I had been climbing for 12 years but had never set foot on a single Via Ferrata until one lazy Saturday morning, supping on a cappucino I was persuaded into it. We were in Arco, and the nearest was just a short walk down the road above the camp site; the Ferrata dei Colodri. For the uninitiated a Via Ferrata is a climb that ascends a cliff with the help of ladders or steps. Don’t worry, you don’t have to provide these yourself, they are already bolted to the rock. In addition for most of the route a metal cable runs along by your side. This is your lifeline, you attach yourself to it. All this iron removes much of the difficulty of the climbing and allows people with little climbing experience to get into some impressive territory moderately safely.
One thing we were missing was the proper Via Ferrata equipment. This is a special shock absorbing device that connects your harness to the cable. Without this, and if you were to fall, your body would experience an enormous shock loading and most likely break. Fortunately we had been kindly lent some feratta equipment by Vertical – the local climbing shop. So with the weather still just holding out (it was a bit sticky and humid) we were all set.
We were in fact a party of ferrata virgins. Whilst I had my 12 years climbing under my belt and Adam had done a bit, both Simon and Kate had no experience of climbing at all. Actually Kate was afraid of heights and warned us that she might feel like jumping off!. Footwear? oh nothing special, just normal lightweight walking boots or approach shoes. One thing that could have been useful was a helmet. There were quite a number of people on the route above us, and when you consider that most of them were beginners the risk of stone fall was quite high.
The route was easy to get to (5 minutes from the road) and a good first ferrata. It was really nothing more than a steep path with a couple of rock sections well protected by the wire cables. The route, or in some cases the path, zig-zagged up the slope. Set between steep sided cliffs it is the only line of weakness which gives the route a slight taste of exposure. The ascent didn’t pose any problems for any of our party and no one jumped. I’m not sure I have been converted into a true ferratist, but did find the experience enjoyable, relaxing and a safe way for non climbers to experience a different side of the mountains. The next step would be to take on a steeper route, and with a helmet.