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These
notes are intended to assist the walker or climber who
has already gained considerable knowledge of British
mountaineering and scrambling and is fully aware of
its risks but is still interested in exploring the wonderful
world of Via Ferrata. They are brief and not designed
to be comprehensive in any way. Ultimately climbing
is a dangerous sport and claims many casualties each
year. One of the guiding principals of British climbing
and mountaineering is that it is the individual climber
is responsible for his or her own safety. If you cannot
accept this then this site and probably climbing in
general is unlikely to suit you. May we refer you to
this very
interesting site instead!
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Above:
The fantastic Senterio delle Bochette Centrale
in the Brenta Dolomites, Italy.
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Photo
Left: A cable protected section in the Dolomites.
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Photo
Left: A steep ladder on the SOSAT in the Brenta
Dolomites. |
Below
Left: Alex Reid (aged 13) on an exposed section
of the Via Ferratta Yves Pollet-Villard in the
Haute Savoie of France, and Right on the awesome
monkey bridge on the Via Ferrata de la Roche a
Agathe near Thone in the same area.
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Via
Ferrata is the name commonly used to describe
the high level footpaths found in the Alps that
use fixed cables for protection and steel ladders
to surmount difficult sections (another name is
Klettersteig).
Originally via Ferrata were constructed in the
Italian Dolomites and Austrian Tyrol to enable
troop movements in during the First World War.
After the war these protected high level paths
were taken over by mountain guides who used them
as an easy way to get clients to the foot of climbs.
Gradually the network was extended by these guides
and via ferratas became an pastime in their own
right. In recent years other countries have noticed
the increase in tourist revenue that the Italian
via ferratas have engendered and now modern and
in many cases steep and exposed via ferratas can
be found all over the alps.
Although they break just about every rule of aesthetic
mountaineering ("Take nothing but photographs,
leave nothing but footprints etc"), Via Ferrata
are very enjoyable and highly popular, and give
nearly everyone an opportunity to move through
spectacular and often extremely exposed alpine
scenery with a minimum of equipment.
To
enjoy Via Ferrata at their best it is worth staying
at the huts so that only a small amount of equipment
is required to be carried.
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Right
Top: Looking down the steep upper wall of the
Via Ferrata de la Tour du Jalouvre in the Haute
Savoie of France. The himalayan bridge can be
seen below.
Right
Bottom: Looking up the same wall. The leader is
protecting an inexperienced member of the party
by use of a rope run through "Pig's Tails"
at the cable junctions. When the rope comes tight
the second person will start to move. For steeper
sections, more rope can be employed and a belay
taken.
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member of the party will need: |
| Helmet |
Not essential, but there is always a danger
of stonefall from above. |
| Harness |
Essential. |
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How
good a system one chooses really depends on
how confident one feels about walking along
narrow footpaths several hundred metres up
a cliff face or climbing 50 metre vertical
ladders.
The
simplest Via
Ferrata Clipping System is a short
length of 9mm rope (don't use tape - it
has no stretch) tied in to your harness
with an HMS
Screwgate Karabiner attached to
the other end for clipping onto cables etc
(NB. Normal screwgates will not fit over
ladder rungs). A better system uses two
such lengths of rope plus krabs so that
you are always clipped in to something at
any given moment. However, such a system
is not really safe as a fall can generate
such a high impact force as to break components
and prove fatal and so we do not recommend
it.
Any
commercially produced Via
Ferrata Clipping System always includes
an impact reducing device, as the fall factor
induced in a short fall onto a short length
of rope clipped onto a ladder rung can be
so high as to break a karabiner. For this
reason too, they include a system whereby
the attachment to the karabiner is fixed
so that the pull is always along the karabiner
at its strongest point and never cross-loaded.
The Petzl website has a full explanation
of possible Impact
Forces attainable on Via Ferrata.
There are many good Via
Ferrata Clipping Systems on the
market - please follow the link for a selection. |
| Cow's
Tail |
In
addition to the Via Ferrata Clipping System
above, on steeper Via Ferrata, it is worth
having a separate cow's tail that enables
you to clip into a ladder rung and have a
static hanging rest. Such a device can be
easily made by lark's footing a 60cm
Dyneema Sling onto your harness belay
loop, and fixing a Via
Ferrata Karabiner on the other end
using something like a Petzl
String to hold it in position, so
that it does not get cross loaded. |
| Rope |
If
taking young or inexperienced members in your
party, it is worth taking 25 or 30 metres
of light rope (8.1mm or thereabouts is ideal).
Generally most of this will be tied of in
coils with only 5 or 6 metres of rope tied
between yourself and the other person. This
can then be flicked into "Pig's Tails" en route as seen in the photos above. For
more difficult sustained sections the coils
of rope can be dropped and the full length
of rope can be employed by taking a belay
when the difficulties ease. It is worth having
a Belay
Device for this, though it is possible
to belay by using an Italian Hitch. |
| Crampons |
Crampons and ice-axe are generally uneccessary,
and there are few glaciated approaches. However
early in the season in higher alpine areas
steep snowfields can linger and it may be
worth having at least one pair of crampons,
an axe
and 25m or so of 8.1mm
rope per party. |
| Insurance |
Important
in case of an accident as mountain rescue
is not generally free in Continental Europe. |
| Other |
Via
ferratas are mountaineering and it is important
to consider all the usual things before embarking
on them, including the weather forecast -
being caught on an exposed iron ladder in
a thunderstorm is not a good idea! Many are
long, with long approaches and descents and
queues on difficult sections can make them
even longer. Take water, food and sunscreen,
plus waterproofs and warm clothes. |
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