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THE best way to avoid a fatal accident while hiking in the wilderness is to
keep off the booze, according to Torrey Goodman and her colleagues from the
University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tuscon. In a survey of 100 deaths
over a 13-year period in the wilds of Pima County, Arizona, they found that half
were alcohol-related (Annals of Emergency Medicine, vol 37, p 279). The
incidents, mostly drowning and falling off cliffs, would probably not have
happened if the victims had been sober. Most of the accidents were so severe
that better response from rescue teams wouldn’t have helped, says Goodman.