Beer saves man's life Slovak man frees himself from avalanche by urinating on snow Jan 31, 2005 - A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking about eight gallons of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it. Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains. ADVERTISEMENT

He told them that after the avalanche, he opened his car window and tried to dig his way out. As he dug with his hands, he realized the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through. He said that he contemplated this problem by opening one of 60 half-liter bottles of beer he had in the car because he was going on holiday. It was then that he realized he could urinate on the snow and it would melt. "I was scooping the snow from above me and packing it down below the window, and then I peed on it to melt it," he said. "It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there." Parts of Europe were hit last week by the heaviest snowfalls in more than 60 years, with some places registering more than ten feet of snow in 24 hours.

