Via ferrata is not safe climbing, and the difference matters

Via ferrata is genuinely wonderful. It puts people in spectacular positions that would otherwise require years of technical training, and in most of the Alps and increasingly elsewhere it is a mainstream mountain activity.

It is also frequently sold as a safe version of climbing, and that description hides some specific physics.

The fall you can take is much harder than a climbing fall

In roped climbing, a dynamic rope absorbs energy through stretch over a long length. A leader falling several metres onto a rope with fifteen metres out is decelerated gently over a considerable distance.

On via ferrata you are attached to a fixed steel cable by a short lanyard. If you fall from just above an anchor point, you fall past it and are stopped by a lanyard perhaps a metre long. The ratio of fall distance to the length of material absorbing it — the fall factor — can be extremely high, far higher than anything in normal climbing.

This is why via ferrata lanyards have an energy absorber built in: a section of webbing designed to tear progressively, or a friction brake, converting the fall energy into controlled deformation. Without it, the forces on the body would be severe enough to cause serious internal injury.

That absorber is the entire safety system. It is not optional and it is not something to improvise.

Never improvise a lanyard

Slings and quickdraws are not lanyards. A pair of nylon slings clipped to a cable has no energy absorption whatsoever, and a fall onto them can generate forces well beyond what a body tolerates.

People have died doing this. Buy a certified via ferrata set, use it, and inspect it.

Weight limits are real

Certified sets carry a stated weight range, and both ends of that range matter.

Too heavy and the absorber may not arrest the fall within its travel. Too light — which affects children in particular — and the absorber may not deploy properly, transmitting higher forces than intended to a small body.

Children on via ferrata generally require additional measures: a rope from above held by a competent adult, and a set specified for their weight. This is standard practice with guides and it is regularly ignored by families.

Both arms, and never both off at once

The basic technique: two arms of the lanyard, both clipped to the cable. At every anchor point, move one arm past the anchor, then the other. There is always at least one arm attached.

The commonest fatal error on via ferrata is unclipping both arms at once — to pass an anchor faster, to sort out a tangle, or because someone is tired and rushing. It is a single moment of inattention with no backup at all.

Do not clip the rest position to the cable

Most sets have a third, short arm for resting. It has no energy absorber and it must never be used as a fall arrest — it is for clipping into an anchor point to hang and rest, and even then the two main arms stay on the cable.

One person per cable section

If two people are between the same pair of anchors and the upper one falls, they hit the lower one. Wait, keep spacing, and be patient at busy sections. The bunching that happens on popular routes on a summer weekend is a real hazard.

Rockfall

You are on a vertical line with people above you and steel rungs that dislodge material. Helmets are essential, not advisory, and this is the most likely thing to hurt you on a via ferrata.

Do not stop directly beneath a group. Avoid busy routes after rain or freeze-thaw. And if you dislodge anything, shout immediately.

The other hazards people underestimate

Weather. A steel cable running up an exposed ridge is not where you want to be in a thunderstorm, for obvious reasons. Alpine afternoon storms are frequent and via ferrata routes have limited escape options.

Commitment. Many routes cannot be reversed easily once started. Retreating down a vertical cable past a queue of people coming up is difficult and sometimes impossible.

Fitness. These routes are physically demanding, particularly on grip and forearms, in a way that catches out people who expected a walk with cables. Running out of arm strength halfway up an overhanging section is a serious situation.

Exposure. The psychological effect of vertical exposure is significant and it is not predictable in advance. People freeze. Plan for the possibility that a member of the group finds it overwhelming, and pick a first route with escape options.

What to carry

Certified set, harness, helmet, gloves — the cables fray and metal splinters are a genuine nuisance — sturdy footwear with a decent edge, and a shell layer. Water and food, because these routes take longer than the guidebook suggests when there are queues.

And check the set before every trip. The absorber must be intact and unopened; a set that has arrested a fall is finished and must be replaced, even if it looks usable.