Simon Yates goes ‘Beyond the Void’ one last time

‘Life and death’ is a common phrase used to express a difficult decision, but few people ever really have to face the actual reality of that choice. However, one inspirational man to have done so is offering UK audiences a final opportunity to join him as he recounts the highs and lows of life as a mountaineer in his ‘audience with…’ style theatre show, Beyond the Void, sponsored by adventure travel specialists World Expeditions and presented by Speakers from the Edge.

Mountaineering expert Simon Yates is one of the world’s most prolific and accomplished mountaineers, perhaps best known and most revered for the harsh decision he faced in 1985 during his descent of Peru’s Siula Grande with climbing partner Joe Simpson, when, believing Joe to be dead following a severe fall, Simon had to make the stark choice to cut the rope that joined them in order to save his own life – a story retold in Joe’s best selling book and the BAFTA award-winning film, Touching the Void, that made both men household names.

Over the past two decades, Simon has dedicated his life to climbing and has an international reputation as one of the most successful exploratory mountaineers in the world. Beyond the Void is a gripping lecture-show in which Simon narrates a humorous and philosophical journey through his white-knuckle experiences. With his dry wit and rational approach, Simon’s lecture is both inspirational and entertaining, while his stunning images transport the audience to some of the highest and most treacherous peaks in the world.

Simon describes his show as “amazing tales from an incredible life lived to the full” and hopes that it will give his audience a taste of both the mountain environment and the extreme mental and physical challenges he has faced.

Based in the Lake District, Simon has an extensive climbing portfolio having climbed in some of the most remote and rarely visited mountain ranges in the world. He has made numerous first ascents in the Pakistani Karakoram, Tien Shan mountain range in Kazakhstan and the Peruvian Andes and has recently returned from completing a first ascent of Monte Iorana in Chilean Tierra del Fuego.

In July 2009, Simon will lead a group on a 23-day expedition to Peak Lenin, the second-highest peak in the Pamir Mountain Range (at 7134m), from the Kyrgyzstan side of the mountain, for Beyond the Void show sponsor, World Expeditions.

Simon Yates’ Beyond the Void is touring UK theatres, arts centres and concert halls for the final time throughout spring 2009 and will be showing at various UK venues from 31 January to 11 March. For venue details visit Worldexpeditions.com.