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Keith McCord Reporting The 25th annual Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is underway in Salt Lake, through the weekend. Outdoor manufacturers and buyers are in town from 40 countries. In one exhibit booth we saw a familiar face-- Aron Ralston, the rock climber who cut off his own arm three years ago to get out of a canyon in Southern Utah.
If anyone belongs at an outdoor products convention, it's Aron Ralston. He knows a thing or two about outdoor recreation and knows about how to survive. That's why he's a spokesman for a line of personal locator beacons-- if you get lost, this gadget will help rescuers find you.
Aron Ralston, ACR Electronics Spokesman: "You activate the beacon and in about 15 minutes the GPS is already going out to the command center."
Ralston gained international attention back in 2003 when he was trapped in a narrow canyon in southern Utah. A huge boulder pinned his right arm. After six days, he freed himself by cutting off his arm. Would a locator beacon have helped him then?
Aron Ralston, ACR Electronics Spokesman: "It wouldn't have saved my hand, but it would have saved me the six days that I spent there to get myself free."
After he recovered, he was fitted with prosthetic devices, which still allow him to climb mountains and snow ski. He recently spent three weeks hiking the Grand Canyon; and last year became the only person to solo climb all of Colorado's 14-thousand foot peaks. Nothing stops him from being outdoors!
Aron Ralston, ACR Electronics Spokesman: "It's not just getting out there to just conquer the fears within yourself, but also to create great times with your family and friends. There's been a balancing that's come into my life too."
Since the accident, Ralston says he's more prepared, and, admits, more responsible.
"And for me, sometimes I find myself being a little more conservative and being more aware of the risks that I'm taking. But as long as you're alive, you're going to take risks, you just can't avoid it."
At age 30, Aron Ralston says surviving the accident was like a re-birth and he's living in "bonus time" now, and he's going to enjoy every minute of it. Aron Ralston lives in Aspen, Colorado, is a search and rescue team volunteer and still travels the country making speeches about his accident. He'll be at the outdoor show through Saturday.
