In order to free himself from the boulder trapping him, a climber had to cut off his own arm. However, to do this, he had to first deliberately break his arm, since there was no bone saw to cut it off.

How strong could you be if faced with this situation? Could you break your arm and then cut the rest of it with a dull knife in order to get free?

See story of Colorado man here

I've seen/read similar stories, and though in the cool light of a pain-free day, I think I would not have the strenth to do it, who knows what desperation may do to give strength and courage in an otherwise hopeless situation? I think the human desire to survive is very strong, resulting in situations like the one you tell. Hopefully I'll never have to face such a dilemma.

I hope I never have to find out if I could do it.

with you Tielhard - Cliches abound but "life or death" I think (am sure!) I would do it!

If I were trapped by a boulder and had the choice of dying or cutting my arm off...sorry, but I'd have to die, as I could never have the guts to cut my arm off. I'm a chicken when it comes to pain

I would have to pretty sure that I would die without cutting it off,the risk of bleeding to death when you cut it off would be very real so you would have to weigh up the percentages.

Yes if my life depended on it I can say with certainty I would cut off almost any part of my body to save myself.A survey was done in Sydney after this story appeared that asked people if they would had to choose would they cut off their arm or their leg,many more people chose arm to be cut off over leg.The survival instinct is very strong in most creatures.I recall something about it`s not a crime if two people are in the middle of the sea with only one lifejacket to save them one of them can either kill the other person to take the jacket or take it from them thereby causing them to drown.

If I had to choose a limb to lose then I would rather lose a leg than an arm, even though I have a dread of losing a leg. I come from a legless family, grandfather lost one, father lost one, uncle lost two, aunt lost one... It is far easier to manage with one leg than with one arm, and you lose more weight!

I think I'd rather lose a leg, even though riding my bicycle would become more of a challenge! One upsetting aspect of losing a leg would be the money wasted on buying a pair of shoes when I'd only need one of them.

That is where you are wrong Martin, you still need a shoe with an artificial leg. I can remember by father riding a bike with his crutches tied to the crossbar, quite a sight to be seen. One economy tip for people who have to wear an artificial leg, buy only one style and colour of socks then you can keep one on the leg (it doesn't wear out or get smelly) and the other pairs go twice as far.

But, in order to cut the arm off, remember that he had to deliberately break it first. I don't know why, but the thought of that part almost makes me more queasy than the cutting off part.

(Trying not to shiver here as I write this....)

How do you break your own arm?

Thats why cell phones are so important....

You could have called someone else (with the other hand) to come over and do the breaking part for you.....

If your arm is trapped by a rock then you can use your muscles to break it,either in a sharp sudden movement or a slow levering of the arm.Linda after having broken most of my bones it`s not that bad,sure it hurts but you get used after a while.The man that did this to himself was as gutsy as they come,though climbing alone and not having a mobile handy was an error that we all could learn from.Regarding which I would choose,it would be a leg[being a two fingered typist I would be down to half speed if I lost an arm].Certainly the dogs attacking Telly on his bike would get a surprise and maybe some dental work if he was one legged.

This reminds me of a story I heard when a was very young, of a man who had to cut his arm off quickly when his hand got caught in a hay bailer.
As a child it sure was scary to think of having to do such a think. But I think we are all capable of doing what ever it takes to survive.