Aron Ralston is an American mechanical engineer and motivational speaker who survived an accident in a remote desert canyon in eastern Utah in 2003. During this incident Ralston had to have his right forearm amputated to free himself from a rock that kept him trapped for six days.
Then he had to fight his way through the rest of the canyon and rappel down a steep cliff about 20 meters high before he was rescued. His adventure was known internationally and his story gave rise to an autobiographical book entitled Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) published in 2004.
Also, the accident suffered by Ralston served as inspiration for a film released in 2010 and titled 127 Hours (in English: 127 Hours). On the other hand, after this episode, he continued climbing mountains with the help of a prosthesis. He also reaped an acting career and dedicated himself to giving motivational talks throughout the country.
After this "turning point in his life," Ralston became a celebrity and an inspiration to many people around the world. In 2005, he achieved the distinction of being the first person in the world to conquer the famous mountain range known as 'fourteeners' in the state of Colorado (United States).
The Aron Ralston Story
Birth and early years
Aron Lee Ralston was born on October 27, 1975 in Ohio (USA), in a middle-class family. His parents are Larry Ralston and Donna Ralston. The family moved to the state of Colorado when Aron was 12 years old. In his new home he cultivated his fondness for hiking through the canyons.
He completed his secondary education in this same town and began his higher studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. There she obtained a specialization in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to engineering, she had a knack for learning new languages and music, and learned to play the piano and speak French during her college days.
On the other hand, he was a sports enthusiast and during his school and college days, he spent a lot of time on sports activities. His friends remember him as a fervent lover of nature. Specifically, they recall his fondness for mountaineering, as in his own words "it gave him eternal peace of mind."
Once out of college, he began working as a full-time engineer, but he never felt comfortable with his job. He wanted to be a professional mountaineer, but couldn't decide to quit his job. However, in 2002, he made a sudden decision and resigned to pursue mountaineering professionally.
The accident
Aron Ralston's life-changing accident occurred on April 26, 2003. On that day, he was riding his mountain bike in Canyonlands National Park. Suddenly, he left the trail to explore a canyon on foot, and suddenly a large rock that moved in his path came loose, trapping his right hand against the canyon wall.
It is estimated that the rock weighed around 450 kilos. Falling on him, he completely immobilized his right arm without any chance of release. Since Ralston had decided to go on his journey alone, he had no one to help him. So he tried, unsuccessfully, to rescue his hand from the stone's trap.
On the other hand, Ralston had planned only one day's stay on the mountain, and his provisions were calculated accordingly. He had packed only 350 ml of water with it, along with two energy bars.
During the day, Aron made efforts to free himself, while at night he screamed for help. He hoped that the silence of the night would help spread his screams. Unfortunately, no one could hear him as it was a deserted area and there was no one else around.
The big decision
After a couple of days, Aron Ralston was convinced that it was impossible to free himself from the heavy rock and that there was no point in asking for help. So he decided to amputate his right hand to free himself. However, he immediately abandoned the plan when he realized that he did not have the equipment to do so.
He had carried with him a pocket knife that, although it could easily pierce meat, was not sharp enough to cut through bone. So several days passed until his supplies ran out. He was then forced to drink his own urine to hydrate himself and - in his words - prepared to die.
As part of this preparation, he carved his name, date of birth, and an estimated date of death on the stone. He slept that night, convinced that he would not wake up the next morning. However, he miraculously awoke to the strange idea that he could rip his forearm from the rest of his body and thus free himself.
With determination, he proceeded to make his idea concrete. Releasing himself, he came out of the barrel as fast as he could, bleeding profusely. Fortunately, a family on vacation saw him and gave him food and water, then took him to a hospital. Doctors gave him emergency care because he had lost about 25 percent of his blood.
Fame
When the story of Aron Ralston became public, he was immediately hailed as a hero. In July 2003, he appeared on the 'Late Night Show' with famed host David Letterman. This time his story was heard nationally and with it increased his popularity.
The accident made Aron a celebrity and he began appearing on numerous talk shows. Similarly, he lent his voice for an episode of the animated series "The Simpsons." He also began his career as a motivational speaker and giving speeches at national and international events.
Ralston wrote his autobiography, Between a Stone and a Hard Place, which immediately became a national best-seller. This story served to inspire British director Danny Boyle and turn it into a movie.
The film, starring James Franco in the title role, was released in 2010 and received huge ovations at the film festivals where it was screened. Although it was a great commercial and critical success, it was also highly controversial.
The final amputation scene was filmed with such intensity that it caused viewers to faint. Therefore, some of the countries where it was screened asked the creators to shorten or eliminate that scene from the film.
References
- The famous people. (s / f). Aron Ralston Biography. Taken from thefamouspeople.com.
- Hannaford, A. (2011, January 06). 127 Hours: Aron Ralston's story of survival. Taken from telegraph.co.uk.
- Campbell, D. (2003, May 03). Mountaineer trapped by boulder amputated arm with pocket knife. Taken from theguardian.com.
- Howell, P. (2010, November 11). Between a rock and a happy place. Taken from thestar.com.
- Brick, M. (2009, March 31). Climber Still Seeks Larger Meaning in His Epic Escape. Taken from nytimes.com.
- Kellett, C. (2010, September 15). Audience faints at 'realistic' amputation film. Taken from theage.com.au.