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Alpe d'Huez Activity Review: 1st August 2009

featured in Activity reviews Author Vickie Allen, Updated

Amongst the many summer activities available in the Southern Alps, there’s one I’ve been desperate to try for the past year… the via ferrata. Translated from Italian, via ferrata simply means ‘iron road’. It’s a mountain route marked by a fixed line and iron handles.

To climb the route, you wear a regular climbing harness with a special via ferrata attachment that has two karabiners on elasticated cord. There’s also a fixed karabiner that allows you to clip onto the line or handle when resting. It’s a good idea to wear a helmet to protect yourself if you fall, if someone else falls or if some debris comes off the mountain. You can hire the equipment for around 8€ from most sport shops in town and the actual via ferrata routes are free.

There are varying degrees of difficulty via ferrata routes and various different styles. For my first, I chose the route from the base of the Sarenne gorge as there are a few different routes that overlap here. You access the route from just past the Combe Haute café. It’s pedestrian access only and you can either walk from the Bergers side of Alpe d’Huez, out past Altiport and down the Sarenne piste, or follow the path from Huez.

We took the path through the gorge as it’s a shadier route and very beautiful. You walk alongside the river, past ruins left by Huez’s first settlers. There’s also a Roman bridge and some lovely spots to rest and enjoy the wild flowers. The walk takes about 30 minutes before you reach the chairlifts and signs for the Botanic Garden, which marks the entrance to the route.

To access the start, you scramble over some ancient rockfall debris. After a quick lesson on how to move up the line, taking one section at a time and moving your karabiners one by one, it was time to start the vertical ascent.

We chose to start on the ‘Sportif’ route – a baptism of fire for my first attempt and not one I’d recommend to those with no climbing experience.

The first few moves are pretty hard for beginners and it took me a while to learn to trust the new equipment and my own ability to hold onto the ironwork. At first it’s like climbing a ladder. The ascent is vertical and the iron rungs bolted to the cliff face provide holds for your hands and feet. The route then crosses the second, ‘Decouverte’ route, which is easier. We switched over and I was surprised at how much more comfortable and enjoyable this route was.

The Decouverte route still has the odd iron handle, but you climb the face using mainly natural holds provided by the contour of the rock. The gradient is less steep and it’s a bit more like scrambling upwards. Of course you’re still connected to the line and still obey the golden rule: always hold-on!

Despite being pretty tense to start with, once I became used to the technique I was able to relax and enjoy the climb. The views are simply stunning, as you’re literally hanging-off the side of the rock face. The route takes from two to three hours and by the time I reached the top I was actually enjoying it so much that I was quite disappointed to have to stop.

However, once I was safely on flat-ish ground and unclipped from the line, the adrenaline subsided and I was exhausted. My arms and legs were pretty tired from hauling myself up the route, but my hands were the worst as I’d obviously been clinging onto the line harder than I thought.

The sense of achievement was fantastic and I felt so proud walking back into Alpe d’Huez, knowing I’d just found a new way to make the most of the beautiful scenery and physical challenges provided by our mountains.

Want to see a bit more? Watch our video of the Via Ferrata route above Val d'Isere >>