[pct-l] First Aid

[stillroaming@xxxxxxxxx (Scott Parks)]

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 h=
e was spotted by searchers, authorities said.

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

Ralston was climbing Saturday in Blue John Canyon, adjacent to Canyonlands =
National Park in far southeastern Utah, when a 200-pound boulder fell on hi=
m, 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 t=
ourniquet 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 He=
licopter. The search for Ralston had begun the same morning, after authorit=
ies 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.


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