The Beckoning Silence is one of the compelling mountaineering books written by Joe Simpson. It’s not as good as his Touching the Void, in my opinion, but is still brilliant:
The Beckoning Silence – Amazon
This month a documentary — also called The Beckoning Silence — with Joe Simpson as narrator, will be released. The film is loosely adapted from Joe’s book and was created by the same team that made the BAFTA-award-winning documentary Touching the Void, my favourite outdoor film ever. (It happened in the remote Huayhuash Mountains in Peru.)
The new film The Beckoning Silence is …
… the true story of four twenty-something climbers … who attempted to climb the notorious North Face of the Eiger in 1936. They began their ascent via an access shaft from a railway tunnel that ran halfway up the mountain, but before long, tragedy struck.
… unlike Touching the Void, this distinctly chilling story does not have a happy ending. All eventually perished. Kurz was the last to die, spending a frostbitten night within feet of rescuers before signing off with the line: “Ich kann nicht mehr” (I cannot go on). …
Joe Simpson: High flyer – The Independent
If it’s half as good as Touching the Void, it will be well worth getting a copy of the new film. (Available on 4DVD on November 5th.)
The Beckoning Silence will be shown at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival in the UK November 17th with Joe and the production crew in attendance. I’d love to be at that screening!
(via The Piton)
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