Last Two Months - Via Ferrata Adventures

I first came across via ferratas about two years ago while researching things to do in Andorra and quickly put it on my list of things to do before leaving Spain.  Via ferrata mean "iron path" in Italian and were first built by the Italian military to help soldiers cross the Alps.  Now it is a fairly popular activity, and routes can be found all over Europe.  Via ferratas are marked climbing courses with a steel cable that runs along the entire route so that the climber can clip in and be secure.  You get the whole mountain climbing experience, without the danger.  To do a via ferrata you don't even need prior climbing experience and children as young as 7 years old can participate.  To make it even more appealing, you can access most via ferratas for free! For a really great guide to via ferratas in Europe, go to the 'de andar' website https://deandar.com/ferratas/

Nathan had been taking rock climbing lessons at Climbat, an indoor climbing gym in Barcelona for about 5 months.  I knew that he was anxious to try outdoor climbing, so I organized an outing for him and his friends with an adventure tour company call Pics D'Europa.  For €25 per person, the guides met us at the start of the Via Ferrata in Cala del Moli, Costa Brava, with all the equipment.  They showed the boys how to do the via ferrata and also took pictures during the whole excursion.  It was probably one of the most incredible experiences of my life!

My favourite picture

At the end of the course, Stephen, Mathias, Victor, Aryan, Nathan and I

After doing Cala del Moli with Nathan and his friends, I told Bob that he had to try it.  Our last weekend in Spain, we decided to rent via ferrata kits for the whole family (€18 a kit) plus we took our friend Alfredo Peña (YM president and Nathan's seminary teacher) to Gorgues de Salenys also in the Costa Brava region.  The kids had no problem navigating the via ferrata.  The most difficult part of the trip was finding the via ferrata as the start and end of the route was not marked very well.  After we finished our little climb through the gorge, I dropped off Nathan, Alfredo and Bob at the Cala del Moli so that they could experience it for themselves and I took the rest of the kids to the beach in Sant Feliú de Guíxols.  

Gorges de Salenys

Bob, Nathan and Alfredo start the via ferrata Cala del Moli

But, I couldn't stop there.  Since we had the equipment until Monday, so I decided that we should attempt one more via ferrata.  I took Nathan and Rylan up to Vallcebre at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains.  There is a nature park there with 4 via ferrata of different levels.  You pay €4 to access the park and you can also rent equipment there for an additional fee.  We started with the easiest via ferrata called La Canalassa and then went on to do the level 3 via ferrata de Cal Curt.  This route took us straight up the mountain face for about 160 metres.  Nathan zipped up the mountain about 20 minutes ahead of Rylan and I.  After about 100 metres, I started to feel kind of bad that I had brought Rylan (then just 10 years old)  up so high.  Or maybe I was just feeling bad for myself.  Even though the via ferrata is supposed to be very safe, you still feel unsafe when you are hanging off the side of a mountain 160 metres off the ground.  If we were to slip, we might not die, but we would probably still hurt ourselves quite badly. Rylan did great, he didn't seem too fazed by the height and we all made it to the summit and got an amazing view of the valley below.