Angerer, Edi Rainer and Toni Kurz attempted the climb during the summer of 1936; their endeavour ended in tragedy. All four met their end on the face, Toni Kurz was the last to die, his story is beyond the worst nightmare any mountaineer could imagine. Toni’s struggle for survival whilst hanging from a rope in the dire conditions of the Eiger paralleled in many ways Joes own experience on the West Face of Siula Grande, Peru, 1987. Despite rescue attempts Toni died of exposure hanging motionless from the end of a rope, in contrast it was the ‘cutting of the rope’ that saved Joe’s life under similar conditions during the descent of Siula Grande, a bitter irony.

In the the final few chapters, Joe describes his one and only ever attempt to climb the North Face of the Eiger. For many mountaineers the North Face represents the ultimate climbing achievement. Many see the mountain as a constant balancing act between life and death, as if the mountain itself decides who lives to tell the story. Goaded by another lifelong climbing partner, Joe and Ray set off to Switzerland to what they hope will complete their portfolio of epic climbs.

Nothing more will be said as it should be left to the reader to discover one of the last adventures of one of the worlds greatest adventurers.

Matt’s Fantabulous Book Rating: (*)(*)(*)(*)(* 4.5 star