‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’ a cautionary tale
"Between a Rock and a Hard Place," Aron Ralston’s account of his highly publicized, hellish test in Blue John Canyon, Utah, in the spring of 2003, is riveting in spite of the fact that we know the outcome ahead of time.
A self-confessed risk taker and adrenaline junky, Ralston lays out in vivid, sometimes excruciating, detail how he overcame extraordinary odds, and did the unthinkable in order to survive a terrible nightmare that would have killed most other men.
The accident wasn’t really an accident. That an 800 pound boulder toppled loose and pinned Ralston’s hand in the remote slot canyon was an inevitable event in the life of a young man who courted danger and took unnecessary risks. If it hadn’t been that rock, it might have been an avalanche, a fall or any other mishap.
Mistakes were made, he confesses. His errors in judgment led to almost losing his life. An expert outdoorsman, climber, skier and mountaineer, he had made a habit of going off on his adventures alone. This was to be a simple day hike into the wild and scenic canyon country outside of Moab, Utah. Because he never anticipated an accident, Ralston didn’t tell anyone of his plans, where he would be or when he’d return.
Underequipped for a prolonged stay in the wilderness, he expected to hike in and out in a single day. When he jumps from a balanced rock he dislodges it, sending it crashing down, trapping and crushing his hand against the narrow canyon wall. After he’s trapped, in shock, he drinks a third of his water before he realizes what he’s done.
With very little water or food, he must take steps to survive. An unstoppable will to live and knowledge of climbing and survival skills helps him to overcome hypothermia through the endless desert nights and death by dehydration in those five days.
His realization of how alone he is is the most emotional section of the book. Facing his probable death, he uses his video camera to say his goodbyes to his friends and family. He knows that he’s left no clues to his whereabouts, but calculates the odds of when he might be discovered. He faces the horror of the probability that he will die of dehydration before he is rescued. Accepting defeat, he carves his name, the date and R.I.P. in the canyon wall.
When all hope is lost Ralston figures out the way to free himself, does the deed and with his broken and bloody stump wrapped in a plastic bag and a Camelback water pack rigged as a sling hikes down canyon. Somehow he manages to repel 65 feet to the larger canyon floor, where he drinks from a muddy puddle and starts the eight-mile hike out.
Meanwhile, his frantic mother, friends and emergency personnel have been working every angle for clues to find Ralston. Almost out of the canyon, he is found and airlifted to a hospital.
This book was a good read, and anyone who enjoys the desert southwest and hiking the canyons will love Ralston's descriptions of “his happy place.” This is a cautionary tale for most folks, though Ralston still is pursuing his dream of solo climbing all of Colorado’s fourteeners in winter. It will make you think twice about any hike alone, without leaving word of your whereabouts.
The movie "127 Hours" starring James Franco depicting Ralston’s life-changing event may be one way to experience this scary adventure, but hearing the rest of the story from the man who survived it was far more affecting. I recommend this book for outdoors adventurers or armchair wannabes.
Note: There is some profanity, as you might expect, when Ralston realizes he’s really gotten himself in a deadly spot. Also if you’re squeamish, you may not like some very lurid descriptions of his self-surgery.
