Climber's parents proud, thankful

1 Comment | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 6, 2003 | by Laura HancockDeseret News staff writer

The parents of Aron Ralston, the climber who cut off his right arm below the elbow with a pocket knife to pry himself from an 800-pound boulder, are proud of his brave actions.

Donna Ralston admitted she initially was a bit shocked.

"But the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a rational decision that was. I was more thankful he was alive and he was able to get himself out."

In a Monday afternoon press conference broadcast on Grand Junction's NBC affiliate, KKCO-TV, Larry Ralston explained what logic played out in his son's thoughts on April 26, when the boulder fell and trapped him in Bluejohn Canyon outside Canyonlands National Park.

Within an hour after the rock fell and pinned Aron Ralston while he was standing up, he concluded there were four alternatives: Someone on the trail would happen upon him; he would chip away the part of the boulder that trapped him; he would mechanically move the rock with his rigging gear; he would cut off his arm.

As Aron Ralston relayed the story to his father "he paused and said, 'I guess there was a fifth alternative, but that wasn't on the list.' Which means that the fifth was he wouldn't live," Larry Ralston said.

Aron Ralston, of Aspen, Colo., originally planned to hike down Bluejohn Canyon and into adjacent Horseshoe Canyon. The trip was only to last one day. But after the boulder fell, the ordeal dragged on until Thursday afternoon when he decided to cut off his arm because the other alternatives had not panned out and his food and water sources were depleted. After the amputation, he hiked out of the area and met rescuers about five hours later.

He remains in the intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, where he has been eating and drinking water practically nonstop, hospital administration said. He was operated on Thursday night and Monday morning.

In Monday's surgery, two doctors shortened the bone about 1 inch and pulled muscles and skin over the end of his arm to close the wound. The hourlong surgery went well, a hospital statement said, and Ralston is expected to be released from the hospital Friday or Saturday.

Although Ralston worked on a search-and-rescue unit in New Mexico, he did not leave a note explaining where he was going. His family hacked his computer, e-mailed all his friends and learned he probably was in Utah, Donna Ralston said.

Larry Ralston cannot see his son giving up his love of outdoor adventures.

"I don't see a change in direction, just a slight delay."

E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com