09/25/2020
Out canyoneering in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah, Aron Ralston got his arm trapped between two boulders that had shifted. After five days had passed, he carved his name, date of birth and presumed date of death into the sandstone canyon wall, and videotaped his last goodbyes to his family. He did not expect to survive the night, but as he attempted to stay warm he began hallucinating and had a vision of himself playing with a future child while missing part of his right arm.
After waking at dawn the following day he discovered that his arm had begun to decompose due to the lack of circulation, and became desperate to tear it off. Using a multitool he had carried with him, he amputated his forearm. The process took an hour, during which time he used tubing from a CamelBak as a tourniquet, taking care to leave major arteries until last.
After freeing himself, Ralston climbed out of the canyon in which he had been trapped, rappelled down a 65-foot (20 m) sheer wall, then hiked out of the canyon, all one-handed. He was 8 miles (13 km) from his vehicle, and had no phone. However, after 6 miles (9.7 km) of hiking, he encountered a family on vacation from the Netherlands; Eric and Monique Meijer and their son Andy, who gave him food and water and hurried to alert the authorities. Ralston lost 40 pounds (18 kg), including 25% of his blood volume.
A movie titled ‘127 Hours’ was made about him.
