The movie begins with an avid mountaineer Aron Ralston placing all his stuff inside
the rucksack for trekking. He then leaves his house and drives to Utah’s Canyonlands
National Park without telling anyone. While driving, Aron notices the road sign
indicating his safe arrival at the destination. Aron takes out his camcorder to video himself and
says he finally enters the Canyonlands alone. Afterward, he parks his car along with other
vehicles on a campsite. He takes his rest before embarking on his first expedition the next day.
After sleeping in the Canyonlands for a single night, Aron eagerly sets off
on his first bike expedition in the region. He is so delighted to finally be making his
way to Blue John Canyon that he even shouts a joyful whoop in the middle of the desert.
But then he stops cycling to start filming a video diary on his camcorder. In the video,
he says that the big-drop rappel in Blue John Canyon takes 4.5 hours, based on the information
he found in his guidebook. However, Aron challenges himself to make it only in 45 minutes.
Aron continues cycling afterward. But because of his cycling speed, Aron eventually falls
over the bike. Yet, Aron only ignores it and even takes a picture of himself.
Shortly after, Aron pulls over, secures his bike to a smoke tree with a rope, and sets out on foot.
But before he moves, he pauses to take in the breathtaking panorama of the Canyonlands first.
After that, Aron continues until he comes across hikers Kristi and Megan. Aron goes up to them and
learns they got lost trying to reach the dome. Eventually, Aron makes friends with hikers
Kristi and Megan. He offers to accompany them to the dome for free, which they accept. It takes
little time for the trio to reach the dome, and once there, Aron shows Kristi and Megan
the underground pool by jumping from above. But Kristi and Megan are still determining if
they should follow Aron. So, Aron reassures them that it will be completely safe to try.
Seconds after making up their minds about jumping down, Kristi and Megan
finally join Aron in the underground pool. Kristi and Megan eventually feel great that Aron
did not let them go home without first having a wonderful time. Because of that, Kristi and Megan
thank Aron for spending his short time with them. Then, they invite him to a party at a motel in the
Green River area, which Aron happily accepts. Aron continues through a slot canyon in Blue
John Canyon afterward. While climbing, a boulder Aron is hanging off comes loose and causes them
both to fall. It traps his right arm against the wall and hardly lets him take it off the
boulder. Frustrated, Aron stops trying as he realizes the boulder will not budge.
He tries shouting Kristi and Megan’s names instead but also learns he cannot be heard.
Upon realizing he is alone, Aron takes his stuff from his rucksack and places it above
the boulder. Then he calms himself for a moment and gets the pocket knife to chip
away parts of the boulder with a pocket knife. However, the pocket knife suddenly falls to the
ground while chipping it. Aron tries reaching it using a stick and luckily gets it back.
Aron spends the remaining day chipping away parts of the boulder, but it only decreases
slightly. Due to that, Aron thinks of another idea: setting up a pulley using his climbing
rope in a futile attempt to lift the boulder. Twenty-four hours have passed, but Aron is still
trapped in Blue John Canyon. He is starting to hallucinate things slowly. Due to that,
Aron shortly begins recording a video diary using his camcorder to maintain morale. In the video,
he is trying to get help from someone who might find his camcorder one day
and contacts his parents immediately. He also tells the story of how he got trapped.
Later at night, Aron begins covering himself with a rope to keep him warm. He rests the whole night
to get some strength for another attempt the next day, but his thoughts keep him awake.
On his second day, Aron tries again. He finally uses the pulley he set up and gives a take on
lifting the boulder. But his low energy hinders him from giving force and pulling it because of
dehydration. So, despite wanting to drink more, Aron saves it for other days as there
is only a remaining 300ml of water in his bottle. Aron re-records a video of himself afterward. This
time, his story contains his experience trying to pull the boulder but failing because the climbing
rope does not fit to remove big rocks, and only a static wrap rope can do it. After that,
Aron gets his water bottle to check how much water he still has, only to figure
out that the remaining is only 150ml. Aron suddenly puts his urine in his
CamelBak tube insulation, thinking he might drink it if he ever runs out of water.
Aron finds a tourniquet from CamelBak tube insulation on the third day while chipping
the boulder. He fashions it and uses a carabineer to tighten it. Aron is attempting to break the
bones in his right arm and amputate it using the multi-tool because he thinks his hand is
supporting the rock. However, the multi-tool is unsharpened since he bought it cheaply.
Aron blames himself for not bringing his Swiss knife because of that. But instead of snapping
in an angry video, he explains what happened and urges viewers to be careful shoppers. Aron then
keeps rambling on and on until he starts having hallucinations about his family.
Aron wakes up thirsty on the fourth day. He opens up his bottle and sips. But it seems like he still
wants more water. So, he takes out one of his soft contact lenses and swallows it. Suddenly,
the bottle slides through his legs, causing him to feel depressed and experience another episode of
hallucinations about his former girlfriend, Rana. The sound of thunder startles Aron out of his
hallucination, and he hurries to get his bottle. Then, he collected some rainwater
as it fell while drinking from stagnant water to combat dehydration. But the sudden rain is
also responsible for Aron's third hallucination, this time of getting away from being stranded.
Because of that, Aron screams out of frustration. The following day, Aron records himself for his
fifth day of being stranded in Blue John Canyon. In the video, Aron's hallucination transforms
him into a newscaster who treats himself like a character in a television news program. Afterward,
he starts his recording with a message to his loved ones. He regrets not informing them
of his whereabouts or duration of absence. The narrative then continues with Aron's imagination
of his coworker realizing he has been missing for days and calling the cops to come to rescue him.
As for his last entry recorded on his recorder, Aron's final message to his parents is a heartfelt
declaration of his appreciation for them. Aron’s second attempt at amputating his
right arm happens. Due to hallucination, he unconsciously stabs his arm using the
multi-tool. Then, using his knowledge of torque, he breaks the bones in his arm.
Over the next five days, Aron is forced to drink his urine when water runs out. He tries
fighting the taste of it for him to get hydrated. Afterward, Aron rests and watches the videos from
his camcorder, where he eventually discovers that Kristi and Megan left him a message on the video
while he was away, saying they are worried about him. But watching videos of Kristi and
Megan makes Aron aroused, causing him to close it and distract himself by doing other things.
Aron begins to carve his name into the rocks as a distraction. But he has to pause what he is doing
when he hears a voice echoing through the canyon, making him wonder if someone is nearby. After
flashing the camera in the dark, Aron initially believes he has captured a mascot. Still, it turns
out to be another hallucination. When he looks at the camera, he sees a dark canyon section.
Throughout the days, Aron becomes desperate and depressed. He begins hallucinating about escape,
relationships, and past experiences, including his family and his former girlfriend, Rana.
Aron wraps a bandage around the wounded arm to stop the bleeding. The hallucination begins to
kick in again, wherein Aron dreams of breaking up with his girlfriend,
Rana. As Aron loses consciousness due to fast heart beating and dehydration,
he opens his camcorder and records himself for the last time. However, the hallucination
is too intense, and he begins to feel dizzy and dwells on the possibility of his death.
But despite getting weak, Aron keeps his strength still as he leaves more messages on the video
until the camcorder drains out of battery. Aron reveals in the video how he frustratingly tries
breaking the boulder to escape but keeps failing. He also wishes that some meteorite
may fall into his spot to get him out of the trap. When Aron finishes recording, the running animals
in the canyon cause him to breathe hard as he coughs from the sand smoke. Aron loses
consciousness afterward. However, Aron suddenly has a vision of his future son while in a state
of unconsciousness, spurring his will to survive. Due to that, Aron eventually wakes up. He exerts
all his force to break the bones of his right arm and uses a carabineer to tighten it. Then,
Aron uses the multi-tool, slowly amputating it despite shouting from massive pain.
Finally, Aron survives after trying to take his arm out of the boulder. Aron then wraps the stump
to prevent exsanguination. Afterward, Aron is about to leave the place when suddenly he stops
and takes a picture of the boulder first. After spending days in the dark, Aron is
relieved to emerge from his canyon trap and make a celebratory leap into the sunlight. However,
Aron notices murky water below amid a victory dance. So, he immediately uses
rope and soaks himself in the filthy water. After that, he uses it to hydrate himself for
the long trek ahead by washing his face with it. Aron sets foot in the desert, searching for a way
out. Despite the heat and his renewed attempts at hallucination, Aron gathers the courage to
continue when he unexpectedly comes across a family out for a trip in the desert. Because
of this, Aron yells at them and immediately pleases for help. Luckily, the family notices
Aron and rushes over to help and offer him water. The movie ends with Aron having endured his ordeal
of being stranded in Blue John Canyon for several days. The family works together to contact the
Utah Highway Patrol for assistance rescuing Aron. Thankfully, the Utah Highway Patrol gets there in
seconds and rushes Aron to the hospital before he passes out. It is also revealed that after Aron's
rescue, he conducts multiple interviews with the press to tell his experience in the Blue
John Canyon. Even more intriguing is that Aron met his future wife years later. And it turns
out that his hallucination about having a son. At the same time, he was stuck in Blue John Canyon,
which was actually an accurate premonition. After that, Aron settled down, found a suitable partner,
and soon welcomed a son into the world. However, it is also revealed that Aron continues climbing.
But this time, he always writes a note for his loved ones stating his whereabouts.