Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When one is put into extreme danger or faced with death it takes an extreme mental, physical and emotional toll on them, the story of Aron Ralston in nothing short of insane. Some of his actions during his experience are unbelievable and shows this man could probably withstand anything thrown his way. What started off as a short trip to ride his bike and do some climbing that was of low difficultly, nothing crazy, and ended up turning into the experience of a lifetime.

After riding his bike 15 miles he planned to rappel down into Bluejohn Canyon but it went terribly wrong. While heading down a 3 foot wide slot he came to an 800 pound boulder wedged in this slot, he decided to use it to his advantage. He tested its stability then climbed on top. After maneuvering around on it the rock shifted and he knew he needed to get away from it so he let go of the boulder to drop to the rocks below him. While falling downward he looked up to see the huge rock following him down. Aron describes this moment, “The next three seconds play out at a tenth of their normal speed. Time dilates, as if I’m dreaming, and my reactions decelerate. In slow motion: The rock smashes my left hand against the south wall; my eyes register the collision, and I yank my left arm back as the rock ricochets; the boulder then crushes my right hand and ensnares my right arm at the wrist, palm in, thumb up, fingers extended; the rock slides another foot down the wall with my arm in tow, tearing the skin off the lateral side of my forearm. Then silence.” After quickly judging the situation he realized he should be his adrenaline power to the test, as this moment it was flowing through him. He was able to slightly budge the 800 pound rock but it only made it worse and he was even able to move the tremendously heavy rock back.

With very little supplies and the fact no one knew he was there, he knew he only had a few options, move the rock with his climbing supplies, chip away the rock to free his hand, sever his own arm, and (my favorite,) “cracking open my extra AA batteries on the boulder and hoping the acid erodes the chockstone but ¬doesn’t eat into my arm.” Aron quickly threw out the ideas that were somewhat ridiculous, the battery acid, and tried to chip away the rock with a cheap, imitation multi-tool. After failed attempts, he realized he only had two options, wait to be rescued or amputate the arm.

After being stuck for three days, Sunday to Tuesday, he ran out of all food