127 hours in hеll! the story of a man who cut off his hand to save his life
The story of Aron Ralston’s survival impressed the whole world. In 2010, director Danny Boyle directed the film 127 Hours, where the role of Aron was played by James Franco.
Amateur climber Aron Ralston liked to tickle his nerves by going on risky hikes on the rocks, choosing the most difficult to climb — high and steep.
The desert canyons of Utah were a test of skill and agility, which usually helped him get out of the most difficult situations. He will leave the car at the beginning of the route and bike to the Blue John Canyon.
Aron Ralston will remember this name for the rest of his life. The next trip seemed like an easy walk to him, but just in case, Aaron checked the contents of the backpack again.
Some water, two burritos (Mexican scones), some chocolates, the necessary equipment, a flashlight, a video camera, spare batteries, a knife and other necessary items calmed him down.
Aaron expected to return home by evening, because the nights in the canyon were usually cold. The incredible heat forced Aron to descend into the canyon: there was a pleasant coolness here, and one could take a breath, relax a bit.
He stands on the ledge. And here, in order to jump off it, you have to climb over a huge stone that is stuck between the walls of the gorge. Aaron clings to a cobblestone and hangs on it for a few seconds.
The stone begins to move, and soon a piece of the block falls on the climber. Aron barely manages to remove his left hand, but his right, already crippled, is clamped between the cobblestone and the wall of the gorge. All Aron’s efforts to free her are in vain.
I realized that I was in a trap. Aron Ralston wrote in his book Between the Hammer and the Hard Place. At first, Aron panics, he feels helpless in front of the trouble that has fallen on him.
He is tormented by thirst, he takes out a bottle of water with his left hand. And then a sober thought comes to Aron’s head: if he is stuck here for a long time, then the saving moisture must be protected.
He also realizes that the crippled arm is already dead, there is no blood supply, she does not feel anything. Aaron laboriously fashioned a kind of hammock out of climbing carabiners to rest his weary legs. The night passes without sleep.
With the dawn of the second day, when the sun was slowly rising, Aaron suddenly had hope. It seems to him that his parents will get worried, who will definitely call the police, who will find Aron in the cursed canyon.
But he quickly pushed that thought away: the search would no doubt drag on, and by that time the climber would have died of dehydration. For the first time, Aron thinks about death, which would interrupt his torment.
And yet the thirst for life overcame momentary weakness. He will try to pick a cobblestone with a penknife so that he somehow weakens his monstrous pressure.
Then, having contrived, with one left hand he will make something like a lifting system out of ropes and carabiners. With her help, he wants to move the stone from its place.
Useless. The forces have already abandoned Aron Ralston. And for the first time from the canyon comes his cry for help. Another sleepless night passes. You will never know the limit of your endurance. Until you get to him. Aron Ralston, Between the Hammer and the Hard Place.
The third day begins with the fact that Aron cuts all the packages, covers, slings with a knife. He wraps the exposed parts of his body in them, preparing for another cold night. Water is running out — life-giving moisture.
Now he is faced with an acute question: to cut or not to cut his right dead hand in order to free himself from stone captivity. The fourth day was a nightmare. It was aggravated by the fact that there was no more food:
Aaron even licked the wrappers of chocolates to create the illusion of satiety. Now he is in despair! Aron gulps down the last remaining water and prepares for the worst — a slow and painful death.
The average survival time in the desert without water is two to three days, sometimes you can survive only a day if the air temperature exceeds 37°C. I think I can hold out until Monday evening.
If rescue comes earlier, it can only be a canyoner who wandered here by chance, and not specially trained search and rescue personnel. In other words, salvation seems as likely as winning the lottery, Aron wrote in his book.
On the fifth day, Aaron began to hallucinate: he lost his sense of reality and his sick fantasy now takes him to the recent past, where there was no pain and suffering. When Aaron Ralston woke up, he came to the only conclusion:
it was necessary to cut his right, completely insensible hand. He barely survived the cold night, waiting for what kind of torment awaits him on the next, sixth day of imprisonment in a gloomy canyon.
We will not describe the terrible details of how Aaron Ralston cut an already unconscious hand with a penknife. On May 1, 2003, at 11:32 am, he will break out of stone captivity!
And he will walk ten kilometers under the scorching sun in order, fortunately, to meet tourists who will give him first aid.
Aron Ralston will be treated for a long time, and instead of his right hand he will get a functional prosthesis. And all the same, he will remain true to his favorite pastime — mountaineering.
Looking at this optimistic and resilient man, it is hard to believe that he endured such torment and decided to take a desperate step. But fate seemed to make up for all his suffering — in 2009, Aron met his love.
And six months after the wedding, his wife Jessica Trusty gave birth to a child. Aron wrote an autobiographical book that became a bestseller, and in 2010 the film 127 Hours was released.
