Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Aron Ralston [174]
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.
Recommended Reading
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.
Text Permissions
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