Cutting the Rope In Touching the Void by Joe Simpson two friends Joe Simpson and Simon Yates are climbing a mountain that had never been climbed before On the way down Joe falls off of a cornice and breaks his leg While Simon is lowering Joe down the mountain Joe goes off an ice cliff and is hanging in mid air After what seemed like an eternity Simon had to make a decision to keep trying to rescue Joe and kill both of them in the process or to take out his pocket knife and cut the rope He chose