Dark Shadows Falling

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.

View other editions of Dark Shadows Falling.
View books by Joe Simpson.

The long moan - Rated
Don't get me wrong this is a good book and I agree with a lot of Joe Simpson's points of view, but it is highly repetitive and not really a great piece of literature, I think his other books are much better.

Thought Provoking - Rated
Having read all of Joe Simpsons books this is the one that angers me most on several points. Joe is correct in his raging against the way that the big mountains are treated these days, with little concern by big expeditions of the state these impressive, once wildernesses have been left in. There are many photos in the book showing the immense amount of detritus and human corpses left on Mount Everest especially. This is horrifying in the extreme that this has been allowed to happen. In my opinion anything that can be carried up can be carried down. Expeditions should make all possible attempts to remove bodies from their own parties, if only for the sake of their relatives.
The other damning aspect Joe writes about is the complete disregard that many climbers have for their fellow mountaineers, stepping over people as they are dying with no thought of consoling or trying to help them, in their single-minded summit fever. Joe is rightly livid that this happens, seemingly regularly. Is this what people become when pushed to the limit?
The one aspect of this book that I really disagree with Joe about is his constant sniping about trekkers / hikers in mountain regions. He seems to feel that the only people allowed to climb mountains are those that do it by the hardest routes and in the purest sense. Whilst I agree that mountains should be climbed by "fair means", if this means that it can be walked up by a person with no technical skills, than this person has every right to enjoy the mountain too. Joe seems to forget that he too is a tourist in these mountainous regions of the world, not only the hordes of walkers. I agree that Sherpas and other porters should be paid and treated fairly, but many trekking companies have a good policy on this so for him to tar them all with the same brush is unforgiveable.
All in all this is an eye opener on the state of Everest, but also has a snobbish element from the climbing community. A very good read though!

JOE SIMPSON TELLS IT LIKE IT IS...AND PULLS NO PUNCHES! - Rated
Joe Simpson writes from the heart. He is clearly a man, as well as a mountaineer, of conscience. It is about time 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 and 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 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 in 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-absorption 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 exultation 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 can only hope that Joe Simpson is not a lone voice crying in the wilderness.

Compulsory reading for all "armchair" mountain enthusiasts ! - Rated
A graphic and enthralling exposé of the frailties of human life in the high mountain and a disturbing lack of compassion which can exist between fellow climbers. Having been to hell and back Joe Simpson knows what he's talking about (read "Touching the Void").

scathing commentary on the decline of climbing ethics - Rated
Joe Simpson, of Touching the Void fame, discusses the state of modern mountaineering ethics at the hands of those who would substitute money for experience and the egotism of a summit bid over the lives of other climbers. Simpson, who came up in the classic tradition of Alpine climbing, denounces the thoughtless actions of modern "climbers" who congest the slopes of the world's highest peaks with little or no regard for either personal safety or the safety of others, or their environmental impact on the peak itself. It challenges those of us who seek solace in the mountains to examine our own behavior while giving us an accurate yardstick upon which to measure our own morality.