I don’t even know how to report this because I am still in awe of the fortitude of my travel companions. Lynn rested and recovered for a full day on her own while Rebecca and I relaxed at Lake Ochenensee. The next day that iconic team of Lynn and Rebecca came downstairs to announce they were ready to do the Via Ferrata!! What?!!!

Loosely translated, Via Ferrata means “iron way”. Switzerland is loaded with via ferratas tempting thrill-seekers from all sides. This particular via ferrata in Kanderstag is rated a 4/5 in level of difficulty and it was this particular via ferrata that my girls set out to tackle on a fine summer morning. I had promised both John and Lily that I would NOT be walking on any iron pegs on this trip. I held true to my word (with ease). Take a look at what these girls did!

They climbed walls that inverted over them. They scaled ladders that twisted and bent. They walked on iron pegs on sheer cliff face walls with death drops below them. Sheer insanity and 100% girl power!!!

The concept of via ferratas originated in the Alps in the late 1800s and became especially widespread during World War I, when soldiers in the Dolomites built fixed cables and ladders to move troops and supplies through otherwise inaccessible mountains.

Swiss via ferratas were later developed primarily for recreation, with professional mountain engineers and guides drilling anchors into solid rock and installing galvanized steel cables, ladders and single-cable suspension bridges. Switzerland, why does it always feel you are out to get us?!

Today, these routes are regularly inspected and maintained by local mountain organizations, tourism groups, guides, or municipalities, which replace worn cables and anchors and may close routes after rockfall, snow, or severe weather. There is no comprehensive national count of via-ferrata users in Switzerland, but rumor has it that tens of thousands of climbers each year traverse the “iron way”. My girls were smart and hired a guide to help navigate the pegs and death drops. He was also great at taking all of these pictures because the last thing you want to do is let go of your cable to snap a pic! Bex is a skilled mountaineer and her ultimate words of advice to Lynn were: “lean into the wall” and “use your skeleton, not your muscles”. Good lord! I don’t even know how to translate that into functional movement. I am in awe of these two.

They walked across single cables over gorges that would have eaten them alive had then fallen. They were amazing!! And they were bruised. And they were exhausted.

But they were alive and they are thriving and they can always say they did a Level 4 of 5 difficulty via ferrata on the sheer granite walls of the Swiss Alps.

It is time for dinner and preparation for tomorrow’s trek. Our 2-day respite to recover, repair, and challenge the via ferrata has come to an end. Tomorrow we head out of Kanderstag to the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
John and Lil – I did you right! No photos of me dangling from wires or walking on iron pegs. Happy to oblige on that request. You’re welcome!