I just watched Joe Simpson’s “Touching the Void”, and I am left with a couple of nagging questions:
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When Joe lost one of his prussik loops, the narrative indicated that he gave up attempting to ascend the rope; however, it occurs to me that a second prussik or klemheist could have been improvised out of a runner (such as the ice tool sling). Failing that, would it not have been possible to ascend on a single prussik sling by tying successively higher in-line eights in the main rope for foot loops? I know the guy had a broken leg, but still, you’d think that the option would at least have occurred to him.
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The epilogue text indicated that Simon faced severe criticism from the climbing community for cutting the rope. I’m curious as to what the recommended action would have been in that situation? As was indicated in the narrative, he held the belay for an hour and a half before deciding to act. Whether Joe was conscious or not, it would have been quite apparent at that point that he was not capable of self-rescue. Since Simon had to do something, and according to the narrative there were no suitable anchoring options from his position, the only other option I see would be to rig a Z-pulley from his belay position; however, since that position was sketchy enough just to hold Joe’s weight, in all likelyhood any increased tension would have pulled Simon off the face. As such, I don’t see how he had any other options either.
Comments?