Sheer Walls, Sheer Courage

Aspen Adventurer Tells Harrowing Tale of Survival
In the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

GRAND JUNCTION -- The first time Aron Ralston tried to sever his arm, his knife was too dull to slice the blond hairs barely visible on his skin.

"It was the kind of knife you'd get if you bought a $15 flashlight and they gave you a free multiuse tool," the 27-year-old Aspen climber said.

Ralston, who gained international attention after spending five days trapped in a remote Utah canyon, held a news conference Thursday at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction. In the six days since his rescue, he's been besieged by media requests, including calls from Japanese and German television crews, Katie Couric and Oprah Winfrey.

Everyone wanted the story of how he freed himself from an 800-pound boulder. And Ralston looked eager to tell it. The upper part of his right arm was in a sling and his 6-foot-2-inch frame looked as if it could carry a few more pounds, but generally, he looked healthy. To read more...

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