Aron Lee Ralston was born in a middle class American household. His family moved to Colorado when Aron was 12 years old and this move laid the foundation for his love for hiking around the canyons (峡谷).
Aron's life changed on April 26th, 2003, upon facing the event that threatened to take his life, and almost took it. He was hiking through the Blue John Canyon and he accidentally displaced a huge rock he was climbing down from. The rock caught his right hand in between itself and the canyon wall.
Aron had decided to go on the adventure alone and hadn't informed anybody about it. So, when he was unable to free his right hand, he felt he would be stuck forever in there. He tried hard to get his hand out but failed, and screaming for help was of no use either. Moreover, he didn't want to wear himself out as shouting for help would take a lot of energy, which was essential (重要) for surviving the unfortunate event for a long period of time.
After a couple of days, he knew it was impossible for him to set himself free from an 800-pound rock. He decided to cut off his right hand. He had a blunt (钝的) pocket knife with him, which wasn't sharp enough to cut through the bone. Some time passed and his water and food supply ended. He carved his name, date of birth and a possible date of death on the stone.
But luckily he got a strange idea that he could use the torque (扭转力) and his bones to separate his arm from his body. With the help of his very limited tool, he finally succeeded and walked out of the canyon, bleeding in large amounts. Fortunately, a holidaying family saw him and gave him food and water, and then took him to a hospital.
After the accident, Aron got a prosthetic limb (假肢) and continued mountain climbing, considering the accident as a "turning point in his life".
