MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE TRAVEL
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Contact 775-303-6282
Picture


​

Sense of Adventure 

Tips, ideas, inspiration and
​reports about mountain adventures.

Via Ferrata Climbing: A Great Family Adventure in the Dolomites!

8/3/2018

0 Comments

 
​What is Via Ferrata Climbing?
Put simply, a via Ferrata is a protected climbing path. Via Ferrata, Italian for "iron way" originated in Italy during World War I to move troops through the mountains through the use of ladders, iron rungs, and cables. Today, you can still follow the paths set during WWI and explore bunkers and tunnels in the Dolomites.
Picture
WWI tunnels in the Dolomites.
Picture
Checking out the bunkers and tunnels in Tre Cime de Lavaredo, Dolomites, Northern Italy.
Family Fun!
Whether your family loves to climb or has never been climbing, there is a via Ferrata trip for you! One of the best things I liked about our via Ferrata adventure was having the whole group moving and working at the same time. No one had to "wait for their turn" on the rope. And, with the many routes to choose from for their variety, location, and exposure - there's sure to be a route that is a great match for your family or group. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
You can enjoy a single day on a via Ferrata route or go for multiple days and enjoy the culture of the mountain huts, or refugios, in Italy. Each refugio has it's own character and it is exciting to stay up in the mountains! The beds are made comfortable with cozy duvets and pillows - just bring a light sleep sack or sleeping bag liner. And, you can't go hungry at the refugio! Your overnight stay includes a multi-course dinner and breakfast the next morning. But beware - sodas can be more expensive than beer!
And, bring a deck of cards to keep your group entertained in case afternoon thunderstorms keep you inside for a while.
Picture
Variety

For our 3-day, hut-to-hut, via Ferrata trip in the Dolomites, we had fun climbing ladders, traversing mountainsides, climbing iron pegs and cables, crossing snow patches, hiking in beautiful alpine forests, and having amazing views all the time! And, this was just around Cortina d'Ampezza. There are via Ferrata routes throughout the Dolomites! The best and most efficient way to experience the Dolomites is with a professional guide. Check back for a future post on, "Why Use a Professional Guide".
Final Thoughts

We knew we were going to be climbing in the Dolomites during our trip to Europe. We also knew that we didn't want to lug around extra gear before or after our time in the Dolomites. So, what did we bring, what did we need to bring?
  • Day packs for everyone. These were necessary for carrying our personal gear from hut to hut. And, these packs were used as our carry-on luggage for flights. We were able to leave the kids' packs in the huts for climbs and just use parents' packs for day gear (also helps to keep those kids moving when they are lighter).
  • Refillable water bottle. Necessary for hiking and useful throughout the trip.
  • Hiking shoes. Well, parents brought climbing approach shoes which also served as our hiking and comfortable walking shoes. Kids had hiking shoes. All were waterproof or water resistant.
  • Sleeping bag liner. Necessary for overnights in the huts. We forgot ours but were able to buy some in Italy. 
  • Headlamp. For "just in case", but also handy for nighttime in the huts and tunnels in the mountains.
  • Gloves. You're going to be holding onto and sliding your hand along a metal cable. We found some inexpensive gardening gloves with sticky rubber on the fingers and palm. Not necessary, but we liked them!
  • Professional Guide. Our guide was able to provide harnesses, via Ferrata gear, and helmets.
Picture
Our awesome guide, Paolo from OnTop Mountaineering, with the kids on Via Ferrata Punta Anna.
Via Ferrata season in the Dolomites begins in early summer and on into the end of September. Of course, route access depends on the conditions and how big of a snow year the Dolomites had. Our Dolomites adventure was during the first week of July.
Picture
0 Comments

    Author

    Kerry Stendell

    This blog is a mix of travel ideas, travel reports of where I've been, and ideas of what to do for active and adventure travel.  As I visit more mountains around the world, I will post about it here!

    Archives

    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    May 2016

    Categories

    All
    Adventure Vacation
    Escape
    Mountain Vacation
    Norway
    Travel Tips
    Travel With Kids
    #WhereInTheWorld

    RSS Feed

Privacy Policy

We value your privacy and promise to keep your personal information confidential. We will share your personal information only with authorized suppliers that perform specific functions on our behalf as required by you. We never sell your personal information to any third parties. 

Company

Mountain Adventure Travel LLC
11260 Donner Pass Road STE C1 PMB 527
Truckee, CA 
775-303-6282


​CST #2129949-40

An affiliate of the Travel Quest/Travel Leaders Network
©2019 Mountain Adventure Travel LLC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Contact 775-303-6282