Aron Ralston
Aron Lee Ralston (born October 27, 1975) is an American mountain climber who became famous in May 2003 when he was forced to amputate his lower right arm with a dull knife in order to free himself after his arm became trapped by a boulder when he was mountaineering in Utah.
Biography
Personal Life
Ralston, a student of mechanical engineering and French at Carnegie Mellon University, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Carnegie Mellon, he served as a Resident Assistant, studied abroad, and was an active intramural sports participant. He left his job as a mechanical engineer with Intel in 2002 to climb all of Colorado's "fourteeners", or peaks over 14,000 feet high during the winter season.
The Accident
While he was on a canyoneering trip in Blue John Canyon (near Moab, Utah), a boulder dislodged, crushing his right forearm and pinning it against the canyon wall. Ralston had not told anyone of his hiking plans and knew no one would be searching for him. Assuming that he would die, he spent five days slowly sipping his small amount of remaining water while trying to extricate his arm. He eventually ran out of water and began to drink his own urine, carved his name, date of birth and presumed date of death into the sandstone canyon wall, and videotaped his last goodbyes to his family.
After five days of trying to lift and break the boulder, a dehydrated and delirious Ralston prepared to cut off his already-dead arm by levering it against a chockstone, which snapped the radius and ulna bones. Using the dull blade on his multiuse tool, he cut the soft tissue around the break. He then used the tool's pliers to tear at the tougher tendons. Although he never named the make of the tool other than to say it was not Leatherman, he did describe it as "what you'd get if you bought a $15 flashlight and got a free multi-use tool".[1] After freeing himself, he was still eight miles from his stick shift truck, and he had no cellular phone. He had to rappel down a 65-foot sheer wall, then hike out of the canyon in the hot midday sun. While hiking out, he encountered a family of three on vacation from the Netherlands, who gave him water, two Oreo cookies, and all the food that they had. They then alerted the authorities. He was ultimately rescued by a helicopter search team. His arm was retrieved by park authorities and removed from under the boulder. It was cremated and given to Ralston. He returned to the boulder and left the ashes there.
The incident has given Ralston something of a celebrity status and has even inspired spin offs such as Stanford University's Aron Ralston MAN Game.
Aftermath of Accident
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
Climbing
Ralston still climbs mountains prolifically, the most recent in Argentina. In 2005, Ralston became the first person to climb all of Colorado's mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation solo in winter, a project he started in 1997 and had to put on hold due to his accident in Blue John Canyon.[2]
In September 2010, Ralston intends to climb Mount Everest along with polar explorer Eric Larsen in order to raise public awareness on climate change.[3]
Media Appearances
On July 21, 2003, Ralston appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman; on October 6, 2005, Ralston appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On September 10, 2004, Ralston's story was featured on a two-hour edition of Dateline NBC called "Desperate Days in Blue John Canyon".
Ralston appeared as a panelist in Miller Lite's "Man Laws" ad campaign.
In 2003, Aron was named the first Shining Star of Perseverance by the WillReturn Council of Assurant Employee Benefits.[4]
Other Projects
As a corporate speaker, he is paid between $15,000 and $37,000 per speech.[5] On May 4, 2007, Ralston appeared at Swiss Economic Forum and gave a speech about "how he did not lose his hand, but gained his life back".[6]
Ralston documented his experience in a book titled Between a Rock and a Hard Place (ISBN 0-7434-9281-1), published by Atria Books on September 7, 2004.
'127 hours'
The British Film director Danny Boyle is currently working on the movie "127 hours" about the true story of Ralston.[7] Filming is expected to take place in March next year, with a release date scheduled for late 2010. Fox Searchlight will be funding the film.[8]
References
- ^ "CMU grad describes cutting off his arm to save his life". Retrieved 2007-03-21.
- ^ "My Summit Problem". Retrieved 2007-03-21.
- ^ "Explorers eye poles, Everest on climate mission". Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ Perseverance Hall of Fame
- ^ Pushing the Limit NY Times, March 31, 2009
- ^ "Aron Ralston (Bergsteiger) als Überraschungsgast" (in German). Swiss Economic Forum. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|trans_title=,|month=, and|coauthors=(help) - ^ Spend 127 Hours with Danny Boyle
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/05/danny-boyle-aron-ralston
Oscar winning director Danny Boyle is set make a movie titled 127 HOURS.
External links
- Interview with Ralston on NPR's "Day to Day": [1]