An Aspen man is alive, but only after doing the unthinkable to save his own life -- amputating his arm with a pocketknife.

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A Story Of Survival

Aron Ralston, 27, was trapped in a remote slot canyon in Utah for five days. He was solo canyoneering on Saturday afternoon in Blue John Canyon, adjacent to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah, when a 800-pound boulder fell on him, pinning his right arm, according to the sheriff's offices in Emery and Wayne counties in Utah.

Ralston, who had only planned for a one-day hike, was unable to move and was trapped. After three days, he ran out of water.

On the fifth day -- Thursday morning -- Ralston realized that his survival required drastic action and that no one was going save him but himself, so he amputated his arm below the elbow using his pocketknife.

He than applied a tourniquet and administered first aid from a kit that he had in his backpack.

Then, with one arm, he rigged anchors and fixed a rope to rappel about 75 feet to the floor of Blue John Canyon where he then continued hiking downstream into Horseshoe Canyon, rescuers said.

That was when he was spotted by a search helicopter from the Utah Department of Public Safety, which along with the Emery County Sheriff's Office and the National Park Service, was sent out to search for Ralston after coworkers in Aspen reported that he hadn't been seen for four days.

"He was in some kind of bandage holding his arm up against his chest, and then he had it all wrapped up. I think he ought to be the next Superman," Sgt. Mitch Vetere of the Emery County Sheriff's Office told 7NEWS.

Ralston was transported to Allen Memorial Hospital in Moab, Utah, where he as stabilized and was later airlifted to St. Mary's in Grand Junction for further treatment. He is listed in serious condition.

Ralston is an avid outdoorsman and in exceptional physical condition, rescuers said.

"I've never seen anybody who has the will to live and is as much of a warrior as Aron is, and I've been doing this for 25 years. He is a warrior period," said Steve Swanke, supervisory park ranger at Canyonlands National Park.

Ralston is known to have climbed 49 of the 54 14,000-feet peaks in Colorado and was preparing for an upcoming Denali expedition.

Vetere told reporters that searchers went back by helicopter Thursday afternoon to the canyon where Ralston was trapped to try and retrieve his arm. They spotted it under the huge boulder, which they estimated at between 800 and 1,000 pounds, but were unable to move it.

This is not the first time that the climber narrowly escaped death. Ralston was backcountry skiing with friends when he was caught in an avalanche on Tennessee Pass in February. He was buried in all but his head and one arm, and was rescued by a friend.

Ralston works at Ute Mountaineering in Aspen, where his boss said that his expeditions have been known to trigger awe.

"To be honest, sometimes we get pretty scared with some of the things he's doing," said Brion After, manager of the Ute Mountaineering. "There were a couple of times when I've told him, 'I could never have done that."'

Rescuers say the area where Ralston got trapped is known as Robber's Roost, where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used to hide out.

Thursday's self amputation wasn't the first by an outdoorsman in the area.

A fisherman from Conifer was trapped in 1993 while fishing alone above Alice, Colo.

Bill Jeracki told authorities he leg was pinned by a boulder at a lake above the town and he tried to get free for hours. After realizing he might not survive a night in the chilly October temperatures, he used a fishing knife to cut off his own leg, beneath his kneecap.

He crawled to his truck and drove to Alice to summon aid.

Additional Info:

Aron Ralston's Personal Web Site
List Of Fourteeners Ralston Has Climbed