Via Ferrata & Lake Garda

Via Ferrata = Iron Way. The origins of the Vie Ferrate in Northern Italy began a little over a century ago during WWI, with the exception of a few rudimentary pathways that were built a little earlier in the Alps, both for tourism and exploration. 

The mountain passes in the Dolomites are no joke. They are steep, jagged, remote, and very dangerous. And yet, they became part of the front lines during WWI . . .

I've pulled from this website to share a little background and history on the Via Ferrata:

https://www.dolomitemountains.com/en/resources/dolomites-tips/via-ferrata-climbing-the-iron-paths-of-the-dolomites

A History of Via Ferrata in Italy

World War I

Vie ferrate were initially built in Italy to aid the movement of Italian alpine military units through the Dolomites in World War I.  In 1915, Italy entered the war joining the Allies of Britain, France, and Russia. At this time, the Dolomites were still a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a member of the opposing Central Powers. Until the end of 1917, the Austrians and Italians fought a brutal mountain war here.  Not only were they fighting each other, trying to gain control of peaks for artillery and line-of-sight advantages, but also against the fierce climate and verticality of these mountains. After losing thousands of troops to prolonged exposure to the cold, falls, and avalanches, Italian troops began to fix permanent lines to rock faces and to install ladders. This enabled them to move both themselves and their equipment through the mountains more quickly and safely. These were the first via ferrata in Italy.

After the War

Once the war ended, the army abandoned the via ferrata, and the local residents began to care for them. In the 1930s the Italian Alpine Club (Club Alpino Italiano) began to restore this wartime network, as well as to add many new routes to attract tourists. Ropes used by the troops were replaced with steel cables. Wooden stemples (steps) were replaced with iron ladders and metal rungs anchored to the rock. Longer more difficult routes were also added to access the major rock climbing and mountaineering routes. 

On that same website, you can read a little more about the nuts and bolts of how a current-day Via Ferrata works. You can also hop on YouTube and watch a few Via Ferrata videos. My favorite series for a via ferrata on YouTube is "TraintoSummit". He does a really good job narrating as he hikes, and he is very nimble and efficient with everything he does. 

As part of our Tuesdays in Italy adventure group, Emily took the lead with finding us a good Via Ferrata to go on. She chose one called Ferrata San Silvestro, located in the canyons north of Bassano del Grappa and east of Trento. It was approximately 1 hr 45 minutes to get there by car.

As we got closer to the very small parking lot and meeting place, I could see the church way up on top of the mountain that was supposed to be part of our Via Ferrata . . .

Leslie did all the driving this time, which allowed me to be a laid-back passenger. She is the cutest person, and so sweet, too. (I decided to wear a hat rather than deal with sunglasses, because I pictured having to put them on & take them off multiple times)

Our amazing hiking group: (clockwise from lower left) Addie Mae, Lauren, Leslie, Bekah, Emily, and me.

From the tiny parking lot right smack next to the road, the trail begins. And you'll need to prepare for a steep switchback section right out of the gate!

In 5-10 minutes, you will arrive at the beginning of the Via Ferrata course. Emily took a few minutes to instruct us on some of the ferrata basics, like how to make sure you have multiple points of contact at all times - especially when you're unclipping one of your carabiners to transfer to the next section of steel cable.

Emily and her family have been on several via ferratas, and her now 6-year old twins girls have gotten very comfortable and confident with all the courses they've completed together. I was the only one in our group who had never been on one before, but this was only the second time for 1-2 others, so it was important to make sure we were all clear on the instructions before we began. 

I climbed the first section with relative ease, and then we paused to let a few faster and more experienced hikers pass us so we didn't hold them up or get in their way. The next section proved to be a whole lot more difficult . . .

I started up the first couple of steel ladder rungs, clipping onto the steel cable on my right. But when the ladder rungs ran out, and the only thing in front of me was a giant slab of vertical rock, I started to question my abilities. Bekah and Addie Mae encouraged me from below, making suggestions about where to place my feet and hands to heft myself up. But I quickly began to lose strength in my upper body each time I paused to figure out what to do next. I was only holding onto the rock face with my own hands and feet, and my arms were starting to tremble with fatigue . . . 

I looked up to gauge what my next moves might be, only to swallow a big lump in my throat as I noted just how far up I needed to ROCK CLIMB. My short little T-Rex arms and my short stubby legs were no match for the sheer height of the cliff in front of me. I had some serious doubts that I would even be able to do this - and we were only about 15 minutes into the course!!

Around the same time, I heard that Lauren had returned back down to the car because she was feeling nauseous. I began to wonder if I should do the same thing myself! I decided to at least give myself a break while I made up my mind, so I told Bekah and Addie Mae that I was coming back down to the ledge where they stood below, a distance of maybe 4-5 feet (even though it felt more like 50).

Either Emily heard our conversation below, or she was worried because of the big gap between where she and Leslie were compared to where I still was, but either way she made her way back down to where she was now just above us and could give me some much needed support. 

She let me shake my arms and upper body out and rest for a couple minutes as I explained my predicament - not knowing where to place my fingers and toes, and not even being sure if I could make it! Emily very calmly gave me some step-by-step directions on how it was indeed possible, and told me that she believed in me and knew I could do it. She also had me switch my carabiner pack out with hers. The carabiner set that I had borrowed from a friend had locking features, which made them more tedious and clunky to open/shut numerous times. Being a first-timer, Emily understood the need for simplicity, and the swap made a huge difference for me. I could now unclip and reclip more quickly and easily, which meant I was spending less time hanging on to "whatever" while making those continuous connections.

With so much encouragement, and more specific instructions, I felt a tiny bit more hopeful and was ready to give it another try. While Emily coached me from above (step on the last rung, now step onto the edge of the rung to give you another few inches of height, now reach with your right hand over to this fingerhold, no - over to the right a little bit more, okay now heft yourself up and put your left foot into this crevice, etc), Addie Mae and Bekah also gave similar coaching from below, clarifying anything that I still struggled with.

In a much shorter time than I ever thought possible, I found myself at the top of that massive rock face, shaking a bit from the adrenaline and the immensity of what I just accomplished. 

Emily was right there to congratulate me and tell me what a great job I did. What a wonderful friend she is!!

Around this same time, I said something like, "I'm not much into cussing, but right now I sure feel like a Bad-A!!" To which Bekah promptly replied, "I felt that same way on my first via ferrata, only I actually SAID the word Bad-@$$!!" We were all cracking up, because Bekah just doesn't seem like a person who would ever say that, ha ha.

We climbed a few more sets of steel rungs, traversed along the cliffs, and did a little bit more rock climbing . . .

I should have stopped more often to take a look at the views, but I was so focused on everything right in front of my face most of the time . . .

Eventually we made it up to the top, where we could remove our gear and just hike along the trail using only our legs . . .

Soon, though, we saw a fork in the trail that made us realize that the Via Ferrata was not done yet . . . The church up on top of the cliff was the end point, and we were nowhere near it. Thankfully for me, however, Leslie needed to begin the descent down to where we parked so that she could get home in time to pick up her kids from school. All of us opted to forego the second ascent up to the church and just focus on getting down the mountain in a timely fashion. (a silent cheer echoed from my lips . . .)

As usual, whenever I put in a lot of strenous uphill effort, my knees start giving me trouble on the way down. I started off okay this time, conscientously shaking out my legs with each step when the trail was relatively flat. But then it got really steep really fast. The IT-bands that hug my kneecaps get all kinds of fussy when I have to slowly and carefully pick my way down a steep section of rocky trail. My right knee got particularly spicy with me and wanted to lock up a few times, but I would pause for a minute to shake it, shake it, shake it out, which did help somewhat. Plus, picking my way down sideways also helped.

We made it down to the main road and then hiked for about 10 minutes along the road before arriving back to where we had parked. I had brought some nice and thick peanut butter/oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies to share, so before we drove off in our two separate vehicles, I made sure everyone got at least one cookie. :)

I enjoyed the drive back to Vicenza with Leslie, and we chatted about all kinds of stuff. Unfortunately, their family is moving next summer, along with Addie Mae AND Emily, dang it. All of my closest friends are leaving . . . And I will be so sad when I have to say goodbye. 

But we will go on as many adventures as we can possibly squeeze in before the "getting" is "gone". 

I was so proud of myself that I completed that monstrosity section of the via ferrata. Later that afternoon, Emily sent me an audio message to apologize and let me know that she truly thought this was a beginner Via Ferrata, but it most definitely was NOT. She had read all the reviews for this hike online ahead of time, and based on those reviews she felt it was a good beginner course for our group. She had not actually been on this trail before. She also explained how the rating system works for a via ferrata.

A = Beginner course. Simple maneuvers, like the ladder rungs. Not super time consuming. Not super technical.

B = More than beginner, and more like an Intermediate. More technical and challenging, more time consuming. 

C = Definitely intermediate, bordering on advanced. Much more technical and challenging, with freestyle rock climbing in parts. Traversing. And it may include special features like a rope bridge or a suspension bridge. When I say rope bridge, I mean the kind where your feet shimmy along one rope while you hold on to another rope at face-level or higher. Kind of like walking a tightrope, but at least you have something else to hold onto. 

Emily told me that the via ferrata that we did was more like a B/C course for at least 2/3 of the way. The only "A" section was briefly at the beginning and at the end where we climbed up the ladder rungs. She apologized several times that this didn't end up being what she thought was a "beginner" via ferrata. But I told her not to worry, mainly because I had successfully completed my first one, and I was proud of my efforts. I also told her how grateful I was that she came back down to help me through that impossible section. :)

Will I do a Via Ferrata again? Probably. 

Will I do an actual beginner course? Most likely.

Will I attempt an intermediate course again? Probably, as long as I have friends like Emily with me.

It was definitely a very cool experience. Challenging and difficult, yes, but empowering and invigorating at the same time.

Bekah asked me later that day if I had any impressive bruises to brag about to Scott, but I didn't see anything until the next day, ha ha. My left underarm was where the colorful badges of honor were located, probably due to my hanging onto iron rungs with my left arm while my right hand was busy unclipping and reclipping the carabiners to advance to the next section. 

I only had a few sore spots to speak of in the days that followed, undeniably from the crazy positions I found myself, ha ha. I remember one time when I needed to stretch out my left leg and also torque it almost to shoulder level. I started to catch a butt-cramp, lol, so I had to wait a minute, shake everything out and then try again. With the via ferrata, my recovery time was much shorter than what I experienced after the 52 Tunnels hike. Oh happy day!

If you ever come to Northern Italy, you should definitely consider doing a Via Ferrata. Unless you have a fear of heights. I don't suffer from that . . . well, maybe just a tiny bit. But I was way too focused on what was in FRONT of me that I didn't have any awareness of the open space BEHIND me. Just think about it. And watch a YouTube video or two first. :)

There is a sweet young sister missionary named Hailie Reisner that is currently serving in the Milan Italy Mission. She just happens to be from my ward and neighborhood back in Idaho Falls! I was able to attend her farewell this past summer, and I was waiting and watching for the day when she would be sent to an area that was within range of Vicenza. Her first assignment was in the city of Brescia, which is just west of Lake Garda and on the way to Milan. 

We messaged back and forth for a few weeks, as time and circumstances allowed, until we settled on a day and time to meet. Each week, the missionaries have what is called a P-Day, or Preparation Day. This is a day where they can do their laundry, grocery shopping, write emails to friends and family, and even go on an adventure if they choose (which they often do!). In the Milan Mission, P-Day is on a Wednesday, while in other missions it might be on a different day of the week. 

I left my Italian Class a little bit early so I could scurry over to Brescia and pick up Sister Reisner and her missionary companion, Sister Ribella. After I picked them up, I drove us over to the west side of Lake Garda where there were a few fun sights to see. 

The first stop was this Big Bench, ha ha. It's literally called Big Bench #101, since it's the first of several that an artist and craftsman built and placed around the Lake. It was definitely a BIG bench!!

We look so tiny, ha ha . . .

Next, we drove over to the cute town of San Felice del Benaco, situated right on the shores of Lake Garda. We parked the car and went for a little walk up to a panoramic viewing point above the lake. This was just a couple of days after my 52 Tunnels hike, so I was definitely a little slower than those two young ladies!

We walked along the water's edge and the girls had fun trying to skip rocks across the surface . . .

Another walk to a second viewing point led us past a small horse farm, which made my heart so happy!

Past an old church that was all locked up . . . (dang it)

And then we had the views of Lake Garda that we were hoping for . . . as far as the eyes could see.

Next, it was time for lunch. Lucky for us, there was a great restaraunt right next to the lake and also next to where we had parked. The servers spoke excellent English and made us feel so welcome!  The name of the restaurant is called Baia del Vento.

Hailie ordered a seafood spaghetti dish, with a ginormous prawn on top . . .

Sister Ribolla ordered the classic Italian dish, Ragu alla Bolognese - basically a spaghetti with a tomato-based meat sauce on top. You can never go wrong with ordering this in Italy.

I ordered a GORGEOUS platter of Insalata di Mare, my new favorite dish (seafood salad). It's comprised of several types of seafood: shrimp, octopus, squid, mussels, etc. with a light olive oil drizzle and a sprinkle of herbs. You can squeeze some lemon over the top, and often it will have some crunchy vegetables added in, too, like yellow bell peppers and tomatoes. It is SO GOOD!! And it's loaded with so much protein, too!

Me, Sister Ribolla, and Sister Reisner. They are both so beautiful!! Sister Ribolla is from Brazil and had to learn how to speak Italian, but she's doing a phenomenal job.

A close-up of my Insalata di Mare . . . Yummm. My mouth is watering just seeing this . . .

For dessert, we ordered a local specialty to share: Panna Cotta con Salsa di Fragole. (A custard-like base with a strawberry sauce on top) It was also very yummy.

 

As we left the restaurant to walk over to our car, we saw an older man attempting to back up his very fancy car. He might have been a bit too old to be driving, because he didn't seem to be aware of where or what he was backing into. I didn't get a video because we were all just mesmerized by the horrific slow-motion as it unfolded in front of us, but he ended up backing into a small slab of cement curbing that he didn't see. And as he shifted gears and began to pull forward, we all heard a loud and terrible grinding noise . . . yikes. I'm not sure what the extent of the damage ended up being, but he appeared a little annoyed as he drove off. 

We talked about so many things that day, about life, about politics, about our families, and about our faith. It was such a fulfilling visit and I'm so glad I was able to spend the afternoon with these two incredible young ladies. 

I had the joy of seeing them both again on October 22nd. I left my Italian Class a little early so I could zip on over to Verona to meet Sisters Reisner and Ribolla. I picked them up at a designated spot close to where they had already been exploring, and then we drove over to the Adigeo Mall. We ate lunch and did a little bit of shopping at Primark, ate some gelato, and then I drove them back to the train station in Verona at the end of the afternoon. They are such a joy and a light to the world, and I love them both so much!!

I ended up quitting my Intermediate Italian Class, that same day in fact. It was only the 2nd day of the new class, and I was already overwhelmed. Two beginner classes had both fed into this one intermediate class, and it was obvious right away that the other beginner class had more time on their hands and more motivation to study the language. It felt like they were worlds ahead of our class . . . and ME. I knew I didn't have any more time in my busy schedule to study more and keep up. And I was only going to be able to attend half of the 8 week course anyway, since I would be flying to the U.S. to help Jake and Hannah when their new baby arrives. 

So I quit. I still have the intention to study and use the workbooks and verb book that I bought to further enhance my learning. But now I have just freed up 4 hours of my week, and it felt like the right thing to do.

Around this same time, I had been trying to secure some tickets to the Salt Lake City Temple Open House, which will take place over 6 months in 2027. At the same time, Scott and I were making plans to fly to Idaho and Springfield, Missouri to be there for two of our grandchildren's birthdays next April. (Abby will be turning 12 and Jack will have his Golden Birthday by turning 6 on April 6th)

The Open House for the newly renovated temple begins on April 5th, so we were aiming to get some tickets for April 5th since we wanted to catch a flight later that same day to be with Jack by the 6th. What an uphill battle that turned out to be! I didn't realize how popular the first day of the Open House was, and how incredibly difficult it would be to get some tickets! 

There is an 8-hour difference between when the tickets are released and what time it is here in Italy. So, adjusting for that meant that I needed to get up at 2:00 a.m. if I wanted to secure some tickets as soon as they released at 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time (Utah). 

On my first attempt, I decided to just check for tickets as soon as I woke up the next morning. But then all the tickets were gone for April 5th already!! Thank goodness more tickets would be released a week or so later. I set my alarm that time to wake up in the middle of the night, but then I accidentally set my alarm for the wrong night!! When I woke up the next morning, all the additional tickets for April 5th were gone as well.

I emailed the committee in charge of the Open House hospitality and logistics, telling them how we are coming all the way from Italy and we only have that one day to visit, etc. They wrote back the next day and apologized about the difficulties I was experiencing, and they suggested we could just get in the standby line on April 5th. Technically, you don't need a physical ticket to attend a temple open house, and I knew this. But we were worried that we could be waiting for hours in the standby line, and with a potential plane to catch, we didn't want to take any chances. 

There would be another round of tickets released on October 1st, and I was bound and determined to have success this time. I made sure to set my alarm for the correct night and time, and I woke up at 1:45 a.m. to give myself a few extra minutes to prepare. I said a prayer asking for help, letting Heavenly Father know about our desires to attend the Open House but also to be able to go see our grandson for his special birthday. 

A few minutes later . . . I had SUCCESS!! I got 5 tickets for the morning of April 5th!!! HOORAY!!!

What a relief it was to finally have the tickets we needed, and for a great time of the day (9:40 a.m.). We also reserved two hotel rooms at a hotel that will be within walking distance of the temple, and I'm so glad we did that, too, before all the hotels are sold out!! Members of the Church will be coming from all over the world to be part of this Open House, too. Thankfully, we are all set now.

We have been having some of the most beautiful sunrises here lately . . . in addition to the already beautiful nightly sunsets. What a loving Father in Heaven to bless us in such a colorful way. :)

Lastly, what the heck . . . ?? Who decided this was an important enough item to add to the Idaho Ballot?