Don't Drink and Hike!

Rescue teams in Zakopane have warned tourists that beer and hiking do not go together, after a weekend that saw four rescues in the Tatra mountains. None of the rescue missions were serious, but staff at TOPR, the Tatra Mountain Rescue Team, said tourists could limit even minor difficulties if they were properly prepared. One rescue in particular, which took place on Kopa Kondracka, on Saturday at 8pm, may have been required due to just a small amount of alcohol. Mountain rescuers led tourists to safety from the beauty spot, after a man became severely dehydrated. The man was not drunk, but was offended when rescuers asked him if he had been drinking. Jakub Hornowski, TOPR rescue worker, said: "It turned out, however, that he drank a beer in the morning. Drinking alcohol dehydrates the body quickly. So our question was justified." Other rescues, on Sunday, included a man who wandered off a trail and got lost, another who suffered an attack of a previous medical condition, and a tourist who fainted in woodland.