In 2020 near Ouray Colorado lodging, the Ouray Via Ferrata opened up and easily became one of Colorado’s most exciting Via Ferrata courses. Via Ferrata, Italian for “iron way,” is a climbing course that utilizes steel cables, rungs, and ladders that attach themselves to the rock in the mountain, allowing climbers to secure themselves with a harness and leash to the metal fixture and minimize fall risk. Via Ferrata has been a popular sport in Europe for years but has only recently made its way stateside. You can traverse and grapple along with the natural formations in the mountains.
The Via Ferrata course in Ouray starts on the Ice Park Loop trail, close to the southern portion of the New Frontier trail. Going along the Uncompahgre River, bending north, and then bassing the Upper Bridge, it’s definitely something worth considering when visiting our Ouray Colorado lodging location.
Safety cables come with every part of the trail. The route has many different sections with narrow ledges, rungs on rock walls, and vertical rock structures. Special care has been given to this course to not interfere with existing, and any possible new rock climbing routes on the eastern portion of ice park cliff faces.
Features include:
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4,000 ft of anchored cable protected trail
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Two technical exits spanning 200 ft each
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A 35′ long cable wire bridge
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An ascending “Sky Bridge” spreading out for at least 75′ and 35 degrees of an angle
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Vertical and horizontal routes
You can check out the Ouray Via Ferrata course at 735 Main St, Ouray, CO 81427 from 8 am to 4 pm daily until October 31.
