[jaskin]

My Girlfriend pointed this out on the front page of the newspaper today. It's pretty gruesome, I mean a pocket knife!

 

[bootman]

Holy @#!&!
Someone buy that guy a drink.
(or maybe a thousand!)

I dunno if I could do something like that.

 

[andrzejpw]

I'm amazed at the decision this guy had to make. Hats off to this guy.

 

[dhwilkin]

That is an amazing story.

 

[HighwayStar]

I don't know if this is true, but the NY Daily News article reads: "Terry Mercer the rescue helicopter pilot said Ralston walked himself into the emergency room"...

That's hardcore...

 

[kerelybonto]

This article is one of the most comprehensive I've seen so far. It has a detailed account of the rescue, HighwarStar, and apparently he did walk into the emergency room. Among other things, it also says, "It is unclear whether Ralston hacked through his bone or whether the bone had been crushed by the boulder." It does seem that he didn't go the ligament route, though, considering that almost all the articles say he cut off his right arm "below the elbow."

This article is also good. It mentions that in 1993 a fisherman in the same area had to cut off his own lower leg after getting it caught under a fallen boulder. (I think I'm going to start collecting self-amputation stories.)

A lot of the other articles seem somewhat confused. The CNN.com article had a very strange version of the story -- it said he was trapped under a 200lbs boulder. Now, c'mon, I don't think a guy who cuts off his own arm is going to be pinned down by a 200lbs rock. Stupid news people.

Still, fi' dolla to the first guy who finds out what kind of pocket knife it was.

kerely

 

[HighwayStar]

kerely, thanks for the link. True grit doesn't even begin to describe it... I can't imagine. Stuck there supporting or semi supporting his weight for so long, freezing at night, dehydrated, bled out, rappels down, hikes and this guy walks into the emergency room ? That's one tough hombre... one tough son of a bitch. Sheer will to live. Incredible.

Oh man, I just read that second article. The fisherman story... Oh man...

 

[grinch]

i imagine that if i had a boulder sitting on my arm, cutting bone wouldn't really be a problem since the boulder had most likely already done that for me. shattered bone.. yum.

that guy is definitely a madman, but damn does that author of that article poke fun of him with the last statement:

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

 

[brent_mr2]

Quote:

Originally posted by raymondlin imagine cutting your own arm off piece by piece slowly and had to watch it too.

At least his hunger hadn't taken over

I would have passed out just seeing my arm severed.

 

[wallijonn]

DC and Jaskin - you are both right, a cell phone may not be close enough to a repeater to work. if he had been close to a road, though, he may have been able to use a walkie talkie. (I've always wondered what happens when you dial 911 on a cell phone). had he been in a canyon the mirror may only be able to be used during daylight hours, the flares may be obstructed by the boulders' position, etc.; but he may have been able to start a brush fire. not too many people carry road flares in their back packs.

anyhow, he broke two cardinal rules - never go alone, and always let someone know where you are at. not too much you can do if you are in the wilderness, though. someone may have found his car (where he could have left directions). and nothing like a gun going off to attract attention.

mountaineering accidents happen all the time. (just like drownings). some can't be helped. others can.

i just hope that I am never in a similar position.