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“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.

Photographs

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.

My first solo winter fourteener—Quandary Peak, December 1998.

Ringing the Bells—South Maroon Peak, March 2003.

Steve Patchett, Jason Halladay, me, and Bob Graham, on top of Dallas Peak, Labor Day 2001.

My footprints on the Knife Ridge on Capitol Peak, February 2003.

Maroon Bells and the Sleeping Sexton in winter.

Mount Sopris.

The equipment I carried into Blue John Canyon. All original, except the CamelBak, webbing, and burritos.

The tourniquet, and the multi-tool.

In Blue John Canyon—the last photograph of my right hand.

Megan McBride and Kristi Moore.

The S-log at the entrance to the lower slot of Blue John Canyon.

The gauntlet in the lower slot of Blue John Canyon, fifteen yards above the accident site.

Forty-eight hours into the entrapment.

Day three.

11:36 A.M., Thursday, May 1, 2003.

At the bottom of the Big Drop rappel, forty-five minutes after the amputation.

At the pool of water below the Big Drop.

The rescue helicopter.

My rescuers: Mitch Vetere, Greg Funk, Terry Mercer, Kyle Ekker, and Steve Swanke.

Climbing the North Face Direct of North Maroon Peak, May 2004.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Circulating with the Robbers Roosters

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