Aron Ralston is a 35 year old mountaineer and adventurer. In May 2003, on a solo hiking trip in Utah, was forced to amputate his lower right arm in order to survive when a boulder fell and trapped him. He was working as a mechanical engineer for Intel in 2002 when he left his job to climb all of Colorado's "fourteeners", or peaks above 14,000 feet. He spent five days trying to break or dislodge the boulder when on the fifth day, dehydrated and delirious, he prepared to amputate his own arm with just a camping multi-tool. After he freed himself from his trapped and dead arm, he was still 17 miles from his truck, to get to which first he had to rappel down a 65 foot sheer. Hiking through a canyon, he met a Swiss family on vacation who alerted the authorities to send a helicopter rescue team.
Now with a prosthetic arm, he climbs more than ever, finishing his "fourteeners" as well as Denali, Kilimanjaro, and an expedition through the Grand Canyon. He intends to summit Everest one day, but for now is the subject of Danny Boyle's latest film, 127 Hours, about the true story of his 2003 accident.
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