Fooking hell - How the hell doyou manage to do this?
09 May 2003, 01:24 PM
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Recovering climber describes his ordeal
The US climber who cut off his own arm after being trapped under a fallen boulder has recovered enough to tell his story.
"I did what I had to do," said Aron Ralston, as he recovered in Grand Junction, Colorado.
He calmly described how, being hopelessly pinned by the boulder for four days, he finally took a blunt pocket-knife to his forearm.
"Basically, I got my surgical table ready," he said.
"I was able to first snap the radius and then within another few minutes snap the ulna at the wrist and from there, I had the knife out and applied the tourniquet and went to task."
The operation took an hour.
"I may never fully understand the spiritual aspects of what I experienced, but I will try," he said.
"The source of the power I felt was the thoughts and prayers of many people, most of whom I will never know."
Peaceful
Even after his excruciating operation, what Aron had to do to survive required skills beyond the abilities of most.
He crawled through a narrow, winding canyon, rappelled down an 18-metre cliff and walked 10 kilometres down the canyon.
By the time he encountered hikers and then rescuers, Ralston was just three kilometres from the nearest road.
He was dehydrated and bloody, but calm.
Aron said he felt alternately at peace as well as depressed at the prospect of dying, figuring his body might be washed away in a flash flood before anyone had a chance to find it.
Now on the way to recovery he says he can't wait to get out into the wild again.
The US climber who cut off his own arm after being trapped under a fallen boulder has recovered enough to tell his story.
"I did what I had to do," said Aron Ralston, as he recovered in Grand Junction, Colorado.
He calmly described how, being hopelessly pinned by the boulder for four days, he finally took a blunt pocket-knife to his forearm.
"Basically, I got my surgical table ready," he said.
"I was able to first snap the radius and then within another few minutes snap the ulna at the wrist and from there, I had the knife out and applied the tourniquet and went to task."
The operation took an hour.
"I may never fully understand the spiritual aspects of what I experienced, but I will try," he said.
"The source of the power I felt was the thoughts and prayers of many people, most of whom I will never know."
Peaceful
Even after his excruciating operation, what Aron had to do to survive required skills beyond the abilities of most.
He crawled through a narrow, winding canyon, rappelled down an 18-metre cliff and walked 10 kilometres down the canyon.
By the time he encountered hikers and then rescuers, Ralston was just three kilometres from the nearest road.
He was dehydrated and bloody, but calm.
Aron said he felt alternately at peace as well as depressed at the prospect of dying, figuring his body might be washed away in a flash flood before anyone had a chance to find it.
Now on the way to recovery he says he can't wait to get out into the wild again.
Really, the state of this country today...
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09 May 2003, 03:20 PM
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done some painful things like tattoo accross my spine but no way could I do that! I guess if you put it into perspective with dying trapped there but still
09 May 2003, 03:34 PM
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**** me! That is like, really.... ...horrible!
I think I'd wait to die too. But seeing as I don't plan on doing much climbing up mountains, I hope I'll never be in the position to decide
That is like, really.... ...horrible! I think I'd wait to die too. But seeing as I don't plan on doing much climbing up mountains, I hope I'll never be in the position to decide
09 May 2003, 04:02 PM
#14
Brave? Perhaps as he certainly had to deal with 'some' pain.
Extremely stupid?? Almost certainly. What was he doing alone going climbing in the middle of nowhere? Bloody idiot.
Suresh
Extremely stupid?? Almost certainly. What was he doing alone going climbing in the middle of nowhere? Bloody idiot.
Suresh
09 May 2003, 04:10 PM
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reminds me of the fisherman who was left hanging upside down with his leg caught in a winch.... had to do the same thing except "luckily" the tension of the cable had done most of the work!
09 May 2003, 04:32 PM
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Sometimes things hurt less when you do them to yourself though. I like many others I'm sure have dug away with the nearest pocket knife to remove a deep splinter when I was on a building site, but have cried like a baby if something half the size was removed by my other half when at home.
Not wanting to take anything from him though, what he did was just wild.
Not wanting to take anything from him though, what he did was just wild.
05 September 2003, 02:07 PM
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TK..........Don't you start. I'm getting enough grief form PinkEye at the moment.
And I gave you a rubber duck earlier.
Edited to correct spelling before PE or TK chip in....AGAIN!
[Edited by Badger Stuffer - 5/9/2003 2:08:58 PM]
And I gave you a rubber duck earlier.
Edited to correct spelling before PE or TK chip in....AGAIN!
[Edited by Badger Stuffer - 5/9/2003 2:08:58 PM]
05 September 2003, 03:20 PM
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Now that is one hard B@stard.
Cut through the flesh with a bluntish knife, etc, could not cut the bone so had to break it - How much pain must he have been in?
Brave man!
[Edited by Paul Habgood - 5/9/2003 3:22:16 PM]
Cut through the flesh with a bluntish knife, etc, could not cut the bone so had to break it - How much pain must he have been in?
Brave man!
[Edited by Paul Habgood - 5/9/2003 3:22:16 PM]
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