talk about doing what you have to do to survive!
 

MOAB, Utah (AP) -- A Colorado climber amputated his own arm Thursday, five days after becoming pinned by a boulder, and he was hiking to safety when he was spotted by searchers, authorities said.

Aron Ralston, 27, of Aspen, was in serious condition late Thursday at a hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Ralston was climbing Saturday in Blue John Canyon, adjacent to Canyonlands National Park in far southwestern Utah, when a 200-pound boulder fell on him, pinning his right arm, authorities said.

He ran out of water on Tuesday and on Thursday morning, he decided that his survival required drastic action.

Using his pocketknife, he amputated his arm below the elbow and applied a tourniquet and administered first aid.

He then rigged anchors, fixed a rope and rappelled to the canyon floor.

He hiked downstream and was spotted about 3 p.m. by a Utah Public Safety Helicopter. The search for Ralston had begun the same morning, after authorities were notified he was four days overdue reporting for work.

Ralston was described by authorities as an avid outdoorsman in exceptional physical condition. They said he was known to have climbed 49 of Colorado's major peaks.


now that takes guts!

That's amazing - to think what Joe Public whines about daily that makes their life a misery - and then to read that.

right!

makes you think how trival and shallow we can be at times.

I've heard some amazing stories, but you never know what's urban legend and what's real. (This one seems believable, though.)

I remember a story about a guy out cutting wood when a chainsaw accident cut his head 3/4 off his body. Leaving his head tipped so that gravity would keep the wound closed (and blood going to his brain), he drove to a hospital.

While my daughter was at a swim meet, we heard on local TV about an accident that happened in the park next to the pool in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State. Some girl was sunbathing when a park employee drove a tractor over her head (talk about not paying attention to what you are doing), and she survived with only minor injuries. She was saved by the fact that the soil was loosely packed and damp. We walked over to the park and saw the tractor track, including the divot where her head had been. You also have to wonder how she could have been dozing that hard. Maybe they were both on crack.

jesus...how can you not know you are going to run over someone! and like you said, how could you NOT hear a big piece of machinery comming at you! i'm telling ya, nothing surprises me anymore but i do get a good laugh at times :)

i got the above from cnn.