Trapped – The Aron Ralston Story. Part 3.
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CHAPTER FOUR
Day Five
He had tried everything. Unable to cut the rock away, he had ruined his knife in the process. The rope system he had invented to lift the boulder off his arm had had no effect at all. Finally, the horrible idea of cutting his own arm off had turned out to be unworkable. His small knife was totally useless against the hard bone of his arm.
Thinking back over the last five days, Aron calculated he had been trapped for 90 hours – most of them without sleep – and had been without water for almost 30 hours. He took out his video camera and spoke to his family one last time. Again, he told them he loved them, that he wanted them to be happy, that they should remember him with a smile.
The day was cool, and Aron knew that the next night would be the coldest yet. He knew he wouldn’t survive, yet he was completely calm. He felt a disconnected sense of happiness, of freedom. He had accepted his situation.
As night came and the temperatures of the canyon fell to freezing and the wind screamed around him, Aron cut his name and date of birth into the rock. Below, he added the day’s date, April 3, sure it would be the date of his death. He sat back and started to dream.
Among the pictures in his mind he saw a small boy, a boy he knew immediately was his son. He saw his son looking up at him, smiling. Then he saw himself, with only one hand, picking up the small boy, using his handless right arm to support him. They laughed together in the sunshine. Then suddenly, the boy disappeared. Aron was back in the canyon, still trapped in the cold night. But now, everything had changed. Now he believed, somehow, he would live.
By morning Aron had hardly any energy left. In sudden violent anger, he started to attack the boulder with a small rock, as if to break it into pieces. The rock sent horribly painful shocks up his left hand. He stopped, and cleared the pieces of rock off his trapped arm with his knife. By accident the knife cut his trapped hand. He didn’t feel a thing as the knife sank straight in, letting out a terrible smell of gases. His hand was dead. All at once he hated it. He didn’t want it, it was already dead and it was killing him, too.
He started to pull violently, screaming at his hand, hating it, trying to tear it off. Suddenly, with the violent movement of his body against the rock, he felt his arm bend.
And then he understood: he could use the boulder. He could use the boulder to break the bones in his arm. Now everything had changed. Before, it was the boulder that was trapping him. Now he realised that it wasn’t the boulder. His dead hand was trapping him. The boulder would set him free!
Without even thinking, hardly conscious of the pain shooting upwards into his arm, Aron sat back, pulling down with all his strength. He forced his arm down and to the left. Suddenly, with a loud crack, one of the two bones below his elbow broke. For the other bone, he would have to push in the opposite direction. He used his feet to push himself up over the boulder. Despite the terrible pain, he threw himself forward again and again, feeling the bone bending. Finally, he heard the crack as it too broke.
That was it! He had done it. He could hardly believe it. Amazingly, the two bones had broken in the same place, and Aron knew he would now be able to cut off his hand. He tightened the tourniquet and used the smaller, sharper blade of his multi-tool to cut away the flesh of his arm. Finally, the only part left was also the most painful – the main nerves and tendons. He tried to cut the tendon, but the small knife did not help. He changed tools, using the pliers to bite through the tendon. Now there was only the nerve left. He placed the teeth of the pliers around the nerve, closed his eyes, and taking a deep breath, he pulled hard.
The pain was incredible, as if someone had set his arm on fire. He almost lost consciousness, and just for a few seconds his world went white. Then, as the pain faded, he opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor of the canyon, on his side. About a metre or so to his right he could see the boulder, and under it, the remains of his right hand. He was free!
He used his rope and straps from his gear to tie his right arm against his body and to stop the bleeding. He looked at the date of his death that he had cut into the rock only the night before. Then, forcing himself to look away from the hand he had to leave behind, he climbed as fast he could down to the bottom of the canyon.
CHAPTER FIVE
Life after Blue John Canyon
Aron came across a family out walking for the day. Amazingly, they knew who he was. His truck had been found by the police, who had started a helicopter search of the area.
The family gave Aron water and cookies, and helped him to continue walking and stay conscious. He was getting weaker and weaker. Just when it seemed he could go no further, a police helicopter flew right in front of the group. The helicopter took Aron, still conscious and talking, to a local hospital where he was given treatment. Aron Ralston had survived.
Those six days in the canyon changed everything for Aron. He now had to live with one hand, learning again how to do little things like tie his shoelaces and write. But Aron soon returned to his outdoor life, using a special tool fastened to his right arm that allowed him to continue climbing.
His story quickly became well known around the world, and he was asked to give interviews. His book about the terrible six-day ordeal became a best-seller and was made into a successful Hollywood film. Aron became a star, and is a hero to many for his courage and will to live.
Most importantly, however, the events in Blue John Canyon changed Aron from a young, risk-taking adventurer into a responsible outdoorsman. Although he still has his love of adventure, he has learned to respect the dangers of nature.
What about the small boy in his life-saving dream back in Blue John Canyon? Well, in 2009, Aron married his girlfriend, Jessica, and in 2010 the couple had a baby boy. His name is Leo.