Dark Shadows Falling: Amazon.ca: Joe Simpson: Books

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The author of Touching the Void interweaves stories of his own mountaineering adventures with reflective consideration of recent tragedies on the world's loftiest peaks. As more people take to the mountains--many of them amateurs and dilettantes who can afford to hire guides of varying levels of expertise--the odds of disaster loom ever higher. Simpson weighs in on "summit fever," the treatment of local sherpas, and what he sees as unimaginative "yak routes" up the once-grand mountains. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

In 1992, a climber was left to die by other climbers on Mount Everest, which horrified Joe Simpson who was himself left for dead in Peru in 1985. In this book Simpson explores anecdotally and in heated debates with his climbing companions on Pumori, the moral climate of mountaineering in the 1990s.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars All outdoor adventure people should read this book, Nov 1 2005

By

NorthVan Dave (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Dark Shadows Falling (Paperback)

No one will ever accuse Joe Simpson of not writing from the heart. This book explores the counsumerization of mountaineering and how the sport has changed from people who used to love getting outside and enjoying the challenge of climbing a mountain, to one of where people do things simply because they have the cash and the time.

This book is well written and a fairly easy read. Although it is easy to get bogged down in some of the climbing terminology, so be sure to keep a dictionary on-hard.

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4.0 out of 5 stars ETHICS IN THE MOUNTAINS..., Jun 8 2002

By

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Dark Shadows Falling (Paperback)

Joe Simpson writes from the heart. He is clearly a man, as well as a mountaineer, of conscience. It is about time that someone put into words what many people are, undoubtedly, thinking. He explores the ethics of some of the bad behavior being exhibited today by some so called mountaineers. While the writing may be a little choppy at times, his message is a powerful one.

Conservationists should take heart. The author is disgusted by the conditions found on formerly pristine mountains. The once unsullied beauty of many of nature's wonders is being fouled by human detritus. The amount of garbage being left behind on Mount Everest by expeditioners is disgusting. Get off Everest, if you cannot or will not clean up after yourselves. There is no maid service on Mount Everest!

The author tackles head on the deplorable way that Sherpas, as well as other native peoples, are treated by expeditioners. Often ill clothed and ill equipped for the harsh climatic conditions found at higher altitudes, there is evidence of little regard for their welfare. In catering to an expeditioner's needs, however, these are the very people who make it possible for expeditioners to attain a certain level of physical comfort. Yet, when disaster strikes, they are often left to die by the mountainside by members of a throwaway society. How quickly some forget that it is the Sherpas who make many expeditions possible, and who are oftentimes the unsung heroes when a calamity occurs. Talk about a thankless job!

It is incredible that human beings are so easily discarded, as if they were nothing more than a disposable can of soda. Putting a higher value on material goods, which can easily be replaced, or on a so called thrill, over the life a fellow human being, is one of Joe's pet peeves and rightly so! It is always startling to read that a climber has passed over or by the body of a still living, sentient human being, who is is distress or at the cusp of death, and not offered any assistance or succor to that person but, instead, has raced on to try and summit or even just returned to one's relatively warm tent under the premise that there isn't much one can do. You have to wonder at the total self-absorbtion and lack of humanity inherent in that person. Joe calls these people to task in no uncertain terms.

Joe Simpson's feelings about mountaineering recall to mind some of those voiced by world class climber and Chamonix guide, Gaston Rebuffat, in his book "Starlight and Storm'. They both seem to share the same purity of vision and exhultation in the climb itself. They both seem to share a belief in the brotherhood of the rope. Unfortunately, Gaston Rebuffat is no longer amongst us. One may only hope that Joe Simpson is not a lone voice crying in the wilderness.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Preachy, repetitive, compelling..., Mar 27 2001

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David S (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

My title says it all. He is preachy and opinionated, repeats his point incessantly, but writes well when describing adventure and disaster.

You'll need a glossary of climbing terms!

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