- published: 02 Jul 2008
- views: 3845035
Aron Lee Ralston (born October 27, 1975) is an American outdoorsman, engineer and motivational speaker.
He is widely known for having survived a canyoneering accident in south-eastern Utah in 2003, during which he was forced to amputate his own right arm with a dull multi-tool in order to free himself from a dislodged boulder, which had trapped him there for five days and seven hours. Even after he had escaped, he still had to climb down a 65 foot (around 20m) sheer cliff face to reach safety.
The incident is documented in Ralston's autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and is the subject of the film 127 Hours.
Ralston was born on October 27, 1975, in Indianapolis, but he and his family moved to Denver when he was age 11. He is a graduate of Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He received his college degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, finishing with degrees in mechanical engineering and French, with a minor in piano. 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 Phoenix, Arizona, in 2002 in order to pursue a life of climbing mountains. He had the goal of climbing all of Colorado's "fourteeners" — peaks over 14,000 ft high, of which there are 53 or 54, depending upon the definition parameters — solo and during winter (a feat that had never been recorded). He has subsequently achieved this goal.
"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.
The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.
The earliest recorded use[citation needed] of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." [dubious – discuss] In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.
Aron Ralston describes the amputation
Aron Ralston's Real Video Footage (One Clip - Aron Ralston)
Aron Ralston Part 1 of 6 Desperate Days in Blue John Canyo
Aron Ralston Part 2 of 6 Desperate Days in Blue John Canyo
Aron Ralston Part 3 of 6 Desperate Days in Blue John Canyo
Aron Ralston Part 5 of 6 Desperate Days in Blue John Canyo
Aron Ralston Part 6 of 6 Desperate Days in Blue John Canyo
Aron Ralston: How I Got Stuck
Aron Ralston Interview - 127 Hours
Audio Extracted From Aron Ralston's Real Video Camera Footage -Authentic
Being Aron Ralston, Amputee Mountaineer | The New York Times
DATELINE's 2012 20th Anniversary Show: Update on the inspiring Aron Ralston
Aron Ralston- Real Video of a Survivor
127 Hours - Official Trailer [HD] (Aron Ralston's Story)
Aron Ralston is arguably the most famous survivor in the world. His ordeal in a Utah canyon, where he had to cut off his own arm after getting trapped, was made into the Oscar nominated film '127 Hours'. Now, he's spending another 127 hours as a castaway on a desert island. The story of his struggle to survive in the canyon merges with his desert island experience, as he starts to suffer debilitating dehydration, and tells how in the canyon he had to drink his own urine. In an emotional fireside climax on his fifth night, he remembers how the vision of his yet unborn son gave him the strength to amputate his arm, and how then, as now, thoughts of his family sustained him through bleak moments.
Keywords:
Actors: David August (actor), David August (producer), David August (writer),
Plot: An idiot trapped in a door resorts to ridiculous measures to survive. An homage to the life experience of Aron Ralston and the work of James Franco, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Aron Ralston, the entire cast, crew and production team of 127 Hours.
Keywords: parodyActors: Danny Boyle (writer), John J. Kelly (producer), Matt Curtis (miscellaneous crew), Cliff Fleming (miscellaneous crew), A.R. Rahman (composer), Irwin M. Rappaport (miscellaneous crew), Tessa Ross (producer), Kate Burton (actress), Danny Boyle (director), Danny Boyle (producer), James Franco (actor), Treat Williams (actor), Amber Tamblyn (actress), Fenton Quinn (miscellaneous crew), Fenton Quinn (actor),
Plot: 127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he can be rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?
Keywords: adventurer, alone, amputation, anger, answering-machine, arm-amputation, arm-breaking, aron-ralston, bare-chested-male, based-on-autobiography