Clifton Vial, Alaska Man Stranded In The Snow, Survives By Eating Beer

Drinking beer isn't generally viewed as something that's good for your physical health.

While some studies have claimed that drinking beer may reduce the risk of heart disease, alcoholic beverages often contain a high amount of calories, and drinking alcohol "reduces the amount of fat the body burns for energy." These two factors, according the University of Rochester Health Service, can lead to the infamous beer belly and obesity associated health problems.

But, for Clifton Vial, beer may have actually saved his life -- or at least made waiting for rescuers a little less boring.

Vial, an Alaska man, found himself stranded in snow in remote Alaska with only a few cans of Coors Light to drink, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, he was not prepared for the emergency. His cellphone didn't have any service nor did he have access to a a survival kit. Instead he had a few cans of frozen Coors Light.

The Anchorage Daily News also reports that he ended up stranded after heading off on a long drive.

This video, noted in the Huffington Post video above, shows the harsh conditions one would face when driving in Alaska during winter.

While trapped in his car and stranded in the snow for three days, Clifton ate the frozen Coors Light. The Anchorage Daily News reports that

Vial approached the beers like cans of beans. "I cut the lids off and dug it out with a knife," he said.

Whether Clifton actually enjoyed the taste of the beer was not mentioned by the Anchorage Daily News.
When not frozen, Coors Light receives scathing reviews from beer enthusiasts. Users of website Beer Advocate have given the brand a D grade. Ratebeer.com users gave Coors Light an overall rating of zero, the lowest possible on their 0-100 scale.

But when it's the only thing available while stranded in remote Alaska, the beer may have tasted quite good.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article referenced the Alaska Daily News. The name of news organization is the Anchorage Daily News.

Comments

[majesticjkr]

05:57 AM on 12/13/2011

I'm not an alcoholic I know when to stop, I just loike to keep drinking untill I drop, It's mainly just thursdays some fridays aswell, and then there's the weekends but I cant realy tell, mondays to wednesdays I dont really drink, but sometimes I'll have some if it helps me think,

[moroccantreasures]

11:23 PM on 12/07/2011

Wow I pack a full on winter car kit and I live in Oklahoma!
As a parent it is my responsibility to prepare for the worst situations even if they never happen, kids cannot.
Dude would have been eating freeze dried entrees if I had been his wife. But then I dont date guys that drink coors ewwwwww ;)

[majesticjkr]

05:57 AM on 12/13/2011

me neither,

[Jennster]

02:19 PM on 12/07/2011

Why is no one talking about the crime he committed????

[Norge]

07:23 AM on 12/07/2011

Perhaps he had a few cold ones' before he began his wilderness adventure out from Nome leaving all emergency equipment at home. The need for attention was just to overpowering and of course the need for sympathy for his great ordeal of surviving without food for 3 days. Awesome stammina.

[chaapai]

10:35 PM on 12/06/2011

He survived? Was that in spite of having only Coors Light to drink?

[chaapai]

10:33 PM on 12/06/2011

Man can not live on beer alone. But I can get by quite comfortably for awhile tho.

[snapper123]

08:55 PM on 12/06/2011

I enjoy a great Mexican beer called Negro Modelo - mmm good

on another note - beer is good for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RQrOHpJKvQ

[cameron d]

02:53 PM on 12/06/2011

Stuck with Coors? Doubly tragic.

[Jennster]

02:20 PM on 12/07/2011

I know right! He should be left in the cold for that alone.

[kareemachan]

02:02 PM on 12/06/2011

From the ADN:

'Normally Vial carries a sleeping bag, extra gasoline and other survival gear in the 2000 Toyota, he said. But on this trip he had few supplies, no food and no water.'

Yeah, right. He just so happened to have decided to leave it home in Nome on a December day when driving on a road that doubles as a snowmachine trail in the wintertime. Brilliant.

[Stephen Thorpe]

01:58 PM on 12/06/2011

No nachos' huh?! Oh darn.

[thekid360]

01:43 PM on 12/06/2011

Good for him , the zero ratings cracked me up. I once heard a customer order a Coor's Light in a bar
and the bartender replied with a very serious look, we don't have any but we have some water

[StuntHunt]

01:37 PM on 12/06/2011

Big deal. I've been living on beer for years.

[chas]

01:24 PM on 12/06/2011

the mountains were definitely blue

[Kevin Wheeler]

01:16 PM on 12/06/2011

He wouldn't have died anyway, it was only 3 days....

[DSevere]

12:27 PM on 12/06/2011

Having been a wild partying (and totally broke) punk rocker in my younger days, I can attest to the fact that it is possible to survive by making beer the mainstay of your diet. ;)