ken4ord Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 All this talk about Simon, what about Joe. Some things I thought of when I saw the movie last night. First should Joe have kept his whole pack? I think I would have trimmed it down so to the necessities. Was it really beneficial to carry a spent stove among other items? Should he have kept pulling the rope down to himself once he realized Simon wasn't attached to it? Should he have splinted his leg earlier? over all thought the movie was most excellent. Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 Yes, yes, and yes. But then why did Big Jim carry two completely frozen water bottles to the top of Everest and back? The old brain doesn't always work too good up there. Quote
iain Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 I assume "conservative" people from this board will sneak in, since proceeds will go directly to fund an outspoken Greenpeace activist. Quote
texplorer Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 Amazing this Simon dude. . .first he cuts the rope and then he has the gaul to ridicule people for being terrible singers on national TV. Quote
iain Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 AND he produced a highly entertaining eponymous game, destined to be all the rage in the catbirdseat friday night scrabble rabble. Quote
lummox Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 mutha fuka should have not fallen and gotten hurt. Quote
ken4ord Posted February 5, 2004 Author Posted February 5, 2004 Yep, shit happens, especially when your crawling through it. Quote
girlclimber Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 Joe didn't realize Simon wasn't at the other end of the rope until it came sailing down into the crevasse Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 5, 2004 Posted February 5, 2004 Joe didn't realize Simon wasn't at the other end of the rope until it came sailing down into the crevasse He wouldn't have gotten out of the crevasse without that rope. Quote
ken4ord Posted February 6, 2004 Author Posted February 6, 2004 Joe didn't realize Simon wasn't at the other end of the rope until it came sailing down into the crevasse He wouldn't have gotten out of the crevasse without that rope. Well he knew that he wasn't feeling Simon at the other end, if he would have left it hanging up through the opening at least there would be a chance of Simon seeing the line and looking for him. Eventually he needed the rope though once he decided he was going to try and get out. Quote
glen Posted February 6, 2004 Posted February 6, 2004 I think that it is telling that Simon was given a hard time after getting back for having cut the rope, despite the fact that the person on the other end (Joe) supported the decision. Is the crap given to Joe now any different? I think that hindsight is a heck of alot better than what you know at the time. Wouldn't we ALL have done something different if we had been able to see the future and/or been thinking clearly at the time. I think the main lessons in Touching the Void are: a) Joe Simpson is a tough MF, b) resourcefullness and grit will get you through a lot, c) sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't- chance is a fact of life. And yeah, maybe they did some stuff wrong, but I think that at most points, they made good decisions in a demanding environment. Quote
chris Posted February 6, 2004 Posted February 6, 2004 Actually, 1. Joe states that he ditched all the "extraneous" gear when he exited the crevasse and realized he was going to have to crawl/hobble/scream back to camp. 2. He didn't realize Simon WASN'T on the other end until he was looking at a cut rope. 3. They didn't splint his leg because he needed to use both crampons at the end of each ropelength. Quote
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