In April 2003 Aron Ralston, a 27-year-old hiker, fell and was trapped in a narrow crevasse, his right arm wedged against the rock wall by a boulder. Mr. Ralston's ordeal was a struggle for survival and a profound existential crisis. He had gone to Bluejohn Canyon, Utah for a rock-climbing weekend alone. Not telling anyone where he is going is part of the point: real freedom means getting a clean break from civilization and the burdens of family, friends, and other responsibilities. Finding himself stuck, he knows he can't expect anyone to come to his rescue, which forces him to ruminate about his family, his ex-girlfriend, and the hereafter. As a trained engineer and a skilled--albeit somewhat careless--outdoorsman, he understands his predicament as a practical challenge, a technical problem. After struggling for more than five days, he makes an immanently logical decision about its solution.