7 Reasons to Try the Via Ferrata

7 Reasons to Try the Via Ferrata

The Via Ferrata, or Iron Road in Italian, is truly a unique adventure. Combining aspects of technical hiking with climbing, our course is beginner friendly while also offering amazing views and thrilling heights. Guests are clipped into steel cables, which are attached to the side of the cliff, and walk along a narrow pathway carved into the cliff. Some steps are made of the cliff itself, others are made of iron rebar hammered deep into the rock. Our course is brand new, and was just finished in July, making this the newest Via Ferrata course in Colorado.

1. You enjoy climbing and/or hiking

If you enjoy the adventurous or thrilling aspects of hiking and climbing, this trip is the one for you. While the climbing is not technical by any means, this trip is best compared to a class three hike. The Via Ferrata is an excellent way to explore otherwise inaccessible terrain and gain access to some incredible views.

2. The views

What better way to enjoy the scale and scenery of the Rocky Mountains than from the side of a cliff? Check out the horizon while hanging hundreds of feet in the air, and look down at all the matchbox sized cars. If you feel like you are on top of the world… it’s because you are.

3. The Freefall

The most adrenaline inducing part of this trip with the highest fear factor has got to be the optional freefall section. Excellent for thrill seekers looking to ramp up the excitement level, this section will send your stomach into your throat (you know the feeling). The free fall involves stepping off a platform placed fifty feet from the ground, where a mechanism breaks your fall during the last moments of the fall, with a guide and pad there to catch you as well.

4. An intimate mountain experience

One really gets to know the mountain well when hugging the side of a cliff for the sake of one’s self-preservation. Discover the mountain and yourself on the Via Ferrata.

5. The rappel

This trip also includes an eighty-foot rappel, adding to the multi-tiered adventure that makes up our Via Ferrata course. With a guide on top to tie you in, and a guide belaying from the bottom, you will feel like a true outdoorsman as you walk down the side of a cliff like a marine or navy seal.

6. The zips

The Via Ferrata wraps up with two zip lines, a single zip and a dual race zip. These zips are built into the landscape and will take you right back to the outpost!

7. A unique experience

No other adventure or activity is really quite like this. While climbing and hiking certainly have their similarities, Via Ferratas in the United States are actually a bit rare, as they are more of a European phenomenon. The stories you tell your friends and family about this trip will certainly bewilder and blow them away.

Need we say more?  Check it out!