Why did Simon Yates ultimately cut the rope?
As Yates lowered Simpson straight down the slope into the gloom and falling snow, Simpson slid silently over an unseen ice cliff into the darkness. His full weight came on the rope attached to Yates. Yates continued to lower him slowly, with frost damaged hands gripping the icy rope until the mid point knot came close to the belay plate. Still came no relief from his partner’s weight now any signal on the taught rope leading into the Void. Yates began to slip in his unstable belay position as sloughing snow began to fill his belay hole dug in the powder snow. Yates, with frozen hands and being pulled from his seat was unable to accomplish any of several common self rescue techniques that could have been used to pass the knot through the belay plate and continue lowering Simpson the second 150 feet into the darkness. Desperate, he found the knife in his pack and cut the rope that was dragging him down. Freed from the rope, he dug a cave and tried to sleep until daylight. Dehydration and
