Believe it or not, this isn’t a guide on some of the pitfalls to avoid when ascending the fearsome Snowdon but instead, is the frankly daring story of one man’s attempt to scale it completely naked in one of the most bizarre activities in Snowdonia yet.
Forgoing clothes to make it from the shower to your bedroom is difficult enough for the best of us during gloomy wintry cold but (or butt, as was on show), a photographer went one step further and braved the sub-zero temperatures on one of Snowdon’s many ridges.
Dan Arkle from Sheffield was looking to prove an artistic point when he abandoned all fabrics and armed himself with just an ice axe and crampons for company. He claims that the occasion was to bring attention to how, “…weak and vulnerable humans are in such a place without modern technology and protective equipment”. Instead of ascending the country’s mightiest peak, surely a better way of proving this would be to go to Starbucks without your iPhone instead?
The story has drawn plenty of sniggers, plaudits and one or two jeers from park officials. Mountain Rescue Britain and Wales representative, Andy Simpson, was not too enamoured by the artist’s antics saying, “It’s completely irresponsible and if he did fall it wouldn’t be him who would be picking up the pieces.
I would hope most people would look at that and realise it’s not a good thing to do at all…. From a rescuer’s point of view it is extremely annoying. He is courting disaster. I would hope most people would look at it and realize it’s not a good idea at all.”
After this news story made national papers, it’s worth mentioning that Snowdon.com does not endorse climbing mountains in the nude and if you’d like a guide on how best to prepare for ascension, then check out our guide on staying safe on Snowdon.