Aardwolf,

Is the weather bad up there in Canada or something? I don't think the sarcastic attacks are really necessary. Mr. Russell was simply trying to explain that if you end up in a situation like this you are going to have to expect people to talk about it. If Mr. Ralston is so concerned about the publicity I doubt he would be on television just about every day.

I think the concerns that Doug and others have expressed on this forum are that Mr. Ralston doesn't have the right to say that we can't talk about him in this forum, whether he did anything stupid or not, especially since this is a non-profit organization that isn't looking to make money off of his name. I don't believe that we are slandering his good name or causing him emotional pain or financial hardship. This is an educational site, and we are discussing the situation in order to learn from the events.

And personally, while I credit Mr. Ralston with his courage and determination to amputate his own arm and proceed to make his way out of the canyon, and his demonstrated thoughtfulness to bring ample water on his hike, it is a shame that he didn't simply let someone know where he was going. It very likely could have saved his arm (and yes that is pure speculation on my part). Hopefully others will learn from this lesson and be more attentive to this important survival tactic.

Greg