Hiker has to amputate his own arm

Elaine2003 · Post by **Elaine2003** » May 04 2003 2:00 pm

I just found out about Aron Ralston, the hiker/climber that amputated his own arm with his pocketknife in Canyonlands NP.

Talk about the will/drive to live.
I am not exactly sure if i was in the same situation i would have the courage to do such a thing.
But, then again i dont think i would have been canyoneering by myself either.

mttgilbert · Post by **mttgilbert** » May 04 2003 3:52 pm

Elaine2003 wrote:then again i dont think i would have been canyoneering by myself either.

Hopefully we'll all learn from his experience that it pays to go with someone, or at least leave a detailed itinerary with someone in case your day-hike turns into a situation like this.

Glitter · Post by **Glitter** » May 06 2003 4:58 pm

Did you hear that he didn't even need to be rescued, when he ran into those day hikers he was only a mile from his truck! This guys a machine! I will definitely be letting someone know where I'm going from now on for anything solo.

Elaine2003 · Post by **Elaine2003** » May 08 2003 2:40 pm

Yeah i heard about that. Talk about nuts. But, He needed to do what he had to do in order to survive.
Definately took b@lls of steel to go through what he went through.

Daryl · Post by **Daryl** » May 09 2003 12:32 pm

I admire the search and rescue volunteers that spent days away from their families and jobs looking for this guy.

I admire him tremendously for his will to live. I admire his physical strength and abilities. I think climbing a mountain requiring gear and ropes solo is stupid.
Putting your life at risk just to see if you can make it, or for a thrill, does not make you a hero. He did not save a life, he did not explore uncharted territory... He was out having a good time, he got stuck, he did what he needed to do to stay alive. Now he will spend the rest of his life missing a hand. For what? A great story.

Don't confuse him for a hero.

Abe · Post by **Abe** » May 10 2003 6:44 am

Daryl wrote:Don't confuse him for a hero.

You are right.
I do not consider him a hero, he is just a lesson in which we can remind ourselves how a SNAFU can happen when out hiking alone. His flight or fight instincts kicked in and he was just lucky.

MtnGeek · Post by **MtnGeek** » May 10 2003 5:32 pm

Daryl wrote: I think climbing a mountain requiring gear and ropes solo is stupid.
Putting your life at risk just to see if you can make it, or for a thrill, does not make you a hero. He did not save a life, he did not explore uncharted territory... He was out having a good time, he got stuck, he did what he needed to do to stay alive. Now he will spend the rest of his life missing a hand. For what? A great story.

If climbing solo is this guys thing then I have no problem with it. There are dangers and risks in doing it and I'm sure he put them into account. He has climbed 49 of the 54 Colorado 14,000 foot mountains solo in the winter. Anything much worse could of happened to him on those hikes.
here is a link to an article about his accomplishments.
http://www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 006&Ref=AR

Elaine2003 · Post by **Elaine2003** » May 11 2003 9:30 pm

Well, i guess considering his track record on solo excursions, I'd say he is extremely lucky.
But, as we all very well know...sometimes Sh*t happens that we can't help.
His incident might have very well happened reguardless if he had a partner with him or not.
But, him having someone there could have been a big factor in him being able to save his hand as far as his rescue happening sooner.

mttgilbert · Post by **mttgilbert** » May 11 2003 9:36 pm

I was just reading in the trib that the doctors said odds are even had he got the hand out in one piece they still would have had to amputate. They said the hand would have been mangled too badly to save.

Having someone else there definately would have facilitated a faster rescue, but hey, he got out alive anyway.

Definately a lucky guy...

azhiker96 · Post by **azhiker96** » May 11 2003 9:45 pm

I don't think of him as a hero or lucky. Getting your arm mashed under a boulder doesn't sound very lucky to me. However, he does sound resourceful, knowledgeable, and prepared. He had the presence of mind to wait it out while he still had water. I suppose he hoped someone else would travel along his trail. He tried to move the boulder and failing that fashioned a tournaquet, broke his arm bones and used his knife to cut the soft tissues. Then he got himself out of there. I'm impressed.

mttgilbert · Post by **mttgilbert** » May 11 2003 9:53 pm

The luck, I suppose, is that he had the where-with-all to get himself out of it. That he could keep calm and collected and find a way to save his own life. I agree he had a tremendous amount going for him outside of luck. I just can't agree that cutting off your own arm, descending a canyon, hiking out of the backwoods with no water, AND surviving has nothing to do with luck.

I certainly don't think of him as a hero. That is a word that gets thrown about all too often these days.

azhiker96 · Post by **azhiker96** » May 11 2003 10:26 pm

I'm sure there was probably some luck involved in his self-rescue. I just think it was a small part. Setting up anchors and rope to rappel down 60 feet has more to do with knowledge and presense of mind than luck. Having the ropes, anchors, and knife were part of preparing for the trip. Now if he'd fallen 60 feet and landed softly in a huge clump of bushes I'd say that was luck! Anyway, I am hoping he'll cut a book and movie deal and then we'll know more about what happened. (unless of course they add some terrorists and a romance to spice it up a bit).

mttgilbert · Post by **mttgilbert** » May 11 2003 10:34 pm

Whatever it was the guy has earned my respect. I can only hope in a situation like that I would be able to react in the same fashion. Certainly his preparation and experience were big parts in his self-rescue.

azhiker96 wrote: I am hoping he'll cut a book and movie deal and then we'll know more about what happened. (unless of course they add some terrorists and a romance to spice it up a bit).

maybe they could get vin diesel to play him

MtnGeek · Post by **MtnGeek** » May 12 2003 4:47 pm

azhiker96 wrote:I am hoping he'll cut a book and movie deal and then we'll know more about what happened. (unless of course they add some terrorists and a romance to spice it up a bit).

I don't think I could watch a movie like this. This whole thing has got me grossed out and freaked out already as it is. I could not imagine cutting my arm off and braking my own bone. I could not see a movie on it. I had a hard enouph time reading his interview.

fatoldsun · Post by **fatoldsun** » May 12 2003 6:18 pm

I wrote a post before but forgot what I was going to say so here I am posting anyway. I gues the crux of it was regardless of how he got there, what a procedure to be able to do that to yourself. I would like to have been there to witness it. Not from a voyeuristic point of view :twisted: :yuk: ; but from a medical point of view.

I do want to say hikers are great people, they have backed me up more than once. Not only out on hikes but also in the office place and right here on HAZ. Why am I saying that? Well, it happened right here in this thread. I don't want to name any names but there's good people on this site; I can attest to that.

Elaine2003 · Post by **Elaine2003** » May 13 2003 9:09 am

I gues the crux of it was regardless of how he got there, what a procedure to be able to do that to yourself. I would like to have been there to witness it. Not from a voyeuristic point of view; but from a medical point of view.

there's good people on this site; I can attest to that.

My thoughts exactly fatoldsun.

Daryl · Post by **Daryl** » May 13 2003 2:02 pm

My post a few days back was in reply to a post that said this guy could be considered a hero by some people, or something like that. That post mysteriously disappeared after I posted.

Re-reading my post, I was harsh and I apologize if I offended anyone. My point is/was look beyond how amazing this story is and see it for what it is. It is a perfect example of why hiking alone is not a great idea. This guy may be one of the premier climber/hiker/athletes in the country, and it happened to him. It could happen to you. If it was you, would you still be alive today?
If you’d rather hike alone (or have no other option) and you don’t care about the risks, as a courtesy to the people that care about you and the people that will come looking for you, at least try to let someone know where you are going and when you’ll be back. Also, if you are doing a hike where climbing gear is involved, please don’t go alone; call me, I’d be glad to come with you (seriously).

Elaine2003 · Post by **Elaine2003** » May 13 2003 2:19 pm

It is a perfect example of why hiking alone is not a great idea. This guy may be one of the premier climber/hiker/athletes in the country, and it happened to him. It could happen to you. If it was you, would you still be alive today?

If you’d rather hike alone (or have no other option) and you don’t care about the risks, as a courtesy to the people that care about you and the people that will come looking for you, at least try to let someone know where you are going and when you’ll be back.

That is the main reason why i started the thread...to get those points across.

Desertboots · Post by **Desertboots** » May 15 2003 9:12 pm

How did he come to have his arm caught?

:

mttgilbert · Post by **mttgilbert** » May 15 2003 9:29 pm

I read in the paper that he was scrambling over some boulders. As he was going over them his weight caused the boulders to shift and his arm was in the way. Kind of vague but thats all I got.

Hiker has to amputate his own arm

Hiker has to amputate his own arm

Re: Hiker has to amputate his own arm