TO DO LIST
VIA FERRATA
A cross between rock climbing and mountaineering, via ferrata offers outdoor enthusiasts a chance to access the same high, vertical faces as rock climbers, without the same nerve-racking risk. Thanks to the metal-ladder rungs fixed into the mountain and the security of a cable to which you are always attached, it’s a brilliant adventure that combines the accessible with the extreme.
Nine months ago, a special via ferrata was built onto Jabal Akhdar (known as the ‘green mountain’) and has been terrifying and exciting climbers ever since.
You can choose from three routes, which vary in difficulty and you’ll be kitted out with a harness, helmet, gloves, and a special lanyard attached to a pair of carabiners (a kind of shackle), which are fixed to a cable that runs along the route.
You’ll take off from one side of the cliff, climbing and pulling the carabiner-equipped lanyards behind, unclipping one ’ biner at a time to pass each fixed anchor point. The whole way up you stay clipped into the cable. It acts as a backup parachute as you reach, step on rocks, pull ladder rungs, hang precariously off the side of sheer drops, and tight-rope your way across the valley. The long route takes about two hours and you’ll have pretty sore hands and shaky legs at the end, but also a camera full of pictures to show off to your mates.