Aron Lee Ralston (born October 27, 1975) is an American mountain climber who became famous in May 2003 when he was forced to amputate his lower right arm with a low-quality multitool (a dull knife) in order to free himself after his arm became trapped by a boulder. Ralston documented his experience in a book titled Between a Rock and a Hard Place, published by Atria Books on 7 September 2004. ISBN 0-7434-9281-1 ^[1] is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. ... Look up ARM in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Boulder In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm (10 inches) diameter. ... Between a Rock and a Hard Place is a book, published in 2004, that recounts the life of Aron Ralston as it leads up to his entrapment in Blue John Canyon in the Utah desert. ...

The amputation

Ralston was a student majoring in mechanical engineering and French at Carnegie Mellon University and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Carnegie Mellon, he served as a Resident Assistant, studied abroad, and was an active intramural sports participant. He left his job as a mechanical engineer with Intel in 2002 to return to climb all of Colorado's "fourteeners", or peaks over 14,000 feet high. While on a canyoneering trip in Blue John Canyon (near Moab, Utah), a boulder fell and pinned his right forearm, crushing it. After five days of trying to lift and break the boulder, a dehydrated and delirious Ralston bowed his arm against a chockstone and snapped the radius and ulna bones. Using the dull blade on his multiuse tool, he cut the soft tissue around the break. He then used the tool's pliers to tear at the tougher tendons. Although he didn't name which brand (other than to say it was not Leatherman), he did describe it as “what you’d get if you bought a $15 flashlight and got a free multi-use tool”. ^[2] Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. ... Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. ... The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an honor society which considers its mission to be fostering and recognizing excellence in undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Canyoning (known in the U.S. as canyoneering) is a sport popular in several countries. ... For other instances of Moab, see Moab (disambiguation). ... // The Human Forearm The forearm is the structure on the upper limb, between the elbow and the wrist. ... Dehydration is the removal of water (hydor in ancient Greek) from an object. ... The radius is the bone of the forearm that extends from the outside of your limb to your phlangx (lateral) of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist. ... The ulna (Elbow Bone) [Figs. ... In medicine, the term soft tissue refers to tissues that connect, support, or surround other structures and organs of the body. ... A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, attached on one end to a muscle and on the other to a bone. ... Leatherman multi-tool A Leatherman Wave with all tools unfolded Leatherman and belt holster Leatherman is a trademark for a line of multi-function hand tools produced by the Leatherman Tool Group. ...

After Ralston was rescued, his arm was retrieved by park authorities and removed from under the boulder. It was cremated and given to Ralston. He returned to the boulder and left the ashes there. Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. ...

Public appearances

He is now a public speaker, predominantly non-profit, and still climbs mountains prolifically, the most recent in Argentina. In 2005, Ralston became the first person to climb all of Colorado's mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation solo in winter, a project he started in 1997 and had to put on hold due to his accident in Blue John Canyon^[3] It has been suggested that After dinner speaker be merged into this article or section. ...

On July 21, 2003, Ralston appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Late Show with David Letterman is an hour-long weeknight comedy and talk show broadcast by CBS from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City. ...

On September 10, 2004, Ralston's story was featured on a two-hour edition of Dateline NBC called Desperate Days in Blue John Canyon. is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC similar to ABCs 20/20 or CBSs 60 Minutes. ...

Ralston documented his experience in a book titled Between a Rock and a Hard Place, published by Atria Books on 7 September 2004. ISBN 0-7434-9281-1 Between a Rock and a Hard Place is a book, published in 2004, that recounts the life of Aron Ralston as it leads up to his entrapment in Blue John Canyon in the Utah desert. ...

On September 13, 2005 he made an appearance on Howard Stern's nationally syndicated radio program to promote his book. During the interview Ralston revealed several details about his ordeal, including the facts that his hand had already "died" from lack of circulation days before he amputated it, that he used the boulder that trapped his hand as a leverage device to break the bones in his arm, and he had to drink his own urine for several days after running out of his rationed water. After freeing himself he was still eight miles from his truck (which incidentally was a stick shift) and he had no cell phone. He had to rappel down a 65-foot sheer wall then began to hike out of the canyon in the hot midday sun. After finally meeting with other hikers in the canyon (a family of three on vacation from the Netherlands) he was given food (two Oreo cookies, all they had) and water and ultimately rescued by a helicopter search team. is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is a biography of Howard Stern as an individual; for information regarding his radio show see The Howard Stern Show. ... For transport in plants, see Vascular tissue. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A manual transmission (also known as a stick shift or standard transmission) is a type of transmission used in automotive applications. ... Motorola T2288 mobile phone A mobile phone is a portable electronic device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst being able to move over a wide area (compare cordless phone which acts as a telephone only within a limited range). ... For other uses, see Helicopter (disambiguation). ...

On October 6, 2005, Ralston appeared on The Late Late Show with Turd Ferguson.

Ralston currently appears as a panelist in Miller Lite's "Man Laws" ad campaign. Man Laws (Men of the Square Table) are a series of beer commercials for Miller Lite, inspired by the unwritten codes men live by. ...

On May 4, 2007, Ralston appeared at Swiss Economic Forum and held a speech about "how he did not lose his hand, but gained his life back". A video from his speech.

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Aron's personal web site
• Photos of Ralston with prosthetic arm:[1][2]