Cut off your hand?

Jockohomo said:
You may have heard about a climber by the name of Aron Ralston who had a slight mishap. It seems that he managed to trap his hand between the proverbial rock and a hard place. After 5 days he decided (yes, 5 days!) to cut it off. His knife, a Leatherman knockoff that wouldn't cut butter (a lesson there perhaps?). Not to spoil the ending, it's obvious that a better knife would have made the task much easier.
But, which knife?
As a hot weather climber, travelling ultra-light, I think we have to rule out the obvious choices such as machetes, kukris and bowies. It also begs the question, chop, slice or saw? His arm bone was a major problem!
I thought the Cold Steel Vaquero Grande might be a good choice but on reflection, most climbers would find that too big a folder for EDC.
I would be very interested to hear your informed views on this most macabre of topics.
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"wouldn't cut butter" how about a butter knife? ;)
 
Jockohomo said:
most climbers would find that too big a folder for EDC.
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I am one of the few that would carry a Busse or Swamp Rat but though i love cutting i'd probably pass out on that job :eek:
 
Do you think he tried to chip away at the rock first...

or maybe that didn't occur to him until later. :eek: :D
 
I once saw a show, don't know what it was, about a guy in a similar situation. As i recall he drove his car off the side of a hill into some woods below which almost completely concealed it. To make things worse no one was aound to see the accident. After the accident his and was stuck between a couple of pieces of smashed metal and he couldn't get it loose. After quite a while, don't recall how long, he decides that cutting his fingers off will loosen it up enough to get out and get help. So he starts index no still stuck, middle still not budging, ring still too tight, pinky still no give, finally he cuts off his thumb and his "hand" is still stuck. He finally just had to wait there until someone found him. He survived but cut off five fingers fruitlessly. Talk about suck.
 
:D lol that's funny, "hi guys, damn i cut of my friggen fingers for nothing." haha. OH S*** what if no he decided to cut off his hand? Oh S*** again, what if his whole arm wouldn't budge after he took the hand?
 
I've seen a few responses here that say the guy should have had his cell phone. Isn't a huge assumption that the cell phone would have received any signal at all wherever this guy was climbing? Cell phones have an incredibly small area of coverage. I live about 45 miles outside of Washington DC and I don't get any cellular signal at all at my house. Maybe a satellite based system would work but don't trust your life to a ground-based cell phone.
 
Mycroftt,
I am with you as most of the area's that I like to hike in have no coverage.

I don't know if I could do it. It is freaky just thinking about it.

Tom
 
Without a phone, you don't even have the opportunity to try. Granted, it might not work, and it is nothing to "rely" upon, but the weight is negligible and I know of tales where mountain rescues off of Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier were intiatied by cell phone calls. It sometimes amazes me where my cell will suddenly have a signal when at greater heights in the middle of nowhere when it had no signal at all at the trailhead.

Of course, traveling with a partner who can go for help is the smarter bet.
 
I wonder whats his next knife is going to be. ANd what if his other hand is caught on something now?
 
Around here, you don't go hiking without a cell phone. Mostly because of rattlesnakes.

Another good idea is to tell a couple friends that you're going hiking, tell them where you're going, when you expect to be back, etc. Leave them instructions so that if you don't check in, they can assume you're dying of a snake bite or trapped under a boulder.
 
Actually, come to think of it I almost cut off my arm once...

I woke up with a hangover and a naked fat chick was sleeping on my arm. :D
 
I would've chewed through it. At least that way I would've gotten some protein out of it.
 
fulloflead said:
Do you think he tried to chip away at the rock first...

or maybe that didn't occur to him until later. :eek: :D
Click to expand...

he did. the boulder was 800lbs.
 
this is the one time I'd actually want a combo edge. plain edge for meat and serrated for bone. :barf:
 
If it were me and I was going it solo out in the wilderness with what apears to be some top shelf gear, in addition to a "good knife" I would definatley invest the money into a Personal Locator Beacon. These were available when this incident happened and the $400-$700 dollar price would have been worth every penny. While it would not have likely saved his hand he would have been able to get rescue personel to his location pretty rapidly, again assuming it could get a GPS signal from where he was at.

Cuting off someone elses hand...easy, my hand :o

KS
 
I know several guys that are into climbing, hiking, camping, etc. It never fails to amaze me, just how "unequipped" they are, in regards to protective equipment, such as carrying a good large knife.

Some carry a pocketknife and that's it. In this day and age, you just never know what kind of animal you may encounter, of both the 4 and 2 legged types.

Myself, I am always armed. Meaning a firearm, a large knife and an automatic.

If you venture out on your own, it's even more important to be properly equipped.

My user name says it all............ :D
 
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