Trapped climber amputates own arm

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The climber who amputated his own arm to free himself from beneath a boulder had no other choice if he wanted to survive, one of his rescuers said Friday.

Aron Ralston, 27, of Aspen would have died had he stayed where he was, in remote Blue John Canyon near Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah, Emery County sheriff's Sgt. Mitch Vetere told NBC's "Today" show.

Ralston, described by authorities as an avid outdoorsman in exceptional physical condition, was in serious condition Friday at a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo.

"If he wouldn't have gotten himself out of that mess," Vetere said, "they wouldn't have seen him from the air."

Ralston was hiking Saturday when he became pinned by the boulder. He ran out of water on Tuesday and on Thursday morning, he decided that his survival required drastic action.

Using a pocketknife, Ralston cut off his right arm below the elbow and applied a tourniquet and administered first aid. He then rigged anchors, fixed a rope and rappelled 60 feet to the canyon floor.

"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," said park ranger Steve Swanke. "He is a warrior, period."