Would you cut off your arm?

[Chizip]

Link

Ralston in serious condition after climbing accident


Rescue workers in Utah are marveling at the decision of a rock climber, who cut off his own arm to free himself after he became trapped under a fallen 1,000-pound boulder.

Police in Utah say Aron Ralston, 27, was pinned for five days in a canyon in Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah.

Ralston decided to free himself by amputating his arm below the elbow with his pocket knife, then rappelled to the bottom of the canyon. A bloody and dehydrated Ralston walked about eight kilometers before he found help. What was left of his right arm was wrapped in a tourniquet he had fashioned after severing his arm.

Utah rescue helicopter pilot, Terry Mercer, says if Ralston had not made the decision to cut off his own arm, he would never have survived.

"Where he was pinned, we went back in there and looked at the spot he was pinned and it was such a narrow canyon and the overlap was so bad that we could fly right directly over the top of it we would have never seen him down there," he told ABC news services.

Ralston was airlifted out of the canyon and was listed in serious condition Saturday at a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. Ralston is from Aspen.

Ralston began his "canyoneering" trip last weekend, and it was only supposed to last one day. He was climbing over a boulder when it shifted and landed on his right hand and forearm. He ran out of water by Tuesday, and then made his decision to amputate his arm two days later.

After severing his arm, Ralston found a way to set up his climbing ropes and hooks, and rappel to the canyon's floor.

Ralston has a mechanical engineering degree, but decided earlier this year to quit a corporate career at Intel for mountaineering.

i dont know if i could, that would probably hurt.

 

[u2popmofo]

Ouch. I probably couldnt have done that either.

Crazy Utahns.......

 

[IWasBored]

i'd only cut off my arm so i could beat you with it

seriously, ouch. couldn't bring myself to doing that, even if it saved my life

 

[Chizip]

oh yeah, id cut off both my arms to beat you with

 

[ABEL]

I don't think I could do it either, but it is amazing what humans can do under heroing experiences.

While we all say now that we couldn't do it, I think if we were put in a similar situation where our life depended on doing something drastic, like cutting off your arm, you'd be amazed at what you could do once survival instinct kicks in.

 

[melon]

Well, maybe it's different when your arm is crushed under a 200 lb. boulder. Perhaps his arms was already quite smashed. I doubt that, if it were a regular uninjured arm, he would have been able to cut it off like that.

Melon

 

[IWasBored]

oh yeah, id cut off both my arms to beat you with

are you going to hold the arms with your feet or something?

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

 

[meegannie]

I wouldn't go to Utah in the first place.

 

[nbcrusader]

I wouldn't go to Utah in the first place.

You would miss some of the most beautiful parts of this country. It really is spectacular.

 

[meegannie]

If I went west, I would go to Wyoming. Utah is too deserty.

 

[deep]

Go to Utah.
You would make a wonderful sister-wife.

 

[martha]

When I read this in my paper (NOT all the weirdo comments here), my first thought was: This guys has some balls! No one is ever going to challenge his manhood!

 

[Bonochick]

Well, maybe it's different when your arm is crushed under a 200 lb. boulder. Perhaps his arms was already quite smashed. I doubt that, if it were a regular uninjured arm, he would have been able to cut it off like that.

Melon

Good point.

 

[mikal]

hi bonochick

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

 

[foray]

Something similar happened in M'sia yearsss ago when a guy had a truck on his leg. He cut if off and crawled to the nearest help. I think. This is unrelated but another time, a guy had his head in a snake's jaw, and it was the first case we had of a snake actually trying to eat a human.


foray

 

[Bonochick]

hi bonochick

Cookie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[u2popmofo]

I wouldn't go to Utah in the first place.

There are some good things in Utah.

For example: me.

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

mofo, that is more of a reason to stay away from Utah. There are some really nice parks and camping places in Utah.

 

[tiny dancer]

You would miss some of the most beautiful parts of this country. It really is spectacular.

My very reason for visiting the lovely state of Utah!