Via ferrata

The cable and other fixtures, such as iron rungs (stemples), pegs, carved steps, and ladders and bridges, provide both footings and handholds, as well.

They expand the opportunities for accessing difficult peaks as an alternative to rock climbing and mountaineering, both of which require higher skills and more specialized equipment.

In certain areas, such as the Brenta Dolomites, it is possible to link via ferratas together, staying overnight in mountain refuges, and so undertake extensive multi-day climbing tours at high elevations.

The origins of the via ferrata date back to the nineteenth century, but they are often associated with the First World War when several were built in the Dolomite mountain region of Italy to aid the movement of troops.

Construction of what could be seen as the precursors of modern via ferratas dates back to the growth of Alpine exploration and tourism in the nineteenth century.

In 1843, a route on the Dachstein was constructed under the direction of Friedrich Simony; it included a range of climbing aids with iron pins, hand hooks, carved footholds, and ropes.

[5] In 1910, Gustav Jahn and August Čepl, a Viennese master locksmith, built the Hans von Haid Steig in the Preiner Wall (1,783 m) of the Rax, East Austria.

Until the Flitsch-Tolmein offensive (Battle of Caporetto) in the autumn of 1917, the Austro-Hungarians (supported by troops from Southern Germany) and the Italians fought a ferocious war in the mountains of the Dolomites; not only against each other but also against the hostile conditions.

Since dangerous ammunition remains and the like can still be found today, warnings are given in the area of the former main battle line against digging and picking up old metal parts.

This wartime network of via ferratas has been restored, although not until well after the Second World War: steel cables have replaced ropes, and iron ladders and metal rungs anchored into the rock have taken the place of the flimsy wooden structures used by the troops.

In the 1930s, the Società degli Alpinisti Tridentini (SAT) together with the CAI began working on shortening and improving access to the climbing routes in the Brenta Dolomites, by installing artificial aids and protection.

[citation needed] In the 1990s and 2000s, development became more commercial and involved more organizations: via ferratas began to be seen as a useful way to encourage tourism and increase the range of activities available to visitors, and so routes were developed by local communities, outdoor activity centres, cable car companies, mountain refuges and others, as well as continuing involvement by the Alpine clubs.

[20] The Northern Limestone Alps, which run from near Vienna to the Swiss border, remain at the heart of Austrian klettersteig, with routes concentrated in key mountain groups: the Rax (where some of the oldest via ferratas are), the Hohe Wand, the Totes Gebirge, the Dachstein, the Wilder Kaiser, the Karwendel.

Several routes lie near the Italian border (in the Carnic Alps) which formed the front line in World War I and some via ferratas pass fortifications from the conflict, including the Weg der 26er which ascends the Hohe Warte, the highest peak of the range.

The northern end of the range can be reached by lifts from Madonna di Campiglio, and it is possible to spend several days at high elevation on the network of via ferratas, staying at mountain huts.

This route is illustrated with sign boards in English and French telling the story of the struggle to extract small amounts of ore in very difficult conditions.

Maintenance can be costly depending on location, with vias at higher elevations being subject to damage by snow and ice through the winter months.

It was not until 1993 that the Tälli Klettersteig, the first real Swiss via ferrata (and still considered one of the best[citation needed]), was created on the sheer southern faces of Gadmer Flue in the Urner Alps.

There is a via ferrata Tysso in Tyssedal, starting at the Norwegian Museum of Hydro Power and Industry and climbing along the very steep hydropower pipeline.

[50] In December, 2021 Baia de Fier received the National Record[49] for the largest cluster of Acrobatic Via Ferrata in Romania.

[59] In the Yorkshire Dales, How Stean Gorge's via ferrata was constructed in 2009 for recreational purposes and incorporates fixed beams and ladders over the river as well as rockface sections.

Via Ferrata Cornwall in Halvasso, an area near Penryn and Falmouth, is situated in a quarry site and features metal rungs, ladders, suspension bridges and zip wires.

In 2002, the mountain guide François Guy Thivierge installed the first two via ferratas, with a zip line, in Canada, at the Canyon St Anne close to Québec City.

In 2003, Thivierge developed 2 more via ferratas (with 2 zip lines) in Les Palissades de Charlevoix, 10 km north on 170 road from St Siméon.

[64] British Columbia's other via ferratas are at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden, at the Sea to Sky Gondola near Squamish, and at Whistler.

Stelfox in Alberta, halfway between Nordegg and the Icefield Parkway in the Rocky Mountains; the trailhead can be picked up at the parking lot on the east side of the Cline River.

[citation needed] "Via Ferrata Drolambau Ice Fall", also called "Sky's Way to Sagarmatha"; year of the construction 2017–2019, located in the Rolwaling valley at an elevation of 5000 to 5400 m, the first in the Himalayas and the highest in the world.

This via ferrata was designed and created by Explora Nunaat International (Davide Peluzzi, Giorgio Marinelli, Marco Di Marcello, Paolo Cocco, Phurba Tenjing Sherpa, Padang Tamang) to allow the passage to the most famous Kumbu valley and to make safe the ascent to the highest refuge in the Himalayas.

[76] There are five routes in Oman; three are operated by the Ministry of Tourism; Jabal Shams, Wadi Bani Awf (Snake Gorge) and Bandar Khayran (Western Isle)[77] which have been out of commission since 2012.

One publication cited the "best" via ferratas in the United States to be: Waterfall Canyon, Utah; Torrent Falls, Red River Gorge, Kentucky; Nelson Rocks, West Virginia; Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming; Telluride, Colorado; Ouray, Colorado and Tahoe Via Ferrata, Palisades Tahoe, California.