Testament to perseverance headlines Browns Canyon fundraiser

Before he was famous, before the movie 127 Hours portrayed his five-day entrapment in a Utah slot canyon, Aron Ralston was a rafting guide on the Arkansas River.

For one glorious summer, Ralston took trip after trip through Browns Canyon as the river surged with runoff.

“When I showed up at the end of May, it was still snowing. It was an epic snowpack year,” Ralston said. When that snow melted, “It went big. I probably had the best job of my life.”

Much has happened since that memorable 1995 season, but Ralston hasn’t forgotten Browns Canyon.

“I still have a very fond place in my heart for it,” Ralston said.

That lingering connection to the Upper Arkansas River Valley’s most popular whitewater destination led to Ralston’s upcoming appearance for Friends of Browns Canyon.

Ralston waived his usual speaking fees for the nonprofit’s upcoming fundraiser, set for Feb. 6 at the Salida SteamPlant. He will also donate all proceeds from book and DVD sales at the event to Friends of Browns Canyon.

“It’s important to give back to these places we’re lucky to have,” Ralston said.

Ralston is a testament to perseverance, having amputated his own forearm to free himself from Blue John Canyon. He completed his self-rescue by rappelling down a 65-foot rock face and hiking out to find help.

Through that experience, he gained considerable insight into overcoming adversity – insights that are especially relevant after Browns Canyon proponent U.S. Senator Mark Udall lost his re-election bid to Republican challenger Cory Gardner.

Drawing a metaphor between that legislative setback and the boulder that trapped him in Blue John Canyon, Ralston said Browns Canyon advocates shouldn’t let temporary obstacles block their view of the larger goal.

Getting past boulders, both literal and figurative, “takes perseverance,” Ralston said. “There’s more to this than the temporary setbacks we experience along the way. That’s where we find the motivation to keep going.”

Efforts to secure permanent protections for Browns Canyon go back to 1976, when federal law required the Bureau of Land Management to take stock of lands with wilderness potential.

Since then, numerous bills have sought to protect Browns Canyon. None have passed, including the most recent proposal from former U.S. Senator Mark Udall, who lost his re-election bid to Republican challenger Cory Gardener.

That recent legislative setback isn’t stopping Friends of Browns Canyon, which recently sent four representatives to Washington, D.C. to lobby lawmakers and government officials on the issue.

After so many people have worked on behalf of Browns Canyon, “it’s humbling to know I’ve been asked to be a part of it. I’m grateful to be able to do that,” Ralston said. “I’m just one figure that’s contributed to it among thousands over the generations.”