Posted in Beer News

Man Survives 3 Days On Frozen Beer

So you’re driving around Alaska in the snow.  You slide off the road into a snow drift and you’re stuck.  It’s so cold, you can’t get out and walk.  You’ll die.  How strong is your will to survive?

52 year old Clifton Vial found himself in just this situation last week.   He spent 3 full days in stuck in the snow bank, eventually eating frozen Coors Light like a can of beans.

Vial found himself alone near Salmon Lake, on a road that doubles as a snowmachine trail in the winter and stretches inland from the Bering Sea city. Far beyond the reach of his cellphone, Vial slipped into a fleece sleeping bag liner and wrapped a bath towel around his feet. He occasionally started the truck to run the heater and listen to the radio.

Finding one truck in the expanse of the Alaskan wilderness isn’t an easy task.  Search parties were formed, including helicopter searches.  The temp? 12 below zero.

His only provisions: Snow, and a few cans of Coors Light that had frozen solid in the cab. Vial ate the beers like cans of beans. “I cut the lids off and dug it out with a knife,” he said.

3 days later, a search truck pulled up behind Vial.  He was so out of it, he didn’t even hear them pull up.  At the time of the rescue, he had lost 16 lbs.  [MSNBC]