You are reading a single comment by @skinny and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
skinny
I thought I'd give the bike approach thing a go because the mountain guide I climb with tends to prefer it if it's an option. Some of the approaches are a bit of a grind. I'm climbing Hochwilde in a few days and a bike should save about two hours of trudging.
Via Ferrata is great. Trad and sport climbers can be extremely snobby about it but they're misguided. I know a professional climber who not only loved his first route but also found it to be much more challenging than they expected. You're covering lots of vert in some cases after all. You also don't have to use the provided aids if you don't want to. It just opens up batty routes that you couldn't climb trad tbh.
It also has a dangerous reputation for being "safe". You can only fall once on via Ferrata. Your screamer will only deploy once and then you have to be rescued. The fall factor can be huge if you're unlucky. Backs can be broken. Especially if you're one of the wallies who does it on a sling and some carabiners. This is why via Ferrata has a fair few serious accidents compared to other climbing types...people underestimating it.
That said, in Italy and Austria you can find routes suitable for ages 9+ all the way to brutally difficult routes. They are well maintained now days.
On balance I prefer trad, but for working on climbing fitness...blasting 350m+ up a face is quite a workout.