As nature Intended

Hiking in the the Austrian Alps is one of the world's most popular outdoor pursuits. But not all is what it seems, as our writer strips off for the Naked European Walking Tour. Words and photos by Conor Creighton

The strangest part of a naturist hiking trip is the first day, when you meet in the car park and everyone’s still got their clothes on. It’s morning, you’re a little jaded from the drive and sitting on the bonnet waiting for the rest of the tour group to turn up. You assume that almost any clothed person who pops into the scene is a naturist in disguise. The bus drivers, the elderly woman behind the counter in the coffee shop, the street sweeper – you somehow end up picturing them all without their clothes on. And it’s not even 8am, and you’re in good Catholic Austria and should know better.

The Naked European Walking Tour (NEWT) is an event that’s been going since 2005, organised through the Nacktiv website, “Nacktiv” being a combination of the words “naked” or “nackt” and “active” or “aktiv”, for people who like to combine nudity with outdoor pursuits as opposed to merely sunbathing. The hike can attract anything up to about 20 male and female walkers.

Most years some of the walkers know each other before the hike begins, but generally they don’t and have just met through online forums or by word of mouth. This year we’re seven. Robert, a motorcycle enthusiast from Germany, Richard an expat from England, Miguel a globetrotter now living in Montreal, Brian a walking-book writer, Roland a Dutch travel agent, myself, and my girlfriend Annikki, a filmmaker and photographer who’s here in a working capacity. Though she won’t be stripping off with us she’ll probably know a lot more about the male anatomy by the end of our trip.

We have a dog along too, Polly. She’s a sheep dog who carries her own food and will put us all to shame with her energy.

The group email after we’d signed up had stipulated that we keep our clothes on while on tarmac. So it’s not until we’ve left the town of Radstadt about 15 minutes into the walk that we climb over a wooden fence, the road disappears and the entrance to the wood trail turns into a locker room. It’s a little awkward. Should you give compliments? What do you do with your eyes? And what’s the best technique for putting sunscreen on a bloke’s back?

But in a minute it’s over. Our packs are back on and we’re staring up at a false peak, which is blocking many more false peaks in front of our goal, Strimskogel mountain – a 2,139m-high lump of rock with a metal crucifix perched on its head. We’re the first naturist group to attempt to climb it, so there’s plenty at stake.

But, funnily enough, as we stride up the forest track and see the first snow-capped points, the conversation is not about nudism but what food everyone’s brought. There should be mountain huts or Gasthöfe (guesthouses) along the way that can feed and water us, but whether they’re open or not is another question. With that in mind, everyone’s got at least two days’ rations in their rucksacks, and at least 5l of drinking water.

The walking itself is tough as hell. On day one we climb about 1,000m before we finally make camp for the night. We sweat and haul ourselves up forest trails and rocky slopes cursing every little unnecessary item in our rucksacks that’s slowing us down. All of a sudden it makes perfect sense why the naturist walkers do what they do.

“It’s a matter of comfort,” says Brian. “If you’re doing an activity where you’re warm, then it’s better to wear nothing.”Apologies to my housemate whose rucksack I borrowed, but being naked while carrying a load on your shoulders does feel a lot better than when you’re in a t-shirt that’s 50% cotton, 50% sweat.

After a few hours on the trail, being nude feels very normal. Little things like scanning for nettles and bugs when you sit down or remembering to use sunscreen on your virgin landscapes remind you that you’re dressed as nature intended, but apart from that it’s at the back of your mind.

You become so used to it that for a second you don’t register why passers-by are smiling and giggling. Some even stop to take a picture. Others look every which way but at you, and that’s not easy on a forest trail not much wider than a squirrel.

“If we can make people smile, then that’s a great thing to do,” reasons Richard.

“Part of the reason for doing it are people’s reactions,” agrees Robert, “but that’s not the goal. If I wanted to show off my body, I’d go naked hiking through a town, not the mountains.”

“Sometimes when you’re up in the mountains on a hot day, and you’re naked, and the rain starts to fall it’s quite magical,” continues Richard.

That first night we pitch our tents by a stream and a cow field. Alpine cows wear giant brass bells round their necks and they never sleep. It’s loud. We might as well be overnighting in the Vatican on the eve of the Rapture. Our tent was designed with weight-reduction rather than protection as its unique selling point. And while it doesn’t rain much, we wake up wet. It’s hard not to be miserable. But then a farmer appears on the road and invites us for coffee. It’s the real thing. Freshly ground with warm cow’s milk. A little taste of luxury in the hardest of terrains.

We sit outside his farmhouse together, a typical Austrian family and a typical group of naked hikers. Then we bid goodbye and take off again to climb onto another ridge. Ridges are like rainbow ends in the mountains. You spend the whole hike with the hope that there’s a reward at the end of them, your pot of gold – and there is. This morning for the first time Strimskogel mountain comes into sight. The clouds have parted and she’s as naked as us.

Back in the real world, at sea level and away from the mountains, my hiking companions are clothed most of the time. They hold down and the group pre-strip; Miguel refuels for the walk regular jobs, from tour operator to computer programmer and engineer. They have wives, girlfriends and boyfriends who aren’t naturists. Naturism isn’t about converting others to the cause, it’s a personal choice. But, like many personal choices, the public don’t always get it. On the same day that the farmer was treating us to coffee, another one was threatening to throw us off his land. Luckily for us, nudity in the Austrian Alps is perfectly legal so we just doffed our hats and walked on.

Strimskogel comes quicker than we imagined. Walking is like meditation and you get lost in the pattern of your own footsteps, making the distances shorter. Suddenly we’re at the bottom. We drop our rucksacks and make a scramble for the top. Heaving and puffing, we make it and the sore muscles, the dry food and the blisters are all worth it. Six men and a dog, a couple of thousand metres above sea level, posing nude in front of a cross. We’re as naked as nature intended, so I hope the Lord would be proud, or at the very least that he’d be smiling.

The second night we survive a storm by camping under the deck of a ski lodge, and not wanting to tempt fate a third time this is where Annikki and I leave the group. Our chocolate supply has run out and my knees are scraped. We hug it out, then our naturist friends continue up to the next peak.

We check into a cute mountain lodge with a hot bath and an owner who soothes our pain with schnapps and Austrian congeniality. And, as we curl up under duck-down quilts, we think about Richard and the rest of the team naked in the mountains.

“If it’s hot and you don’t feel like wearing your clothes you shouldn’t have to. Society should be accepting of naked or clothed people wherever it’s appropriate,” he had said earlier that morning. “Well, that’s my dream anyway.” Every year, if only just for a few short and hard days of hiking, this particular dream comes true.

How to hike naked

The Nacktiv group runs events in the German and Austrian Alps all summer long. However, if you’d prefer something more local to you, they also organise activities all over mainland Europe. They speak plenty of languages and are incredibly friendly, so whether you’re a boy, girl, coming with friends or just a lone naturist, you’ll be made to feel very welcome.

There’s absolutely zero pressure to disrobe. If it’s your first time, don’t worry, they won’t strip you, but you should at least have some intention of participating. And best of all, it’s free!

For more details, and to sign up to the naked hiking mailing list, visit www.naktiv.net. You can also register for this year’s Naked European Walking Tour, from 3–9 July in the Austrian Alps at www.naktiv.net, or by emailing the organisers directly at newt. 2011@naktiv.net

Fast facts

GETTING THERE:

Salzburg airport is located 4km outside the city, right on Austria’s border with German Bavaria. The best way to reach the region’s alpine towns and villages is by car, which you can hire at the airport direct from Hertz (www.hertz.com). Hertz is Ryanair’s exclusive car rental partner, offering special rates for Ryanair passengers when you book your flight. Visit www.ryanair.com