Via Ferrata
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Via ferrata (Italian for 'iron roads') are mountain routes which are equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. Walkers and climbers can follow via ferratas without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing. They are found in a number of European countries, including Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and Spain; and a few places in the United States (such as Waterfall Canyon east of Ogden, Utah) and Canada (such as Mount Syphax). The first via ferratas were built in the Dolomite mountain region of Italy during the First World War, to aid the movement of mountain infantry. The Dolomites still has the greatest number of via ferrata.
History of via ferrata in the Dolomites
In 1914 the Dolomites were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austria was part of the Central Powers during the First World War. In 1915, Italy joined the alliance of Britain, France and Russia and declared war on the Central Empires. Austria’s troops were heavily committed in Russia and it immediately withdrew to a defensive line which ran through the Dolomites. Until the end of 1917 the Austrians and the Italians fought a ferocious war in the mountains of the Dolomites; not only against each other but also against the hostile conditions. In the particularly cold winter of 1916 thousands of troops died of cold, falls or avalanches. At least 60,000 troops died in avalanches during the war. Both sides tried to gain control of the peaks to site observation posts and field guns. To help troops to move about at high altitude in very difficult conditions permanent lines were fixed to rock faces and ladders installed so that troops could ascent steep faces. These were the first via ferrata.
Trenches, dugouts and other relics of the First World War can be found alongside many via ferrata. There is an extensive open air museum on 5 Torri, and around Lagazuoi, where very heavy fighting took place.
That wartime network of via ferrata has been restored and many new routes have been added. Steel cables have replaced the ropes, and iron ladders and stemples [metal rungs fixed into the rock] the flimsy wooden constructions which were used by the troops. These aids are now maintained by the Italian Alpine Club. There is also an extensive network of mountain refuges, many of which provide accommodation. It is possible to traverse large parts of the Dolomites at high altitudes using ordinary paths and via ferrata, and staying overnight in refuges. In winter many travel to the Dolomites to ski and this has resulted in many hotels being built the valleys, and the construction of a lot of ski lifts, the larger of which are open during the summer to provide fast access to high level routes.
Grading of via ferrata in the Dolomites
Via ferrata are graded according to their difficulty. Grade one usually involves nothing more than an assisted walk. Grade five demands serious climbing skills. Volume I of “Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites” by J Smith and G Fletcher covers the North, Central and Eastern regions and lists the following number of routes in each grade -
- Grade 1 - 29 routes
- Grade 2 - 25 routes
- Grade 3 - 14 routes
- Grade 4 - 7 routes
- Grade 5 - 5 routes
Via ferrata routes in the Dolomites
The Dolomites is divided into two main regions. To the west is the smaller Brenta Dolomites. This has many excellent via ferrata, particularly around the town of Madonna di Campiglio. The famous Sentiero Bocchette Alte and the Via delle Bocchette Centrali can both be reached by lifts from Madonna di Campiglio. The greater part of the Dolomites, and most of the via ferrata, lie to the East.
Via ferrata routes in France
The routes in France follow a grading structure that has six levels as follows:
- F - Facile : Easy, suitable for initiation into the sport.
- PD - Peu Difficile : Slightly difficult, suitable for beginners and possibly children.
- AD - Assez Difficile : Quite difficult, suitable for accompanied beginners.
- D - Difficile : Difficult, for those accustomed to the sport.
- TD - Tres Difficile : Very difficult, physically demanding, for regular participants.
- ED - Extremement Difficile : Extremely difficult, very physically demanding, and suitable for experienced practitioners with a high level of fitness.
The French vias, of which there were some 120 in existence at the end of 2005, are well distributed across the six grades, with around five each of F and ED, the bulk falling within the four middle classifications.
While most of the vias in France are there for tourism purposes there are some that serve to facilitate visits to historic sites. Les Mines du Grand Clôt near the village of La Grave in the Hautes Alpes department takes the climber up a sheer cliff in which a lead mine operated with little success between 1807 and 1925. 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. Another via near Lumbin in the department of Isère, the Vire des Lavandières, passes an old section of route called the Échèlle des Maquisards which was built in 1943 and was used by the resistance fighters in much the same way as the routes in the Dolomites once were.
The responsibility for maintaining via ferratas in France lies with the commune in which the via is situated. Depending on their location the maintenance can be costly, with vias at higher altitudes being subject to damage from snow and ice through the winter months. Some communes have decided that the answer to the question of cost is to charge an admission fee, but this applies to very few vias and most remain free of charge.
Equipment
While via ferrata is similar to rock climbing the major difference is that the fall factor, which in climbing can never by definition exceed 2, can in via ferrata be much higher. These high factors are possible because the length of rope between harness and carabiner is short and fixed, while the distance the climber can fall depends on the gaps between anchor points for the safety cable. The human body, as well as most items of climbing equipment, cannot withstand the forces associated with such fall factors and so a number of devices have been developed to act as shock absorbers or progressive brakes. Their function is to dissipate the energy of the fall while at the same time keeping the climber and his equipment intact. However, in spite of the perception of via ferrata as being more secure and safe than rock climbing people are more likely to injure themselves if they do fall, partly because of these elevated fall factors and partly because there are often rungs, steps, pigtails etc on which to land.
Those who embark on a via ferrata are advised to use normal climbing equipment (climbing harness, helmet, appropriate shoes etc), but in addition to this it is necessary to have a via ferrata kit consisting of two short lengths of rope or webbing which are linked in Y formation to the harness by means of a braking device, and which have a carabiner at the end of each line. This arrangement allows the user to always have one of their safety lines attached to the safety cable. It should be noted that commercially available braking devices are normally intended for adults, and that if children are to be taken on a via ferrata they must have braking devices appropriate to their weight as well as full body harnesses.
There are two types of brake: the first uses a metal plate or moulding through which a rope is passed providing a high degree of resistance; the second employs stitching which progressively tears in case of a fall, providing a gradual slow down. Each of these has their own advantages. A metal plate brake allows the climber to re-thread the rope in case of a fall allowing them to have some degree of protection while completing the climb. With a stitch brake on the other hand it is easy to verify that the braking device has been deployed. This is important because all these devices are certified for only one fall, after which they must be replaced. Organisations lending or hiring such devices must therefore be able to guarantee that they are not re-used after such an incident.
Carabiners are also made specially for via ferrata, their design typically allowing a larger than normal opening and having a spring locking mechanism that can be opened with one hand. They are also strong enough to withstand high fall factors. Such carabiners are marked with a K in a circle, the K standing for klettersteige, the German term for via ferrata. These are the only types of carabiner that should be used on the end of the safety lines.
Guides and maps
The most recently published and comprehensive guides to the via ferrata of the Dolomites is the two volume set written by J Smith and G Fletcher. Volume I of “Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites” covers the North, Central and Eastern regions. Volume II covers the Southern, Brenta and Lake Garda regions. Casa Editrice tobacco publishes detailed maps of the eastern Dolomites and Kompass Wanderkarten has maps which cover the Brenta Dolomites.
See also
External links
- [Via-ferrata.de] - over 300 vie ferrate in the alps with detailed descriptions and pictures
- [Dolomiti.org] - offers information on the Dolomites, and maps and guides to several via ferrata.
- [Viaferratafr.free.fr] - French site with detailed descriptions and photographs of some 120 via ferrata in France.
- [link] - All the Via Ferratas in Andorra and where to stay.
- [link] - Via ferrata photographs.
- [Via Ferrata in Spain] - Spanish site with descriptions of vias in Catalonia, Aragon, Andorra and France.
- [Andrew's Via Ferrata Page]
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