CHAPTER TEN
Escape
120 hrs
8:45 am
It's Thursday, May 1st. 120 hours without sleep. Two days without water. I can't believe I'm still alive. I didn't think I'd survive beyond Wednesday. Perhaps the vision of the little boy kept me alive last night. But now, with no sign of a rescue, my hopes are disappearing fast.
I am also upset because the raven hasn't appeared. It's never been this late before. I try and forget about the bird and pick up the camcorder. I am certain that this will be my last message to my family. I am calm as I leave necessary instructions for my parents. I tell them to give most of my things to Sonja. Then I tell them what to do with my dead body.
The video ends with three simple words: 'I love you.' I'm crying as I close the camcorder for the last time. But there are no tears - my body is too dry for tears. Now I can only wait. I can't accept this. I've discovered that nothing I can do will help me escape. But it's better to be doing something than nothing.
I pick up the black rock and hit it as hard as I can against the boulder. I continue, trying to forget the pain in my left hand. In the end, I can't. I try to drop the rock, but the fingers of my hand won't open. What have you done now? asks the first voice. Stay calm, says the second. Slowly, my fingers loosen and the stone falls out of my hand. I look at my other arm. It's covered with bits of rock.
As I'm removing these with the knife I push too hard and the blade goes through the skin near my wrist. I don't feel anything. That part of my arm must be dead. My right hand died long ago. It's now a dark blue color. I push the knife through the skin of my thumb. There's a sound as some gas escapes, followed by a bad smell.
The arm is poisoned and the poison will kill me. I don't want the arm to be a part of me anymore. I throw myself against the boulder. When I look at my arm, I see that it's in a strange position. That moment is like the sun coming out. I realize what it means. I can break my arm by using my own weight. That means I won't have to cut through bone anymore.
I throw the whole weight of my body below the boulder. There is a loud noise. I keep going. There is a second loud noise. I've done it! I've broken both bones in my arm. I tie the tourniquet, take the knife and begin cutting. The only thing on my mind is escape, but the pain is terrible. I scream as I push down with the knife. For almost one hour the pain, screams, and cutting continue.
122 hrs 47 mins
11:32 am
Finally, I feel the knife hit rock on the other side of my arm. I fall back with a single thought screaming through my head. You've done it, Aron! You're FREE! FREE! FREE! There's no time to lose. Blood is coming out of the end of my arm and it's a long walk back to my truck. I tighten the tourniquet. Then I tie my climbing bag on my arm to hold it.
I tighten it around my neck and put my things inside. Before I leave, I take two pictures of the part of my arm still trapped by the boulder. Now I am ready to go. I can't walk straight. My body crashes from one side of the canyon wall to the other. I stop.
My heart is going much too fast. I could still die at any moment. I make myself stay calm. What I need most of all is water. There might be some at the Big Drop Rappel, but first I need to get there. It takes me twenty minutes. I stand at the edge and look down. It is just over eighteen meters to the canyon floor.
There are metal rings in the rock for climbers. I tie my rope to them and rappel down. With only one arm, this is not easy. For once, I am careful as I go down the rope. I reach the bottom and turn. On the ground in front of me is a pool of brown water. It's full of dead mosquitoes but I don't care.
I fill my bottle and drink one liter in a few seconds. I drink another and don't want to move. I just want to stay there for the rest of my life. That won't be long if you don't start walking. There are still twelve kilometers to go. The voice is right. I drink one more liter, slowly this time. Then I fill my bottle and the CamelBak and begin walking.
Blood is coming out faster from my arm now. I wonder if I can get back to the truck in time. Things start to go wrong. I get lost up a side canyon and have to turn around. Then I notice that water is coming out of my CamelBak. There's a hole in it. Quickly, I drink the rest of the water. Now I only have the water in the water bottle.
This has to last all the way back to the truck and the temperature is rising. I am so weak and tired I can't imagine surviving that long. I take a sip and keep the water in my mouth as I walk. That seems to help. I still wonder if I can get back to my truck. I can't walk straight, I can't think for more than a few seconds, and I'm losing blood, fast.
125 hrs 10 mins
1:55 pm
I've arrived at the Great Gallery. The paintings are amazing but all I can think of is water. There is more here. I stop to fill the water bottle. It has taken me two and a half hours to travel six kilometers. For someone close to death I have done well. But my problems are getting worse every minute.
Blood is now coming from my arm really fast and I'm in terrible pain from the amputation. I want to stop and rest, but I can't. I must go on. I walk as fast as I can. By two-thirty, I have covered nearly ten kilometers.
Only three more kilometers to my truck, but I'm feeling weaker every minute. I've come to another huge canyon. The walls must be over thirty meters high. Ahead of me is a steep hill. This is bad news. I'll never be able to climb it - I'm too weak.
125 hrs 45 mins
2:30 pm
Something makes me look again. I shake my head, unable to believe what I see. About seventy meters ahead of me are a family of three people - a man, a woman and a young boy. They are walking away from me. 'HELP! HELP! PLEASE! I NEED HELP!' They turn and come running towards me. When they reach me, I begin telling my story:
'My name is Aron Ralston. I was trapped by a boulder in the canyon for five days. This morning, I had to amputate my arm to escape. I need a doctor. I'm losing blood, fast...' Unable to continue, I fall to the ground. The man gives me a bottle of water. 'The police at the parking lot told us about you,' he says.
His name is Eric. His wife is Monique and his son is called Andy. They are tourists from the Netherlands. Eric gives me more water while Monique and Andy run back to get the police. After about ten minutes, Eric helps me up and we continue walking slowly. The steep trail is ahead. Even with Eric's help, I know I won't be able to climb it. 'How will I ever get out of here?' I ask myself.
