04 December 2011

Stranded Nome Man Survives 3 Days

Clifton Vial, 52, climbed into the cab of his Toyota Tacoma Monday night in Nome to see how far a road winding to the north would take him. 

More than 40 miles out of town, at about 9:30 that night, he found out. As Pink Floyd's "Echoes" played on the stereo and temperature dipped well below zero in the darkness, Vial's pickup plunged into a snowdrift.

"I made an attempt at digging myself out and realized how badly I was stuck," said Vial. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans and a $30 jacket from Sears. "I would have been frostbit before I ever got the thing out of there."

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"I felt really pissed at myself," Vial said. "I shouldn't have been out there by myself unprepared for what I knew was possible."


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6 comments:

Bob said...

Sounds like he's usually careful about being out in the Alaska wilderness but had a lapse in judgment. I'd be willing to bet that he won't have another one of those, and will keep a survival kit in his vehicle from now on.

Stephen said...

Nature's way of cleaning the gene pool...I'm forever preaching 'get home bags' and preparedness. See what happens when you don't read.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Perhaps more beers were consumed before the start of the excursion?

Murphy's Law said...

Like Red Foreman says: That's what happens when you're a dumbass.

Quizikle said...

First two paragraphs sound familiar - even to the music.

Perhaps the first sentence of the third paragraph (an adventure is something you don't want to be doing while you're doing it)

But living in Nome and equipped like that?

Coors Light on a road trip?
Q

ProudHillbilly said...

What Well Seasoned Fool said...