I like how they even assumed that he's a generic pale European guy. A simple search for the dude and my uneducated assumption would be that he would have no problem passing through the Middle East. If that was even the focus of the article.

I wonder if he could've just kept going (not checking in at the border after he has already crossed), made it to the finish line, then left the country the same way he entered with no one the wiser.

The white as snow comes from the reference of those back packers in Iran like, 10 years ago, not to this article. I'm saying people keep doing stupid shit in dangerous countries and gave another reference.