Aron Ralston Film

October 5, 2010, 12:53 am

By now you may have seen ads or a trailer for the film 127 HOURS, which hits theaters on November 5 and is based on the story of Aron Ralston and his shocking self-amputation incident in the Utah desert in 2003. The film, funded by Fox Searchlight and directed by Danny Boyle, recounts the story of Ralston canyoneering solo in Blue John Canyon of Canyonlands National Park, where an immense boulder fell and pinned his right forearm. He was trapped for five days, and, nearing death from dehydration, Ralston took a knife and amputated his lower right arm to get free.

James Franco as Aron Ralston

It is a grisly tale, and one that rocketed Ralston to renown and fame as a never-die outdoorsman. Ralston got caught up in some controversy, too, for going solo and not leaving detailed information about his whereabouts. I’ve personally always looked past that controversy somewhat and am amazed that it diluted his street cred with a lot of outdoors hard cores. Come on, Ralston is a serious badass! He was not a neophyte in that canyon. Fate struck in the guise of a 1,000-pound rock, and Ralston struck back — five days and much agony later — with a last-ditch and life-saving final resort.

I am looking forward to 127 HOURS. In conjunction with the movie, a new web site, 127DefiningMoments.com, is seeking people to submit stories on their own life-changing or death-defying experiences. Along with Ralston’s own story, the top 126 submitted stories will be compiled to create “127 Defining Moments” on the site.

‘127 HOURS’ is directed by Danny Boyle

I’ve never had an ordeal like Ralston’s. But in my life and time in the outdoors, there have been a few “defining moments,” that is for sure. I like the concept of sharing life-altering stuff. This could be a cool site, plus you can win some gear if you tell a good tale.

Check out the story on a guy named Lynn who pulled a historic Mormon handcart 1,450 miles from the Mississippi River to Salt Lake City. He almost died three times. Other tales already posted are on mountain climbs, BASE jumps, a shark attack, and snowboarding descents. Read them all — and submit your own! — at www.127definingmoments.com.

—Stephen Regenold is founder of GearJunkie.com. A version of this article ran on GearJunkie.VentureThere.com.

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Commenting on post : Aron Ralston Film

Posted by gordon - 10/05/2010 01:30 PM

I met Aaron at a book signing, and his first words were, “Hey, did you do Primal Quest? I really, really want to do that!” Very cool guy, very thoughtful, humble, and righteous.

Posted by kp - 10/06/2010 08:48 PM

Biggest Joke/Con artist in all of outdoors. Make a fortune off your idiotic mistakes. Bravo usa for making him a celeb.

Posted by SuperDave1234 - 10/27/2010 11:43 AM

Even a wolf will chew off its arm when trapped! We don’t call a wolf a hero! This guy was an idiot! He is NOT a hero and does not deserve our praise!
The real heroes of the world do need our admiration, the selfless ones… who work to make the world a better place!
Not a selfish idiot who quits his job to be a high risk taking asshole “outdoors-man”, that stupidly screwed up by not letting anyone know where he is! Then becoming a cop-out by giving “motivational” speeches to corporations and CEO’s! LOL! What a loser!
Can anyone truly think of anything lower than being a motivational speaker? It’s probably one of the most useless jobs on the planet! And this asshole is making $25,000 – $35,000 per speech for cutting off his own arm!
I WILL NOT WATCH THIS ASSHOLES MOVIE!

Posted by Stephen Regenold - 10/27/2010 12:10 PM

SuperDave — Why the animosity? Ralston’s “crime” of not alerting people where he was going that fateful day is so completely under-shadowed by his survival story. I don’t understand why some people despise this guy so much. A HUGE boulder fell on him. He lived to tell. Yeah, he should have left a note or something on his location. It would have perhaps aided in a rescue. But again: A boulder fell on him. He cut off his own arm! There’s a human tragedy and drama here that transcends “hype.” Am I missing something?

Posted by Mike - 12/08/2010 03:19 PM

Super Dave your a moron.

Posted by john fells - 01/15/2011 05:17 AM

Call him an idiot, call him what you want. The point for all of us who love being outdoors is that we can learn a valuable lesson from his mistake. In essence, this is all it comes down to. I met the guy in my home city down under, in many ways he comes across as the guy next door.

Posted by The rationalist - 01/18/2011 12:09 PM

Aron is another douchebag who got motivated by a even bigger douchebag – Chris Mccandless. Sadly, we live in times where these sucidal dbags are worshipped rather than sent away

Posted by Logically - 01/29/2011 07:03 PM

Chris McCandless was a serious idiot… But Aron Ralsten, though was inspired by the free-seeking nature-loving Alexander Supertramp, was MUCH more prepared for this hike than Chris EVER was. It was just a bad accident, and in fact, it was literally a “walk in a park” for Aron. It’s probably the best thing that has happened in his life…

Watching the CBS special, this isn’t his “greatest trip”. In fact, he nearly died months before in a level 5 avalanche but was rescued.

I guess he just thought this was too easy, and didn’t need anybody to help him… Funny he even mentioned how stupid he was for not telling anybody in both the interview, and in the movie!

Posted by samuel - 01/30/2011 08:00 PM

I grew up learning to adventure solo. My folks made sure I knew to leave a note, and gave me Ralston’s book as a good lesson in why. But honestly, folks: if you’re experienced with an area, do you always leave a detailed itinerary behind? This trip was a walk in the park for Ralston and while he made mistakes, really, this was an accident and the story is one of survival against the odds. Its a human story.

Posted by passerby - 02/23/2011 09:41 PM

I have to admit his story is inspirational in many ways, but it’s also important to note that these rescues cost tax payers a lot of money.

Posted by AndieanaJones - 02/26/2011 05:13 PM

I think it was stupid for Aaron not to let anyone know where he was going. I too am a soloist but always tell my family where I go. I want them to have peace of mind. Should I die alone, I die alone. It’s more important for my family to have closure and to heal whether I’m lost or found dead or alive. Closure in a place or a burial.

Posted by me - 01/12/2012 01:45 AM

To passerby:
How much did it cost you, as an individual taxpayer? I’m curious if you even know.