ACI (Affordable Comfort Inc.) has announced Aron Ralston, conservation activist, mountain guide and outdoor photographer, will deliver the keynote speech at the opening plenary of the 2013 National Home Performance Conference in Denver, Wednesday, May 1. Ralston is an experienced outdoorsman renowned for freeing himself from six days of entrapment under an 800-pound boulder in Utah’s canyon country by amputating his right hand and forearm before rappelling off a 6-story cliff and hiking 7 miles out of the wilderness to his rescue.
Ralston’s story of bravery, grit and extreme survival has circled the globe in print, radio and televised form. In his presentation “127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” Ralston recounts the harrowing experience that nearly took his life and shares the drive, determination, courage and will that sustained him during his experience.
Since his amputation, Ralston has written an internationally bestselling book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place; spoken to hundreds of audiences around the world; and interviewed with Tom Brokaw, David Letterman and Jay Leno. The film “127 Hours”, directed by Danny Boyle and starring James Franco, was adapted from Ralston’s book.
Ralston returned to his outdoor passions with a new prosthetic arm that he designed. He finished the Colorado winter solo 14er project—”14ers” are mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation—skied from the summit of Denali and led a rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon.
ACI’s National Home Performance Conference presents a comprehensive educational agenda, workshops, networking and the industry’s largest trade show. The 2013 event will take place at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel April 30-May 3, and registration is now open.