This should help you. It was not the Grand Canyon, but must be the incident
you are referring to. this was the result of a quick google search.
Hope it is of help.
David
Cheating Death
in Bluejohn Canyon
Written By: Shane Burrows
The following is one of the most astonishing stories of survival that I have
ever encountered. Instead of dying in Bluejohn Canyon a Colorado canyoneer
accomplishes one of the most daring self-rescues in mountaineering history.
The ensuing story was compiled from various interview's, Aron
Ralston's news conference, Associated Press news releases, local news
releases,
Aron Ralston's website
, personal experience in Bluejohn Canyon and other sources.
The photograph to the left is a self portrait of Aron Ralston
taken in Water Holes Canyon c2001. All other Photograph's used in this
article were
provided by Neil Baird.
The Story:
April 26, 2003, started as a routine Saturday of climbing for Aron
Ralston, an avid outdoorsman and mountain climber. He planned to spend the
day riding his mountain bike and climbing the red rocks and sandstone just
outside the Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. The area is some
of the most desolate and intriguing wilderness in the lower 48 states with
areas of buttes, mesas and convoluted canyons.
Ralston had climbed alone before plenty of times. He had scaled
all 59 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, 45 of them solo in winter, and this
outing
was a warm-up for an ascent of North America's highest mountain, 20,320-foot
tall Mount McKinley.
Ralston, 27, of Aspen, Colorado, parked his pickup truck at the
Horseshoe Canyon Trailhead and took off on his mountain bike for the 15-mile
ride
to the Bluejohn Canyon Trailhead where he locked his mountain bike to a
juniper tree.
Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts and carrying a backpack he planned
to canyoneer down remote
Bluejohn Canyon
and hike out adjacent
Horseshoe Canyon
to where he parked his truck and then go back for the mountain bike. His
backpack contained two burritos, less than a liter of water, a cheap
imitation
of a Leatherman brand multi-tool, a small first aid kit, a video camera, a
digital camera and rock climbing gear. The backpack did not contain a jacket
or extra clothing. Canyoneering is where a climber uses rock-climbing
skills, ropes and gear to negotiate narrow slot canyons.
Ralston spent six days pinned beneath the center chockstone.
Ralston was 150-yards above the final rappel in Bluejohn Canyon.
He was maneuvering in a 3-foot wide slot trying to get over the top of a
large
boulder wedged between the narrow canyon walls. He climbed up the boulder
face and it seemed very stable as he stood on top. As he began to climb down
the opposite side the perfectly balanced 800-pound rock shifted several
feet, pinning his right arm - he was trapped.
Within the first hour after becoming trapped Ralston had
calculated his options and came up with four possible solutions.
list of 4 items
. Someone would happen along and rescue him.
. He would be able to chip away at the rock and free his hand.
. He would be able to rig up something with the ropes and equipment he had
to move the rock.
. If all else failed, he would need to sever the arm.
list end
Death was a 5th possibility that Ralston didn't want to consider.
Ralston tried ropes, anchors, anything to move the boulder, but it
wouldn't budge. Next he tried to chip away at the rock with a cheap
imitation
of a Leatherman brand multi-tool, with no positive results. Ten hours of
chipping at the rock managed to produce only a small handful of rock dust.
Temperatures dipped into the 30's at night, and still Ralston
worked to free himself. Sunday and Monday passed but he was still trapped.
Sunlight
reached the narrow canyon floor for only a very short period of time each
day. He ran out of food and water on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Ralston began sipping the urine he had started
saving a day earlier. He pulled out his video camera and recorded a message
to his
parents. He next etched his name, birth date, and what he was certain was
his last day on earth into the canyon wall. He topped it off with RIP.
On Thursday morning, Ralston had a vision of a 3-year-old boy
running across a sunlit floor to be scooped up by a one-armed man. He
understood
this vision to be of his future son and decided that his survival required
drastic action. If he did not rescue himself now, he would not have the
physical
strength remaining to do it later.
A very loney place.
A very big rock!
Ralston prepared to amputate his right arm below the elbow using
the knife blade on his multi-tool. Realizing that the blade was not sharp
enough
to cut through the bone he forced his arm against the boulder and broke the
bones so he would be able to cut through the tissue. First he broke the
radius
bone, which connects the elbow to the thumb. Within a few minutes he cracked
the ulna, the bone on the outside of the forearm. Next he applied a
tourniquet
to his arm. He than used his knife blade to amputate his right arm below the
elbow. The entire procedure required approximately one hour.
Multi-tool similar to the one used to amputate.
Ralston administered first aid to himself from the small kit in
his backpack. He rigged anchors and fixed a rope to rappel nearly 70-feet to
the
bottom of Bluejohn Canyon. Leaving his rope hanging he hiked 5-miles
downstream into adjacent Horseshoe Canyon, where he encountered a Dutch
family on
vacation.
The Dutch couple Eric and Monique Meijer and their son, Andy, had
just finished photographing the famous Grand Gallery. As they packed up
their
gear and began to hike out of the canyon they heard a voice behind them cry
"Help, I need help". The couple immediately realized that this must be the
lost hiker whom they had been briefed about by a ranger earlier in the day.
Ralston walked quickly toward the couple. His arm, or what was
left, hung in a self-made sling and he spoke clearly: "Hello, my name is
Aron,
I fell off a cliff on Saturday and I was stuck under a boulder. I just cut
off my hand four hours ago and I need medical attention. I need a
helicopter".
It was decided that the wife and son would try to get out of the
canyon as quickly as possible to get help. Eric remained with the injured
man
to guide him in the correct direction and provide him with food, water and
mental support. Despite all of the blood loss, Ralston maintained a strong
walking
pace until sand in his shoes started to irritate him. He stopped in a shady
part of the canyon to cure the annoyance so he could continue.
In the meantime Ralston's friends at the Ute Mountaineer store in
Aspen began to worry when he failed to appear for work and called
authorities.
The dilemma was that Ralston had neglected to notify anyone of his
itinerary. His mother found out her son was missing Wednesday when his boss
called her.
A friend helped her break into her son's e-mail for clues on his whereabouts
to no avail. Authorities in Aspen discovered he had used a credit card to
buy groceries in Moab, Utah and notified authorities there to start
searching for him.
Mitch Vetere, a patrol sergeant with the Emery County Sheriff's
Office in Green River, got the call Thursday morning. A climber was several
days
overdue. His truck had been found at the Horseshoe Canyon Trailhead, but no
one had seen Ralston.
Terry Mercer, a helicopter pilot with the Utah Highway Patrol in
Salt Lake City, met Vetere and another deputy about 1:00 p.m. Thursday at
Horseshoe
Canyon, where Ralston's truck was parked. After reading notes and looking at
Ralston's equipment in his truck, Mercer and Vetere knew Ralston was an
experienced
climber. The search helicopter was soon airborne and Mercer flew for about
two hours - Nothing.
Suddenly the flight crew noticed two people deep in Horseshoe
Canyon waving. It was the Dutch wife and son and they were franticly
signaling the
helicopter and pointing in the direction of the victim. The flight crew
quickly perceived the signals and landed in a wide spot in the canyon near
Ralston.
The flight crew was shocked at the sight - dry and fresh blood coating his
body - and the missing arm. The rescue crew could not believe it; Ralston
was
within a mile of his pickup truck. He almost didn't even need to be rescued.
After Ralston was helped into the helicopter, Mercer peeked back
at him. Ralston's right arm was in a makeshift sling made from a Camelback
used
to carry water. Ralston leaned his head back in the helicopter and sipped on
some water. Vetere kept him talking, so he wouldn't lose consciousness.
Twelve
minutes later, the helicopter arrived at Allen Memorial Hospital in Moab,
Utah. Ralston walked into the emergency room without help, then pointed out
on
a map where he had been stuck.
The rescuers were amazed at Ralston's will to live. A helicopter
likely would not have found him because of his position in the deep and
narrow
slot canyon.
Mercer and two other deputies went back into the canyon hoping
they could retrieve Ralston's arm and that it could be reattached but the
trip
was futile. The deputies could not move the boulder. It would take thirteen
men with equipment to later remove the severed arm.
Aron Ralston had an amazing will to live, he never gave up and he
saved himself.
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf
Of John Gallagher
Sent: 25 September 2007 12:16
To: access-uk-freelists.org
Subject: [access-uk] a talking book
Hi list,
Pat has asked me to find a book which was out a few months ago
it concerns a man who fell when climbing in the grand cannion.
he had to cut his arm off to survive.
I cannot find this book at all has any one any ideas?
I know this is a stab in the dark "smile"
thanks.
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