Today we give you the complete via ferrata experience.
Come late September, Dora is up for sale.
If you or anyone you know is looking for a reasonably priced motorhome then please check out the following link; https://www.2wanderers.com/dora-for-sale/ or if you have any questions email us at; Thanks |
Note; this is another post which uses extensive use of video.
Yes, and you’ve guessed it, we do another via ferrata.
We are up fairly early for us, we want to get a cable car up the mountain and we are there for the first departure. Now I quite like the odd cable car, they do get you up the mountain fairly quickly, but part of me cannot understand the idea of depositing yourself at the top of a hill, but with no effort. Each to their own I suppose.
We still balk at the price though, but we have cunning plans to keep it vaguely reasonable. This is a two stage gondola, so rather than taking it all the way to the top, we will get off at the first station. This will mean, of course, that we will have to walk to the top, but this is what we like doing anyway. It is the bottom bit, up through all those pine trees that is less than interesting. This will save us more than half, even so it is still 54 Swiss francs return, nearly €50. In Switzerland you might as well just light a small fire and burn your cash!
Just keep reminding yourself how much you saved, then it doesn’t feel so bad.
The plastic windows are heavily scratched which is not good for the photographs, the camera likes to focus on the scratches rather than what lies beyond, obviously our camera is a fan of vandalism!
No seats in the gondola. For these prices I would expect an on-board sauna and a foot massage, instead we stand.
Leave the town behind for a day in the mountains.
Long distance Dora alert!
And hopefully she is still there somewhere in the distance.
Up ahead however, things are looking more ominous. The weather outlook for the next couple of days is variable with scattered showers but then after that clearing up, no storms are forecast though.
But at the top, we might not get much of a view, but then it isn’t always about the scenery.
Remarkably the gondola ticket seller tells us that today is the last day of high season, tomorrow the schedule changes and everything stops earlier. It is the third week in August!
Perhaps the weather is telling us something here.
We are the only ones that get out here, everyone else proceeds to the next gondola, next stop, the summit.
But a strange alpine noise greats us.
No idea how they get them in the gondola!
It looks like we are going to have the mountain to ourselves today.
Somewhere up there is our destination, but it is not the summit that particularly fascinates us today, amongst the clouds is a via ferrata.
And it is probably somewhere like this, which should be quite a nice day out, if you are inclined to a bit of vertigo.
But first we have to get there. We wander up between the gondola pylons and the various other bits of ski infrastructure. We see very little in the way of other trekkers, but repeatedly hear the screeches of the alpine marmot warning everyone else that we are approaching. You can often see them in the distance, but I have never got close enough to get a photo. They have small ears and a dark tail. Apparently they make their own hay, biting off grasses and letting it dry in the sun. It is not only us humans that are innovative.
As we near the top, we start to hear two people amongst the cliff faces. Two women are on the via ferrata.
We are still quite far from the via ferrata but the valley echoes allowing us to hear their voices. I wonder what they are saying to each other; are they enjoying it? are they having a hard time? are they warning each other? SM
We are hoping for a good view when we reach the pass, which shouldn’t be long now.
Yeap, it may be a bit foggy up here amongst the clouds, but still you have to say that that is one impressive view.
We intend to trek down the side of this little beast over the next coupe of days, so expect a few photos like this and maybe a bit more comment.
Still, cannot help taking more photos, amazing textures
Bit more difficult to appreciate the lovely walk we have just made up the other side of the valley, looks pretty mundane in comparison, more alpine meadows.
So we are now on this narrow ridge, barely 5m wide and apparently they ski down this! I trust it is a black run! (It was)
And eventually we find a sign pointing to the start of our via ferrata.
Somewhere down there, amongst the loom should be our first cable.
And there it is.
Now this via ferrata took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes and we recorded it all on the head mounted camera. We think it gives a real feeling of what via ferrata is like.
We have speeded up most of the footage four times, leaving just a few segments at normal speed. The whole climb is still 23 minutes long, so we have divided it into six segments.
We hope you like it.
If you cannot be bothered with all that or you are getting vertigo, scroll through to the end for some static shots
Part I
An easy start along grassy paths, then out of the gloom a tricky little bridge made of ladders, not nice going from one to the next. Remember this is speeded up four times, I was taking it very careful. Followed by more grassy paths and at last a little bit of exposure.
Part II
Some airy stemples, so we slow it down so that you can feel the exposure. A short timber bridge and then it gets quite exposed, with a nice little corner to get around. Another bit at real speed, it looks like sol-mo. that’s how careful we are. And then a three wire bridge, really don’t like the unclipping, re-clipping bit. It also gets quite steep at the end and tricky to dismount.
Part III
The bridge is behind us, but now it is really exposed. The fingers got really cold here, we need to keep moving to warm up. Lots of traversing, before hitting some of Susana’s favourites; ladders, a couple of bits at real speed here. It is quite a long ladder
Part IV
This bit looks really exposed from the video but while you are doing it you are so focused on the rock and movement that you barely notice it. More ladders and the odd bit of contact with the rock, at real speed. There is a strange little bench, complete with cable so you can secure yourself. On a clear day must be a magnificent spot, today you are just staring into the gloom. More rock contact and some proper climbing moves.
Part V
Some nice ridge scrambling here, and of course stemples and ladders. This route has a lot of variety, but perhaps there is a little too much protection. A few glimpses of Susana out front. The Tyrolean bridge is off to the left, which we don’t do, instead a steep fun down-climb and then a rocky little ridge.
Part VI
We are getting to the end now, but a few more ladders so it is still quite steep. Up down and around and traversing across the ridge. Finally a funny little timber bridge and the gondola top station is in sight, with just a short scramble to reach it. Did you notice the gondola coming down. Our via ferrata ends.
So with me having the GoPro on my helmet that left Susana with the camera, so unfortunately most of the still shots are of me.
If you are more inclined to see Susana, watch the video!
We are pretty high up here, with great views back into the valley.
All that nature that we passed on our way up here.
Carefully unclipping and re-clipping.
Nice ladder
Not as straight as you might like though!
Susana likes her ladders, expect many more photos!
Does the fog increase the feeling of vertigo? You could be 10m up or a thousand, it all becomes pretty irrelevant, you are high, that’s all that matters.
It does make a difference when your ladder disappears into oblivion though.
As I drag myself around another corner through the gloom.
We are up at nearly 3000m here, and with no sun today it is pretty cold.
And those skimpy little gloves, fingerless that really don’t do much in the way of keeping your fingers warm against the cold hard steel of a stemple.
Just a few more rungs will do it.
Made it, bloody hell my fingers are cold.
These via ferrata are not as difficult as the ones in Italy. The safety conscious Swiss put in too much protection. You get a vague feeling of vertigo, but there is really no difficult moves involved.
The Swiss Via Ferratas look more like a fairly severe adventure park. They introduce many different elements; Nepalese and three cable bridges, ladders, stemples, cables…They also put some sort of stakes to allow you to walk sideways on the rock walls, losing all contact with it. To me, this losses a bit of the point of a via ferrata. Via Ferrata was created for a purpose in the WWI. The Swiss seem to have copied the idea and applied a different style so you have safe fun. SM
This is nice we are actually getting to touch some rock.
More ladders.
This is a Tyrolean bridge, like a controlled zip wire. We don’t know the procedures for crossing so will have to give it a miss.
I remember reading that you need a different equipment and, in Switzerland, a guide of course! so they can charge you an exorbitant amount for a couple of seconds fun. Any excuse. SM
The hardest most exposed stuff looks to be over.
And is that the top of the gondola?
There are some really beautiful rock formations around here.
And maybe the mist is clearing, so we might get a few more views of that glacier.
These are the last few obstacles on this route.
And to finish a cute little bridge.
The end is in sight.
Last few cables,but first;
Cross that bridge.
One thing we didn’t photo, a three wire bridge, but you get to see the crossing on the video. It crosses that gully down there, you could hardly see one side to the other!
And we finish.
More glacier
And then a quick stroll up to the summit. Even up here there appear to be just a few couples around
So we get the summit to ourselves
And then, with me back in control of the camera, it is time to head back down.
We stop into a restaurant near the summit, hoping for a bit of apfel strudel, which I love. They have it, but at 10.5 SFR they can also keep it (and shove it somewhere else. SM). €10 for strudel and custard, who are they trying to kid, do they think we are idiots?
Back into the gloom.
Past some ski infrastructure, not working at this time of year. It seems they only run the gondolas.
Surely soon we will get below the mist and fog and get to see the valley again, this is more reminiscent of a Scottish moor than a Swiss alp.
Eventually it does clear, which means…
A pleasant stroll back down the hillside.
And past some very clean and healthy cows.
Spending four months indoors seems to make them very used to human contact…happy cows.
And here we are back at the the middle gondola station and hopefully one leaves in just a few minutes.
The gondola is crammed. Weird, when we had the mountain practically to ourselves.
Back to Dora, a very pleasant day, if a bit murky. We drive down the valley to find somewhere to park the night. We have big plans for the next two days, including a night in a refuge!
Total distance 11km including 750m via ferrata
9.8 hrs
4 hrs
GDR
