The iron road of the Via Ferrata will test your mettle
Via ferratas let even the moderately fit make like a mountain goat
The tricky manoeuvre we were faced with at “the crux” — you know, the most difficult part of the climb — required awkward sidestepping along an exposed ledge before a gnarly vertical pitch with only a few decent handholds. It was a dicey section and I, being a Prairie boy who is much more at home in a flat-as-a-pancake wheat field as opposed to clinging precariously from a cliff, decided it would be best if my son, Nelson, 15, attempted it first. You see, on a via ferrata, even though you are attached to a fixed cable, you still have to make smart, spur of the moment decisions that can have a dramatic effect on the success of the expedition.
Yes, truth be told, the Norquay Via Ferrata — or any via ferrata, for that matter — is not for the faint of heart. Climbing mountains, regardless of how, exactly, you get to the summit, requires strength, stability, skill, ingenuity, and quite a bit of courage. Which is exactly why I came to the (relatively quick) conclusion that Nelson, who is actually made of rock, should go first. Plus, and it takes a real man to admit this, I was kinda scared.
But the cool thing about via ferratas, a growing “genre” in the climbing world, is that nearly anyone with a decent level of physical fitness can do it. And, in spite of the exposure and the challenges associated with clambering around in extreme terrain, it’s actually much safer than you think.
A via ferrata, which is Italian for “iron road,” is an alpine climbing route with a fixed cable that’s secured to the mountain in short intervals. The route also includes iron rungs, which are also firmly fastened to the rock, bridges, ladders, and other climbing features and apparatus. Climbers wear special via ferrata harnesses and helmets (as rockfall from other climbers is the most dangerous aspect of the adventure), and are equipped with two carabiners, one of which is clipped to the cable at all times, that hang from the harness via bungee-style lanyards.
So, provided you are following this all-important clipped-at-alltimes “rule,” the risk of injury from a fall is minimal. In fact, in its short four-year history no one at the popular Norquay Via Ferrata has sustained a serious injury from a fall. And over 17,000 people, many of whom have never even climbed on a jungle gym before, have successfully completed the route. (There are four different routes of various lengths and difficulty levels at Norquay, which is just 10 minutes from the Banff townsite.)
Although this type of climbing may be new to many Albertans, via ferratas date back to the 1800s and became popular in Italy during the First World War when soldiers built these protected routes to move through the Dolomites, a hotly contested region. To this day, trenches, dugouts and other relics of the war can be seen alongside a number of routes in that region. In many other areas of the Alps, via ferratas were established to reach high pastures and to connect alpine villages. Today, more than 1,000 via ferrata routes have been built in the Alps and other mountainous regions in Europe and beyond.
While most of the via ferratas in Europe are “public” (in other words, they are common and, provided you have your own equipment, you can just go it alone without hiring a guide and paying fees to access them) in Alberta and British Columbia, they are, for the most part, fee-based, professionally guided adventures at mountain resorts.
For Calgarians interested in getting a taste of “the iron road,” Norquay is the closest option and an obvious place to start. The beginner Explorer route, $149, climbs 145 metres and takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete. This route also incorporates plenty of intermediate hiking terrain where clipping onto the cable is not required. The most challenging route, the Summiteer, $299, ascends 360 metres and takes approximately six hours to complete.
Kicking Horse Resort in Golden also offers a handful of thrilling via ferratta experiences. Located high on Terminator Ridge, this is one of the most scenic places to climb in North America. And, for the bucket list, the two worldclass via ferratas — Mount Nimbus and Conrad Glacier — at Canadian Mountain Holiday ’s Bobbie Burns Lodge in the Purcells are, by most accounts, the cream of the crop. (I completed both of these routes in 2016 and, to this day, I count them as two of the most amazing and exhilarating adventures I’ve ever had in the mountains).
The first via ferrata in Alberta was the challenging Mount Nordegg route, which is located near Abraham Lake, approximately halfway between Nordegg and the Icefields Parkway. Built largely by local climbers, this amazing via ferrata is basically a “vertical trail” that ascends a 200-metre cliff wall.
Although the Norquay Via Ferrata does not incorporate massive exposure (at least, the beginner route), for Nelson and I it was a perfect day in the mountains. The camaraderie within our group, the professionalism of our guide, and the stunning panoramic scenes at the top were highlights. The best part? I got to hang out (literally) in the mountains with my son. And, like usual, when the going got tough (and dear old dad got the heebiejeebies), the young buck was more than happy to show me the way.