Via Ferrata South Africa.
Via Ferrata, what you ask? Via Ferrata is basically a mountain climbing route that has aids such as ladders, steps and cables inserted into the route to make it accessible to the general mountain hiker. Via Ferrata has however become a popular outdoor commercial adventure activity for the general public in the last few years. The aids they use has given access to climbing routes to adventurers in South Africa who would never have taken up rock climbing as a…
Via Ferrata South Africa.
Via Ferrata, what you ask? Via Ferrata is basically a mountain climbing route that has aids such as ladders, steps and cables inserted into the route to make it accessible to the general mountain hiker. Via Ferrata has however become a popular outdoor commercial adventure activity for the general public in the last few years. The aids they use has given access to climbing routes to adventurers in South Africa who would never have taken up rock climbing as a sport. Basically all that is needed is an average fitness and a head for heights.
Via Ferrata like a lot of other things in our world was developed during the wars in Europe to help move troops through difficult and dangerous mountain and rocky terrain especially in the Alps. The word means iron road in Italian which describes exactly what it is, if you can visualize a track of steel rungs running up the face of some insane mountain slope.
If that doesn’t make it sound adventurous, nothing will. So for those of you brave enough to try one of South Africa’s newest outdoor adventure activities above is a link to an adventure company that can assist.
In Afrikaans I would translate it directly as “bergklimpad”, mountain climbing road. I know the true mountain climbers are going to think this is not climbing, but I have a feeling this might be the first step for many on the road to new mountaineering heights. South Africa’s next seven peaks climber might be born on a South Africa Via Ferrata route.
