Climber who scaled Snowdon peak naked branded 'stupid and irresponsible'

[chrisw91]

A CLIMBER who scaled mount Snowdon while naked has been condemned as "irresponsible" for
potentially putting lives at risk.



Dan Arkle climbed Crib Goch, a ridge next to Wales's highest mountain and the country's second biggest peak in itself, by torchlight using an ice axe and crampons.

He drove from his home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, through the night to Snowdonia and climbed the mountain alone to reach his destination by sunrise.

The 35-year-old photographer then shed his clothes to and continued along the notorious peak on which several people have lost their life.

But Andy Simpson, a spokesman for Mountain Rescue England & Wales, has described the move as "the stupidest thing he has ever seen."



He said: "Apart from the fact that he's naked and exposed, he has nothing on his feet which means he has no grip with the mountain. It's tough to comment with out calling it a really stupid stunt.

"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 its not a good thing to do a all. The RAF would undoubtedly be called, with the cost of a Sea King helicopter running into thousands of pounds an hour, but the main thing is the personal risk he would be putting the rescuers under.

"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 realise its not a good idea at all."

"Crib Goch is notorious and there have been several fatalities. It has a vertical drop of several hundred feet on the one side, and a long slope on the other. There is no margin for error.



"Most people treat it with respect - in winter it can be a death trap."

Mr Arkle, said: "One of the reasons people go into the mountains is for a feeling of awe at being surrounded by powerful and elemental forces.

"I wanted to highlight how weak and vulnerable humans are in such a place without modern technology and protective equipment.



"It was surprisingly mild at just below zero with no wind which is a good job as I was worried about getting frostbite and not just on my feet.

"I walked a few hundred yards naked until my feet got too cold, it felt very free to not be weighed down by my usual equipment and to feel the snow crunching between my toes.

"There was a huge sheer drop to each side so I needed to go very slowly and carefully."


http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/452493/Climber-who-scaled-Snowdon-peak-naked-branded-stupid-and-irresponsible

[ToneBender]

The words 'Snowdon' and 'stupid and irresponsible' seem to go together a lot lately. I say (in both cases) more power to them.

[nudetrail]

 a gutsy effort ooh that looks so cold bbbrrrrrrr.

[Mark]

Mr Arkle, said: "One of the reasons people go into the mountains is for a feeling of awe at being surrounded by powerful and elemental forces.

"I wanted to highlight how weak and vulnerable humans are in such a place without modern technology and protective equipment."

That's all well and good, but it WAS a pretty stupid move.

[AElf]

The words 'Snowdon' and 'stupid and irresponsible' seem to go together a lot lately. I say (in both cases) more power to them.

One embarrassed the American government, the other em-bare-arsed the Welsh.

[fsjm2112]

To be honest, I agree with the people who critiqued his hike. Not because he was hiking naked but because of the terrain and climate. The cold has to be unbearable up there and it looks like he had no shoes on. He's only asking for the worst.

[fsjm2112]

 I don't think this stems to whether he was a naturist or not. The fact that he did such an act without proper clothing and protection from the frigid temperature is plain stupid.

[Karla]

The fact that he did such an act without proper clothing and protection from the frigid temperature is plain stupid.

Evidently not though. After all, he doesn't seem any worse for it. You can be outside in temperatures way below freezing if you are quick and have a way to warm up afterwards. The greater the risk the greater the precautions. With things like this you push the envelope a little at a time so that you find where your limit is without landing yourself in trouble by going past them too fast. For example, when it dropped to -29 C the first winter we moved to Bavaria, Stuart and I stood naked on our balcony at night to see what it felt like. It wasn't as bad as we expected. Neither of us know quite what precautions he took, but he would have only been naked for a few minutes at most. His body would still have been warm from the climb up. Being a seasoned climber he would have had some idea of what kind of temperatures he could withstand. He would have been aware of the effects of windchill and would have taken that into account when up there.

The greatest risk that I can see is that he did it when alone (as far as we know). But that also applies to climbing in more treacherous conditions when you have your clothes on.

[briguy]

not on a climing aspect, but on flat ground I have fairly good traction in most cases with bare feet.  I may have a little issue with slopping after the snow gets packed and turns to ice, but that is mainly from foot traffic and I would be fine if I didn't wear shoes most of the time. I am sure Wim Hof wouldn't have a problem with it.

[closetnudist]

I'm a  mountaineer myself.. And I give him a hats off.. But damn.. its quite risky.. And that's an achievement!

[Gman707]

In the dark though.one foot wrong and he'd have been a gonner.

[softynude]

that's crazy and so daring ! but I think every person knows the potential and the limits of his own body

[Westernyelp]

Stupid thing to do. if he hurt himself fair enough, but its the mostly volunteer mountain rescue crews who would have to risk themselves to retrieve him. they or the helicopter rescue teams are overworked already and someone who gets in trouble through no fault of there own may suffer instead