Analysis Of Between A Rock And A Hard Place By Aron Ralston

The book "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aron Ralston, is about the many life and death experiences Aron Ralston endured while on his mountain climbing and canyoneering trips. Aron had a passion for the outdoors, extreme temperatures, and pushing himself by making the goal of climbing all 59 "fourteeners" in Colorado by himself during winter.
Throughout his lifetime, Aron has survived an array of life or death moments while enjoying the great outdoors, but his trip to Blue John Canyon proved to be his greatest challenge. About halfway through Aron's hike, Aron knocked a giant rock loose. The rock fell in such a manner that trapped his right arm between the half ton boulder and the canyon wall.
Despite this awkward incident,

His first option was to pull his arm free from the boulder and escape. The problem he ran into there was that his hand and wrist were actually supporting the boulder against the canyon. Another option Aron explored was to chip away at the rock using his multi-tool and knife, but this proved to be ineffective. The next option Aron came up with was to rig a pulley system that would lift the rock off of his arm so that he could be freed. After extensive work to rig the 6:1 pulley system, it failed due to the sharp turns in the pulley system and the flexibility of the rope he was using. Another option at Aron's disposal was just to wait on help to arrive.
Aron however; did not tell anyone where he was going, or what time he was coming back. (A rookie mistake for an experienced climber I might say.) Aron knew that if he waited, the rescue teams would find him dead due to his lack of water and food supply. Aron's last option, which he did not really consider an option, was to amputate his own arm. However, in the end this seemed to be the only solution to his

Now

things have escalated from Aron trying to get out for himself, to Aron trying to get out for those

that we cared about. Aron now had more of a purpose to his life, and more purpose to get

out of the canyon.

Another inspiration to Aron's courageous act of freeing himself from the

boulder would be his sister Sonja. When reading through this book, it is undeniable the amount

of love and respect that he had for his sister. He recounts the time that his sister, him and a friend

are hiking by a river in Colorado when he jumped in acting like a goof ball. Unaware of the

riveting current, Aron found himself in need of help because he was drowning. His friend got a

rescue rope to him just in time before the water overtook him. Aron remembered the time he

spent lying with Sonja that night laughing and crying together. They knew how much they meant

to each other. To drive home my point, after Aron was rescued and treated for his conditions, his

sister neared graduation from Texas Tech University and Aron did not want to miss it for the

world. He and the doctors arranged his medication where Aron would administer his