IF YOU ever dreamed of hiking naked through the Alps, forget it. Switzerland's highest court ruled today that local authorities can fine anyone who decides to stroll the mountains in the buff.

The federal Supreme Court, by a vote of three to two, threw out an appeal by a 47-year-old man who was fined 100 francs ($109) for ambling naked past a family picnic area in the eastern region of Appenzell in 2009.

Appenzell, a devout and conservative region that only granted women the right to vote in 1990, had passed a ban on nudist hiking earlier that year after an influx of unclothed ramblers.

According to The Local Switzerland, the man admitted he had been hiking au naturel and said he had indulged in the practice for two years. But he denied he had been acting indecently.

The Supreme Court said in a statement today, "It is not overly high-handed to qualify naked hiking as a breach of decency customs."

The new ruling applies to the entire country, the BBC said.