This is just brutal!

[mwills]

They went to recover the arm, but "Sergeant Vetere said the boulder weighed about 1,000 pounds. " - from the NY Times

 

 

[catbirdseat]

There will be a book and a movie and it will lead to a resurgent interest in climbing, just as it happened after Krakaur wrote Into Thin Air. Just you watch.

[A7U]

salbrecher said:

I woulda cut between the bones like when carving a turkey. If you hit the right spot the arm just slides off!

 

That's if the meat is cooked.

 

So how DID he cut through the bone? Did he cut the ligaments at the elbow and separate the humerus from the radius & ulna? Anybody read exactly what part of the arm was caught?

 

That someone would think of self-amputation is not so surprising to me, that someone would begin it is hard to believe, and that someone could do it all the way to completion---astounding.

 

When I was an EMT, a surgeon once joked to a drunk 16 year old girl we were sewing up, "pain never hurt anybody." Just read an essay by a U-Wyoming biologist who says pain is an emotional response to a physiologic condition. I bet everyone here has had the experience of being hurt and not feeling it or being unaware of pain until becoming aware of the injury.

 

Most of the challenges in climbing are mental but man, this warps mental right into the ultraviolet.

[dalius]

Today's story

 

Climber to get prosthetic arm

 

Monday, May 5, 2003 Posted: 10:21 AM EDT (1421 GMT)

 

MOAB, Utah (AP) -- Thirteen park rangers lugged equipment into Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah and lifted an 800-pound boulder that had trapped a mountain climber until he amputated his arm with a pocketknife.

 

After hiking three miles to the remote canyon Sunday, the crew was able to lift the egg-shaped boulder and push it into a space where it fit securely.

 

The rangers also recovered the arm of Aron Ralston, who was pinned for five nights before cutting off his arm below the elbow with a pocketknife on Thursday.

 

Ralston, 27, hiked out of the canyon for help and remained hospitalized in fair condition in Grand Junction, Colorado.

 

He was to undergo surgery Monday to close the wound in preparation for a prosthetic arm. His parents say his spirits remain high.

 

On Sunday, the rangers slung the chalkstone rock with 2-inch webbing and moved it up about 11/2 feet until they found a spot where it could fit, said river ranger Steve Young.

 

A grip hoist, a type of strong winch that uses half-inch steel cable, was used to pull the boulder up. Hydraulic jacks were placed on top of wooden cribbing on the floor of the narrow canyon. The jacks were used to push the boulder up and keep it from getting caught on the craggy canyon wall.

 

The rock apparently had fallen about 2 feet when it trapped Ralston, Young said.

 

The lower portion of Ralston's right arm was recovered Sunday and taken to a mortuary, said Young, who helped move the boulder.

 

It took about two hours to lift the rock and push it into a new spot. It is still possible the boulder will move again, Young said.

 

The narrow canyon is prone to flash flooding whenever it rains, and the water could sweep it away.

 

Sunday was the second time rangers attempted to recover the arm; a previous attempt Friday was unsuccessful.

 

[Fejas]

His arm had to be broken right at the point of impact... so when he cutt his arm "below the elbow", it had to be in the broken spot... I'm guessin' that the bone was already protruding.... not to mention, if the rescuers had found him, his arm would have been so fucked up that they would have amputated it anyway...

[nolanr]

I'm amazed he didn't pass out from the pain or go into shock and become non-functional. Pretty amazing he kept his shit together long enough to get himself out of it. I read somewhere he ran out of water fairly quick (day 2 maybe?), so he was probably pretty dehydrated on top of everything else.

 

Kind of like the proverbial animal caught in a trap chewing it's own leg off to escape. The will to live is pretty overpowering in some individuals.

[Thinker]

This web page talks more about the accident, quotes Gator talking about solo climbs, and then provides a f....in link to fill out your very own application to climb Rainier solo! Looks like there will be plenty of gear to scavenge up there this summer.

 

Elite Climbers Go At It Alone Amid Danger

Thu May 8, 1:45 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

 

 

By COLLEEN SLEVIN, Associated Press Writer

 

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - It's been three years since Vito Seskunas had to drag himself five miles on his backside in Grand Teton National Park after breaking his ankle on a solo backcountry ski trip.

 

Unable to carry his gear, he survived by rationing three Nutri-Grain bars over four days and eating snow. He wasn't rescued until he got within 100 yards of his car.

 

His greatest fear wasn't dying. It was the thought of never again wandering the wilderness alone — a passion shared by an elite group of outdoors lovers with the skills and the nerve to test themselves without a net.

 

"It's the freedom to do demanding things in a demanding environment," said Seskunas, 56, an administrator at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center at the University of Maryland. "Of course, the thing that goes along with that is the responsibility to get yourself out of any trouble you get yourself in."

 

The perils of going solo were highlighted by the recent story of Aron Ralston, the 27-year-old from Aspen who chose to amputate his own arm after becoming pinned under a 800-pound boulder in Utah's canyons.

 

While there's an unwritten rule against going it alone in the outdoors, enthusiasts and rescue volunteers say there's no reason to stop those with experience from soloing.

 

That is, as long as they take precautions such as leaving an itinerary, when they're due back and where their car is parked. They should also consider doing a trek a little less difficult than what they would do with a group.

 

Ralston, a former rescue volunteer, failed to leave plans for his fateful trip, something his family says he deeply regrets.

 

But Ralston's ability to figure out his options — and calmly pick a way to free himself, no matter how gruesome — is an example of the concentration and determination usually found in soloists, said Mike Gauthier, lead climbing ranger at Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State.

 

"Everyone is always blaming the world for their problems," he said. "But when you are solo climbing, or solo kayaking, there are no excuses. It was your decision to get in the water and it's your responsibility to figure out what to do."

 

Gauging the number of people who go skiing, backpacking and mountaineering solo is difficult because the range of activities is so wide and because permits are not always required, especially for day trips.

 

The National Park Service does require permits for the 11,000 climbers who attempt 14,410-foot Mt. Rainier each year. About 30 of those on average are soloists, who must fill out an application detailing their outdoors experience. Of those, all but about 10 stick to popular routes, where help would be relatively close at hand, Gauthier said.

 

Some soloists simply strike out on their own because it's hard to coordinate schedules — especially for mid-week adventures — or because they can't find anyone else at their skill level who wants to do the same things they do.

 

All seem to enjoy the heightened beauty of the outdoors without anyone to distract them, said Charley Shimanski, a 17-year veteran mountain rescue volunteer in Colorado's Front Range and education director for the Mountain Rescue Association.

 

"The classic soloist is more dialed into that passion for solitude, and the peace that comes from being alone, than they are with some death-defying drive to push themselves right up to the limit," said Shimanski.

 

Of the approximately 80 rescues his group responds to each year, he estimates that between 10 and 15 percent involve soloists, most of whom have gotten lost. The bigger problem, he said, is experienced people in groups who don't have the right clothing and gear.

 

In recent years a soloist has died or gotten seriously hurt about every other year on Mt. Rainier. Overall, the mountain claims two to three lives per year, Gauthier said.

 

Maryland skier Seskunas finally felt physically up to venturing out alone again this winter. And he still usually refuses his wife's pleas to take along a cell phone, because it violates his quest for self-sufficiency.

 

He took the phone once, but that trip failed to make him a believer. "I was standing right there on a ridge and I couldn't even get a signal," he said.

___

 

On the Net:

Mountain Rescue Association: http://www.mra.org

Mount Rainier National Park Solo Climb Request:

http://www.nps.gov/mora/climb/solo.htm

[Charlie]

see attachment (careful)- it's pretty disturbing.

[dalius]

I can't seem to view the attachment. is it attached correctly?

[Charlie]

it was a movie- it won't let it attach.

[Dru]

While there's an unwritten rule against going it alone in the outdoors, enthusiasts

use plenty of lubricant?

[texplorer]

The 11th essential - jar of vaseline

 

Now all Mountaineer packs will be .5lb heavier

(except Trask's, he always has vaseline)

[specialed]

Dru said:

While there's an unwritten rule against going it alone in the outdoors, enthusiasts

use plenty of lubricant?

 

 

ASTROGLIDE

The brand preferred by outdoor soloists everywhere

Feels just like...

[snoboy]

Fejas said:

His arm had to be broken right at the point of impact... so when he cutt his arm "below the elbow", it had to be in the broken spot... I'm guessin' that the bone was already protruding.... not to mention, if the rescuers had found him, his arm would have been so fucked up that they would have amputated it anyway...

 

He broke his own f'in arm. Yuck! Ouch!

 

Read about it here. (poorly written article alert!!!)

[Ducknut]

MSNBC.com had a interview with him yesterday. He said he torqued his arm until he broke the ulna and radius then ripped the skin as best he could with the dull multipurpose tool he had. He had used the tool for several days to try to extract his hand by whitting away at the rock, thereby dulling the knifeblade to the point where he couldn't even pierce the skin. He gave a great interview and was very matter of fact and composed. He is tough and icy.

[specialed]

Ducknut said:

He is tough and icy.

 

Who wouldn't be after that.

 

It occured to me after I listened to that interview that he might have been able to pour his water on the sandstone before trying to chip it away, since sandstone loses lke 60% of its strength when wet. But maybe he didn't have enough water and that would have been too risky, since if it didn't work he'dbe extra fucked.

[sobo]

Latest famous quote:

 

"I felt pain, and I coped with it" ...Aron Ralston