127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (41 page)

Dedication

This book is a testimony to the love of my parents, Donna and Larry Ralston, and my awesome sister, Sonja Marie Ralston Elder. For the memories we’ve had together and for the ones we have yet to create, I got out of that canyon.

With special love for Marjorie Ralston and Grace Anderson, and in memory of my grandfathers, P. K. Ralston and Karl Anderson, and our family friend Betty Darr—I think of you every time I see a sunrise. To the hundreds of friends I met through my time at Cherry Creek High School, Carnegie Mellon University, Intel, and in Aspen, it was all of you who sustained my spirit in the canyon.

For the awe-inspiring power of the greater spirit, I am here to bear witness that there are energies larger than we are that surround us everywhere, and when the times are right, we can connect with those energies. Those times of connection are the spiritual structure of miracles.

For their friendship and help in my rescue: my roommates Leona Sondie, Brian Payne, Elliott Larson, and Joe Wheadon; my best friend in Aspen, Rachel Polver; my colleagues and managers at the Ute Mountaineer, most notably Brion After and Bob Wade; Steve Patchett, Mark Van Eeckhout, Jason Halladay, Dan Hadlich, and Brad and Leah Yule; and all my friends who helped by phone and by e-mail to create the chain of events that led to my rescue. To Michelle Kiel, Ann Fort, Sue Doss, and Dave Brush, my thanks for your support of my parents in those most terrifying days.

To my rescuers, what you do day in and day out can hardly be appreciated enough: Rangers Steve Swanke and Glenn Sherrill and the National Park Service; Captain Kyle Ekker, Sergeant Mitch Vetere, and Detective Greg Funk and the Emery County sheriff’s office; Chief Deputy Doug Bliss and the Wayne County sheriff’s office; pilot Terry Mercer and the Utah Department of Public Safety; the volunteers of the Grand, Emery, and Wayne counties’ search-and-rescue teams, Mountain Rescue Aspen, and the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council; the Aspen police; the Meijer family; Wayne Marrs; and Spanish Valley Mortuary.

Thank you to the staff of Allen Memorial Hospital in Moab, St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, St. Luke’s Presbyterian Hospital in Denver, the Colorado Amputee Rehabilitation Management Team, and the Limb Preservation Institute; as well as to my surgeons and doctors, Dr. Bobby Higgins, Dr. Jeffrey Nakano, Dr. Michael Rooks, Dr. Arline Burnell, Dr. Cynthia Kelly, Dr. Gary Snider, and Dr. Rebekah Gass; and also, Dan Prinster, vice president of planning and business development at St. Mary’s, the day and night nurses at St. Mary’s—with special love for Renae Mason and Kelly Owens—occupational therapist Gary Saunders, and recreational therapist James Tanner, for my first journey outdoors after my accident, to the rooftop of the hospital.

I also thank Dr. Skip Meier with the Amputee Services of America, who coordinated my rehabilitation with the help of Erin Cantwell; Dr. Howard Belon, occupational therapist Julie Klarich, who coached me to eat crackers with my prosthetic until I got it (it takes the finesse of an egg juggler), physical therapist Carol McGowan and her colleagues, who challenged me to beat the clinic records on the balance balls, and my fellow patients in Dr. Belon’s support group.

Support, Inspiration, and Encouragement

Thank you to my friends who flew and drove from around the country to visit me during my convalescence in the hospital and at home.

Thank you to everyone who wrote my family and me an e-mail, called to see how we were doing, or sent CDs, gifts, margarita supplies, donations, and hundreds of letters of well wishes and encouragement after my accident. I’m sorry I couldn’t write all of you personal thank-yous.

Thank you to Troy Farnsworth, Jack Uellendahl, and Branden Petersen at Hanger Prosthetics, Malcolm Daly at Trango, Bob Radocy at TRS, and Dr. Will Craig for the prosthetic equipment that has enabled my independent return to rock climbing, ice climbing, solo mountaineering, canyoneering, kayaking, canoeing, cross-country and telemark skiing, mountain biking, and volunteering with search and rescue.

Thank you to my inspirations: the mellifluous Luke Dempsey, for his editing; Dr. Harry “Show, Don’t Tell” Kelleher and Bill Bradley, my high school English teachers; Sharon Carlson, for the title idea; Ron Elberger, who embodies the fact that tenacity comes in small packages; my fellow FOCs and the String Cheese Incident; Norm and Sandy Ruth, the soul parents of my New Mexico family; Trey Anastasio and Phish; the authors and subjects of my favorite outdoors literature: John Fielder, Lou Dawson, Gerry Roach, Michael Kelsey, Edward Abbey, Warren MacDonald, Mark Twight, Erik Weihenmayer, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, Chris McCandless, Anatoly Boukreev, Neal Beidleman, John Muir, Jon Krakauer, Jon Waterman, Timmy O’Neal, Douglas Mawson, and Papillon; Quentin Tarantino, from whose work I found the inspiration for the story outline; the NBC documentary group—Tom Brokaw, Colleen Halpin, Karen Epstein, Rich Platt, Craig White, Paul Thiriot, and the Shermanator; and the Landmark Forum.

Outdoor Teachers and Partners

For everyone who has ever been tied to me by a rope, you have taught me about not just the mountains and the skills to move among them, but also trust, beauty, friendship, and that soloing isn’t the only way to have fun in the outdoors: Mark Van Eeckhout, Steve Patchett, Gary Scott, Jason Halladay, Marshall and Heather Ulrich, Tony DiZinno, Theresa Daus-Weber, Rich Haefele, Dawn Baker, Dan Hadlich and Julia Stephen, Steve DeRoma, Jon Jaecks, Eric Niemeyer, Kyu Park, Pam Pelky, Bob and Yvonna Graham, Howard Huang, Bill Hemmen, Paul Budd, the Misiuks of Washington, Jamie Laurens, Jon Heinrich, Scott MacLennan, Jim Dennis and the NMMC, Rick Inman, Dave Johnson, Dave Benjes, Jeff Herd, Greg Jackson, Aaron Blawn, Judson Cole, Jamie Stoutenberg, Angie Kokjer, Mike Michalek, Guido Bender, Carl Drew, Megan Simon, Sarah Hall, Chewy Hoover, Tony Angelis, Suwei Wu, and Jackie Blumberg.

For the stories and history of Blue John Griffith, I used Pearl Baker’s book and recommend it for an entertaining look into the lives of the anti-heroes who populated the backcountry of southeastern Utah in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Baker, Pearl.
The Wild Bunch at Robbers Roost.
Abelard-Schuman, New York, 1971.

Additionally, I recommend the following books for the influence they have had on my life.

Abbey, Edward.
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness.
Random House, New York, 1968.

———.
The Monkeywrench Gang.
Avon Press, New York, 1975.

Bickel, Lennard.
Mawson’s Will: The Greatest Survival Story Ever Written.
Dorset Press, New York, 1977.

Boukreev, Anatoly, and G. Weston DeWalt.
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest.
St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1997.

Dawson II, Louis W.
Dawson’s Guide to Colorado’s Fourteeners, Volumes 1 and 2.
Blue Cover Press, Monument, Colorado, 1994.

Kelsey, Michael R.
Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau, 4th Ed.
Kelsey Publishing, Provo, Utah, 1999.

Krakauer, Jon.
Into the Wild.
Villard Books, New York, 1996.

———.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster.
Villard Books, New York, 1997.

Pirsig, Robert.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values.
William Morrow and Company, New York, 1974.

Roach, Gerry, and Jennifer Roach.
Colorado’s Thirteeners, 13,800 to 13,999 Feet: From Hikes to Climbs.
Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado, 2001.

Simpson, Joe.
Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival.
Harper & Row, New York, 1988.

Twight, Mark F.
Kiss or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber.
The Mountaineers Books, Seattle, 2001.

Twight, Mark F., and James Martin.
Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast, & High.
The Mountaineers Books, Seattle, 1999.

Phish song lyrics appearing on pages 16 through 20 are reprinted with permission from Who Is She? Music, Inc; extract from
Dark Shadows Falling
by Jo Simpson published by Jonathan Cape and appearing on pg. 72 is reprinted with permission from The Random House Group Limited; lyrics from the song “Desert Dawn” by String Cheese Incident/Christina Callicott appearing on pg. 98 are reprinted with permission from Christina Callicott; extract from
Into the Wild
by John Krakauer appearing on pg. 73 is reprinted with permission from The Random House Group Limited; extracts from
Kiss or Kill
by Mark Twight appearing on pages 94, 114, and 286 are reprinted with permission from Mountaineer Books; song lyrics from “Fearless” performed by Pink Floyd appearing on pg. 154 are courtesy of Roger Waters; extract from the film
The Matrix Revolutions
appearing on pg. 228 is reprinted with permission from Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc.; extract from the film
Fight Club
appearing on pg. 273 is reprinted with permission from
Fight Club
© 1999 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Monarchy Enterprises S.a.r.l. and Regency Entertainment (USA), Inc. All rights reserved; song lyrics from “(I’m a) Roadrunner” performed by the Jerry Garcia Band appearing on pg. 332 are reprinted with permission from the Hal Leonard Corporation.

In the Grand Canyon, April 1999.

Mom and me, 1977.

My sister and me at Grandma Ralston’s, 1983.

At Yellowstone National Park, 1987.

My first skiing trip, 1987. Note the fear.

Betty Darr and me at my graduation from Carnegie Mellon University, 1997.

American Gothic. Mom and Dad at Lake Chelan, Washington.

With Mom, Dad, and Sonja on the top of the 14,084-foot Handies Peak, 2000.

Sonja and me at Havasupai, Thanksgiving 1998.

My first alpine rock climb: Mark Van Eeckhout and me, in front of Wham Ridge on Vestal Peak, on Labor Day 1998.

The Grand Teton, two days before the bear stalking.

On the summit of Mount Humphreys, Arizona, March 1998.