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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- The Aspen climber who amputated his own arm after being pinned for five days by a boulder was transferred out of intensive care on Tuesday.
Aron Ralston, 27, was in fair condition a day after undergoing surgery to close the wound on his right arm, St. Mary's Hospital spokesman Dan Prinster said.
Ralston was not expected to speak publicly about the ordeal before Thursday, Prinster said. He is expected to remain in the hospital for the rest of the week.
Ralston left on what was supposed to be a one-day trek on April 26 from trailhead in a remote part of Canyonlands National Park, about 38 miles west of Moab, Utah. An 800-pound boulder shifted in a 3-foot-wide canyon, pinning his arm.
On Thursday, two days after his water ran out, he used a pocketknife to amputate the arm below the elbow.
He hiked about five miles before he was found by tourists, who flagged down a search team. Searchers were dispatched after his friends in Aspen became worried when he failed to report for work at an outdoor gear shop.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
