Athlete with a shell suit

Believe it or not, this snail (and it's a big snail at that) is about four feet up a wall, in the midst of the thickest berry bushes you could imagine - and he's perched in a thin branch.....
I don't know what it was thinking. I don't even know if it WAS thinking. Are snails very self-aware? I didn't know whether to take it out and put it on the ground, thereby rescuing it, or take it out and put it on the ground, thereby scuppering three days worth of heavy duty climbing.....
Ah the dilemmas! On the plus side, I ventured out into the garden today. The snow has gone and most of the mud has dried a bit, so not as slippy under-cast as it has been of late! Wheeeee!!!