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One of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told-Aron Ralston's searing account of his six days trapped in one of the most remote spots in America, and how one inspired act of bravery brought him home. It started out as a simple hike in the Utah canyonlands on a warm Saturday afternoon. For Aron Ralston, a twenty-seven-year-old mountaineer and outdoorsman, a walk into the remote Blue John Canyon was a chance to get a break from a winter of solo climbing Colorado's highest and toughest peaks. He'd earned this weekend vacation, and though he met two charming women along the way, by early afternoon he finally found himself in his element: alone, with just the beauty of the natural world all around him. It was 2:41 P.M. Eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, Aron was climbing down off a wedged boulder when the rock suddenly, and terrifyingly, came loose. Before he could get out of the way, the falling stone pinned his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. And so began six days of hell for Aron Ralston. With scant water and little food, no jacket for the painfully cold nights, and the terrible knowledge that he'd told no one where he was headed, he found himself facing a lingering death-trapped by an 800-pound boulder 100 feet down in the bottom of a canyon. As he eliminated his escape options one by one through the days, Aron faced the full horror of his predicament: By the time any possible search and rescue effort would begin, he'd most probably have died of dehydration, if a flash flood didn't drown him before that. What does one do in the face of almost certain death? Using the video camera from his pack, Aron began recording his grateful good-byes to his family and friends all over the country, thinking back over a life filled with adventure, and documenting a last will and testament with the hope that someone would find it. (For their part, his family and friends had instigated a major search for Aron, the amazing details of which are also documented here for the first time.) The knowledge of their love kept Aron Ralston alive, until a divine inspiration on Thursday morning solved the riddle of the boulder. Aron then committed the most extreme act imaginable to save himself. Between a Rock and a Hard Place-a brilliantly written, funny, honest, inspiring, and downright astonishing report from the line where death meets life-will surely take its place in the annals of classic adventure stories.… (more)
User reviews
Aron has a history of facing challenges and throughout this book he illustrates this for us, along with the fact that he is accomplished in survival skills as well. He seems to live for the challenge of conquering mountains, snow and ice, the weather, and even whitewater. Some of us wouldn't even think of going there and don't even understand the need that mountain climbers or whitewater rafters feel. We have no desire to expose ourselves to the elements in this way. Some of us would call him crazy. Some would admire his courage to face these challenges. All of his training and experience comes into play when he finds himself in a most unpredictable situation and realizes that he is now totally on his own, dependent on himself for survival.
I read this book with a sense of envy for the ability to climb mountain peaks and be rewarded with magnificent views and a sense of accomplishment. With a sense of admiration for the bravery to do this in sub-zero weather facing the elements, and also the challenges of whitewater rafting. Yet also with a feeling of amazement at Aron's survivor skills. I have to say that I really don't think I could have survived had I found myself in the same place. I have to respect someone who can so courageously and honorably survive what Aron has been through and still come out of the experience with his spirit intact and continue on with his goals.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story of survival. If books like 'Alive' are up your alley, then I feel certain that you will enjoy 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place'.
The book was nicely written with chapters alternating between the author's life before the event the actual event itself. Having not read anything about the incident before the lightbulb moment when the author finally works out how he can free himself is brilliant.
I hope I am right in that the book shows a person growing up and that extreme sports doesn't have to mean acting stupid as well. Definitely a book to read, as a cautionary tale with some very useful survival hints!
The story is amazing, and truth be told; some of his descriptions of his 5 days in the Canyon are amazing. One reviewer here noted that the cover-art gave the ending away, bullshit. I knew what happened and Ralson is talented enough
The difficulties of the book can be narrowed down to three problems: a lack of self-consciousness, a poor understanding of the reader and a poor writing voice. 1,2,3.
First, Aron, more than once, gives himself the reprieve of having "bad luck," (Most egregiously Ranger Steve p 327-8.) How do you get in the position of having to cut your own arm off, well, yea luck had a lot to do with it, but perhaps he should have left an itinerary. More to the point he doesn't understand that he, and other "adventure sporters" are the people that would be most forgiving to this type of behavior. A more self-conscious author/person would have understood this.
Why does one pick up a book about a man that amputated his own arm? TO READ ABOUT IT! Ralston, as mentioned in other reviews, is way to sentimental, I want to know what it was like in the canyon, not read about his first Grand Canyon sunset. (This makes me sound terrible, but really, when you know someone is about to cut their own arm off reading about these types of things is maddening.)
Ralston attempts to have a kind of post-modern writing voice, which at times works. But other points it's totally surreal, and too self-reflected. Moreover, Ralston never sets a definitive point at which he will let the audience in. Obviously his right, but when attempting to portray someone, especially yourself, it's never a bad idea to create a real person, not something where huge chunks of negativity are left out, which is Ralston's problem here. Ralston doesn't seem to understand that the person of this book, Ralston's image of himself, isn't believable as a person in the world.
Want to read a fascinating, if flawed, survival story? Read this book, there are no other restrictions.
Telling people about this story does not make it seem any more real. And yet this is a true tale of survival and incredible strength. Trapped, without enough food or water, he somehow manages to survive for five days before he figures out how to amputate his own arm and save himself.
His fortitude is astounding. Not only does he self-amputate his arm, he then hikes 7 or 8 miles out of the canyon to be rescued. This is an astounding individual.
In his own words
"...our purpose as spiritual beings is to follow our bliss, seek our passions, and live our lives as inspirations to each other. Everything else flows from that. When we find inspiration, we need to take action for ourselves and for our communities. Even if it means making a hard choice, or cutting out something and leaving it in your past."
There is much to admire in Aron Ralston, but at the same time, I would be kidding myself if i thought I could do the things he did, and continues to do.
In April 2003, 28-year-old Aron Ralston took a day trip in Blue John Canyon in Utah's Canyonlands National Park. Shortly after beginning his solo excursion into the canyon, a boulder came loose and pinned Ralston's right arm between it and the canyon wall. Unable to free his arm,
My Thoughts
When watching 127 Hours, I was absolutely mesmerized by Ralston's predicament. (It didn't hurt that Ralston was portrayed by James Franco and the movie directed by Danny Boyle.) After watching the film, I wanted to get the full story about what Ralston had experienced. Did he really have a vision of his future son that bolstered his courage? Did he really talk into his video camera during his entrapment? Why had he made such a fundamentally stupid mistake by not telling anyone about his whereabouts? The book answered all these questions and provided much more detail into Ralston's personality and background.
In fact, after reading the book, I'm not completely surprised that Ralston found himself in his predicament. In the book, he recounts several near-death experiences he faced during various other outdoor pursuits (from almost drowning in the Grand Canyon to being buried under an avalanche). Ralston's whole life was (and is) about pushing himself in the outdoors—often in ways that others might consider foolish or overly risky. In addition, solo adventuring was nothing new to Ralston. At the time of his entrapment, he was pursuing his quest to make the first solo ascents of all "fourteeners" (mountains over 14,000 feet) in Colorado. The one line in the movie that stuck with me—"This rock had been waiting for me all my life"—really sums up Ralston's life. (I may be misremembering the exact line but it is something fairly close to this.)
Did he leave the canyon a changed man—aside from the obvious loss of his right arm? Spiritually, Ralston matured—coming to a new appreciation for life and his loved ones. What the experience didn't do was dampen his enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits. Working with prosthetics and climbing companies, Ralston designed a prosthetic arm for himself so he could continue rock climbing and mountain climbing.
The book is surprisingly well written. After all, just because you have the guts to amputate your own arm and survive for five days in a canyon with limited food and water doesn't mean you'll be able to tell your story eloquently. But Ralston (who was an engineer before quitting corporate life to pursue the outdoor life in Colorado) seems to be a true Renaissance man—crafting a well-rounded, eloquent and often amusing account of his life, philosophy and the accident changed him forever.
Finally, I must mention that the book includes a collection of full-color photographs of Ralston before, during and after the accident. I had a rather morbid fascination with these photos (including the one of the severed arm immediately after the amputation), but they really did add to the story. It was amazing to see the exact place where this took place and what Ralston looked like during his entrapment. I also need to give a shout-out to the filmmakers for seeming to recreate Ralston's predicament, clothing, and equipment down to the smallest detail.
Recommended For: Readers who enjoy gripping and well-told adventure/survival stories, fans of the movie 127 Hours, and anyone looking for real-life survival story that demonstrates what people will do to survive.
“That boulder did what it was there to do. Boulders fall. That’s their nature. It did the only natural thing it could do. It was set up, but it was waiting for you. Without you coming along and pulling it, it would still be stuck where it had been for who knows how long. You did this, Aron. You created it. You chose to come here today; you chose to do this descent into the slot canyon by yourself. You chose not to tell anyone where you were going. You chose to turn away from the women who were there to keep you from getting in this trouble. You created this accident. You wanted it to be like this. You have been heading for this situation for a long time. Look how far you came to find this spot. It’s not that you’re getting what you deserve - you’re getting what you wanted.”
I’ll give Aron Ralston credit for this – he survived what probably should have been his end by doing something that most of us could never fathom doing while sitting reading about it at home. That said, Between a Rock and a Hard Place really serves as a field guide for absolutely everything you should never do in the great outdoors. However, Ralston seems to miss the point of his own ordeal, speaking of himself as some free spirit who overcame incredible odds instead of displaying a level of humility for getting supremely lucky in spite of breaking every single rule of wilderness survival.
I had heard about Ralston’s ordeal in an interview before I read Between a Rock and a Hard Place, so I was curious what must have been going through his head at the moment he made the decision to do what he did to escape (I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who doesn’t know). While I wasn’t disappointed with his recounting of that moment, I was quite disappointed in what came before and after. The sheer number of reckless decisions he made as an “experienced” outdoorsman to get himself in the predicament he faced is pretty inexcusable. What is worse is he brushes it off with a mix of machismo and naivety.
Ralston had the opportunity to turn his experience into a teachable lesson. Unfortunately, instead of passing on some wisdom in the form of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do, he revels in his ingenuity and props himself up as some sort of folk hero living the way of the free spirit in an age of shackles. Never mind the people who might have risked their lives to try and save him from his decisions. Never mind the family and friends who might have been devastated when he didn’t come home. That is all secondary to the thrill. Ultimately, Between a Rock and a Hard Place glamorizes taking unnecessary risks and a cheap view of life.
With Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston paints himself as the hero of the folly of his own errors in judgment where his survival hinges on one desperate act of self-preservation. Neither heroic nor self-aware, Ralston comes across as oblivious to his own foolishness, proud of his own recklessness, and reveling in his new-found war story around the campfire as he one-ups the other adrenaline junkies with his missing arm and a smile. Based on his closing comments in the book, it doesn’t appear Ralston has learned anything other than how to capitalize on his fifteen minutes of fame. A monument to modern day myopia, Between a Rock and a Hard Place serves only as a guide for what not to do.