Global Sport Stories

Having enjoyed a spell marvelling in the untouched Pyrenees, it was time to head to Italy; home of cheap coffee, tantalising food and of course, even more mouthwatering mountains. And with these mountains, comes Via Ferrata.

I touched on this in my last rendition of Van Life Tales, but having completed my fair share of Ferratas now, with varying difficulty, I thought I would try a different style blog. The Italy recap will have to wait.

If God forbid you didn’t read my last blog, where I explained briefly the concept of Via Ferrata, go and have a read! Then come back and pick up where you left off… alternatively give it a google – it does a far better job at explaining it than I do. 

Anyhow, in this piece I want to share personal experiences, to get away from the usual, run of the mill, Via Ferrata waffle. 

To many people, when they hear the word Dolomites, connotations often come in the way of over crowded hikes, tourists everywhere etc etc. So is the same true for Via Ferrata? And how would a crowded one compare to an empty one? 

From my experience, the truth is, it’s all about where you go. Sure if you get up and go early enough you’ll be a little ahead of the morning rush. But at the end of the day, if you’re going to the most searched Via Ferrata, or one in the most popular areas in the Dolomites, chances are it is going to be busy.

We encountered this on our visit to Sassolungo – an apparent tourist hotspot. Prior to this, on our trip we’d been purposefully staying clear of said tourist traps, but we had a close friend come to stay on the van floor (luxurious I know), so we figured if there’s ever a time to do a “must do”, it’s now. 

This particular Ferrata in the heart of the Dolomites, as expected, was busy. There were queues before you started, as well as whilst actually clipped on to the rock. At one point this actually led to a local simply exclaiming: “CLIMBBB!” in a clearly agitated outburst. The response was one that resonated with me wholeheartedly: “This is the mountains! This is not a race!”

In a potentially high pressured situation, as at let’s face it you’re likely to be hanging off a cliff face, the last thing you need to feel is rushed. This is when accidents happen and that’s why I was quite relieved hearing that comforting reply. 

Now speaking about accidents, how dangerous actually are Via Ferrata? In my experience, not very. Of course all the necessary safety equipment is IMPERATIVE to keep you safe, but having Ferrata’d in four countries, I’ve always survived to tell the tale; I’ve not even seen anything remotely sketchy.

In fact the closest I’ve got to experiencing an accident was being a day late to the party. Having completed a short, low risk but enjoyable route within a gorge near the French town of Aussois, we got speaking to some others in the car park. They turned out to be journalists reporting on an accident that happened on that exact same route the day prior. Happily, the man was unharmed. Just a bruised ego and what I assume would be a hefty chunk missing from his bank account after the helicopter rescue. However, even after seeing evidence of the man dangling over the deep gorge by his ankles, I’d still do the route again. It feels that safe!

You see, what’s great about Via Ferrata is it allows you to experience places that many do, from a vantage point that many don’t go. When I recount back to my first Ferrata of the trip (second of my life) in the Spanish Pyrenees, we ascended up the side of a waterfall, eventually finishing above it. As it turns out, you could hike up to our finishing point, and yes, you were greeted with some pretty great views. But when hiking up, you didn’t get to literally see the waterfall tumble away from beneath your feet, or clamber through a tunnel in the rock with the water rushing under you. These were all experiences which just showcase how much Via Ferrata can add to a usual hike – even if you do end up in the same place. I’ve not even mentioned the steady dose of adrenaline attained when perched upon a thin ledge high above the valley floor. Sometimes, surprisingly, that is good for you. 

Comparing this experience to my first taste of Via Ferrata in Switzerland only furthers my point. I’m lucky enough to have walked from Murren to Grutschalp many times in my life, and only as recently as two years ago did I realise you could do the same route about half a kilometre parallel; the only difference being you walked, quite alarmingly literally  along the cliff edge with a 1000 metre plus drop below. This offered a change to the norm I can assure you!

As I’ve said, this was my first experience of the adventurous activity, and looking back it’s interesting to reflect on how they differ country to country. Disclaimer, I’ve obviously not done every route there is to do so these are simply my own thoughts. 

France seems less extreme; sort of more pure about the sport. Here, routes don’t  necessarily take on high mountain peaks but concentrate on making it an enjoyable experience. There seems lots of use of apparatus to guide feet and hand placement – similarly to Spain and Switzerland. Italy seems a different beast. The birthplace of Via Ferrata doesn’t help you as much with marking out where to place your feet. And if you want to hold on to something? It’s the steel cable for you. 

It seems the Italians believe the rock provides enough guidance, treating the activity as close to climbing as possible. This ultimately is no bad thing, as although potentially more challenging, it creates albeit a more rewarding prospect. 

This is all of course in my opinion, anyway.