After the Lunar Cup Herb Manning told me about the Via Ferrata and until then i’d never heard of such a thing. He described it perfect when he said, “its not climbing, nor hiking, it’s a hybrid of the two… like extreme hiking”. The more extreme it sounded the more intrigued I became.
The next day my brother and I decided to find the trail and managed with minimal bushwhacking. We walked as far as we could without harnesses, scared ourselves and decided we were game.
My parents didn’t sleep well the night before my brother and I did the Via Ferrata, and despite being very vocal in their concerns we still proceeded…
The trail gets your blood flowing and should not be attempted by anyone who is afraid of heights.
It’s pretty basic. Clip in, shimmy along the rock, unclip, repeat. However there are some sections with out cables or handholds. You should be hooked into the wall at all times because of your safety line. However because I’m short I didn’t have a long enough rope, I combined my safety line into one main line. So when I unhooked to move my rope around the bolts I was completely detached. And to think people do this without ropes? NUTS.
In Telluride they say the Via Ferrata is supposed to be some kind of secret. Well the cat’s out of the bag now because Telluride Magazine just did an article about it and put it on the cover of their Summer-Fall issue.
Via Ferrate means “Road with Irons” in Italian. In climbing the term Via Ferrata refers to a route with additions like ladders or cables. It’s so hikers and climbers can feel safe while above exposed terrain. The concept for Via Ferratas stared in the Dolomites during World War I when the Austrians and Italians were fighting in the mountains. Routs were built and permeant lines installed to help troops climb.
I learned from Telluride Magazine that: Chuck Kroger, who is a legendary Telluridian, build the Telluride Via Ferrata. He started in 2006 and used his climbing skills to ascend the sheer faces at the end of the canyon, all while packing a rock drill. Turns out that this long time local was also a master iron worker. So with his bad ass iron skills he made the hand holds in his workshop. Also they mentioned that for extra safety he used 5.5-inch bolts, thicker than the commonly used 2.5-inch size used in most climbing holds. Tragically Chuck died of cancer on Christmas day of 2007, but he left us the Via Ferrata.
Here I am approaching the most extreme part of the hike where you’re 400 feet above the valley bottom.
There’s another Via Ferrata in Telluride that’s currently under construction. This route will link the complete end of Telluride’s Box Canyon (opposite side of current Via Ferrata) it’s much more GNAR.
Via Ferrata locations in the USA from Wikipedia
United States
Via ferrata routes in the USA include Waterfall Canyon east of Ogden, UT, Yosemite’s Half Dome in California, Nelson Rocks in West Virginia, Picacho Peak in Arizona, Torrent Falls in Kentucky, Doe River Gorge in Tennessee, and Telluride, Colorado. Liability exposure in the USA is significantly different than other countries, which may explain the low incidence of Via ferrata construction.
There’s one in Whistler so expect a post on Unofficial Whistler about the Via Ferrata on Blackcomb.
I just pooped my pants just reading the article! Really cool hike. People will come from all over the world for that hike.
That’s too cool. I’d go to Telluride just for that. I’ve always wanted to do the via ferrata in Italy. I still will someday.
Hey! looks awesome…. what gear did you use specifically?