Via ferrata season is from early / mid-May to late September / mid-October, depending on the weather.

Stones can be loosened by those who climb ahead or by deer, chamois and even by strong wind. The helmet at least protects against small chunks - and, last but not least, against bumps that you get on overhangs. You always try to act in such a way that no rubble is loosened. Anyone who notices a falling stone warns the other via ferrata climbers with a loud shout "stone" and crouches under a protective ledge as much as possible.

A change in the weather can also be dangerous. During a thunderstorm, the wire rope of the via ferrata works like a lightning rod. This means that you can be hit or grazed directly far away from the point of impact. In addition, the trails often lead over ridges - these higher protruding points are particularly at risk from lightning strikes.

It is of course best not to be in the wall or to leave it as soon as possible when a thunderstorm is approaching. Anyone who is surprised should seek protection as early as possible: Not, as is often assumed, under overhangs, niches or the entrance of caves. Here you become "Short-circuit bridge": The lightning takes the direct route from the roof through the person to the ground. On the other hand, one is safest in the so-called "Shadow triangle" an imaginary triangle with a side length of about 15 meters, starting about two meters from the wall. Even if you are reluctant to do so, you have to force yourself to stand in the rain and, if possible, crouch down away from the safety cables. However, such emergencies can largely be avoided with foresighted tour planning - here you will find ten Alpine Club tips for safety on the via ferrata. 

further reading

Pit Schubert, "Via ferrata - equipment, technology, safety" Bergverlag Rother.

On a via ferrata you climb iron ladders on a path secured with ropes. In this way, even difficult routes are made accessible for non-climbers. Climbing for everyone, so to speak. However, such tours should not be underestimated. The Madonna via ferrata in Tyrol in the midst of a breathtaking panorama is probably one of the most beautiful - see for yourself in our photo show.

Climbing adventure in Tyrol

Photo series with 6 pictures

Madonnen via ferrata in Tyrol

The gentian blooms blue, the bushy alpine rose red, the rock auricle in yellow on the 1,800 meter high alpine pasture just before the entrance to the Madonnen climbing route in Tyrol. Actually an idyll, yes, yes, but the sweat runs in rivers, the pulse chases the blood through the body with a frequency of over 150 beats per minute. Now we put on the harness, mountain guide Helmut Mühlmann checks whether we flatland residents have lashed everything correctly, the snap hooks are working well, and "let's go". After we have already hiked up a thousand meters in two hours from the Klammbrücke, the exciting part of the mountain hike now begins.

Via ferratas also for beginners

In order to enable alpine beginners to enjoy the summit, the tourism associations of East Tyrol have created more and more via ferratas in recent years. For this purpose, kilometers of steel cables are laid, anchored in the rock with reinforcement bars every few meters. The material for the work is flown to the high alpine region by helicopter. The Madonnensteig was added in 2006.

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At the Devil's Gorge over the Nepal Bridge

Sometimes you climb with both hands, in particularly difficult and steep places you pull yourself up on the rope. The professionals have cycling gloves with them, because the hard rope is quite painful in the long run for delicate hands. To be on the safe side, you are attached to the steel cable with two snap hooks. Every three to five meters, the anchor points of the reinforcement bar must be unhooked and hooked in again. That costs time and energy, but if the worst comes to the worst, it saves your life. A helmet to protect against falling rocks is also mandatory equipment. Almost five hundred meters in altitude in the calcareous Dolomite rock, partly difficulty level C, then it goes vertically upwards and hundreds of meters downwards. After half an hour, most of the group of nine are drenched in sweat. At the Teufelsschlucht we cross a so-called Nepal bridge, a ten centimeter wide footbridge that is secured with two ropes on the left and right. "Don't look down" mountain guide Helmut calls. You do it automatically and get weak knees.

From steep wall to steep wall

The environment is terrific. But we only really have time to enjoy it when we are up on the Großer Gamswiesenspitze, almost 2500 meters high. Opposite on the other side of the Isel valley, Großglockner and Großvenediger would be visible if it weren't so overcast. Three of our group have to take the emergency exit in front of the Kleiner Gamswiesenspitze: knee problems and exhaustion. Three women and two men climb another steep face with Helmut, before returning to the flowering alpine pastures past old positions from the First World War, along gurgling streams, through forests of mountain pine and larch.

Feelings of happiness on the summit

After seven hours, Hans Wibmer, host of the Kerschbaumer Alm, welcomes us with a schnapps and a hearty one "Bergheil". His wife Barbara forms Tyrolean dumplings from bread dough, eggs, bacon and mountain parsley in a bowl. Then she briefly cooks the dumplings in a hot beef broth. The last few kilometers into the valley are freshly strengthened. A quick look up at the summit releases feelings of happiness: We were there, made it - and are thinking about the next via ferrata visit.

Further information:

Osttirol Information, phone 0043/50 / 212-212, www.osttirol.com, holiday information and brochures order phone 01802/101818, www.austria.info/wandern. Via ferrata season is from early / mid-May to late September / mid-October, depending on the weather. Equipment rental and mountain guides via Bergstatt, station in Lienz, phone 0043/664/9962737, guides per hike from 250 euros, via ferrata courses from 1-5 days, www.bergstatt.at. Accommodation: Strasserwirt, family-run upper-class inn, kitchen with 13 Gault Millau points, half board with 4-course menu in a double room from 58 euros, A-9920 Strassen, phone 0043/4846/6354, www.strasserwirt.com. Kerschbaumer Alm, family Wibmer, phone 0043/664/3034647, room with 3 or 4 beds, 16 euros, storage room 12 euros, www.kerschbaumeralm-schutzhaus.at.

Do you want to get to know the abyss of nature? Then take a trip to one of the 15 most beautiful gorges in the world! From the native ones in the Black Forest and Saarland to the rock crevices in the neighboring Alpine countries to the ultimate in the USA, there is a wonderful path for everyone in all degrees of difficulty through dramatic canyons with countless natural spectacles. And if there is no hiking trail - then on the river. Marvel at the wildness of deep abysses in our photo show - hiking in gorges.

Deep abysses - hiking in the most beautiful gorges

Photo series with 25 pictures

Paklenica (Croatia): hiking through the "Little hell"

"Little Hell, “Paklenica in Croatian, is what the Croats have named the national park of the same name in the Velebit Mountains. Why? To do this, you have to have been to the coastal area on the Adriatic with its narrow gaps, mysterious caves and rocks that are as rough as they are steep and up to 400 meters high. Another explanation traces the name back to the black pines that are common in the park. Either way, there are many gorges here, the most famous of which is the Great Paklenica Gorge (Velika Paklenica), in which, among other things, Winnetou films were shot. But the Mala Paklenica is also absolutely worth seeing and a total of 150 kilometers of hiking trails through the gorges leave nothing to be desired. But be careful: landmines may still exist in some areas - so don't leave the marked paths, then there is no danger. In addition to visiting caves, the canyon is also popular with climbers.

Schluchtensteig (Germany): you should go through 7 gorges

The largest canyon landscape in Germany is located in the Southern Black Forest Nature Park, which is formed by the seven gorges Wutach, Schleifenbach, Lotenbachklamm, Haslachklamm, Windberg, Hohwehra and Wehra. They are connected by a 119-kilometer hiking trail, the Schluchtensteig, which leads from Stühlingen past the Schluchsee and the cathedral to St. Blasien to Wehr. Hikers not only pass the gorges and gorges in the valley, but also climb mountain peaks and rocky peaks, from which you can look back or ahead. Gentle plateaus and meadows, waterfalls and lakes, high moors and green primeval forests line the quality trail Wanderable Germany, which can be covered in six daily stages with lengths of 18 to 22 kilometers. However, you should be sure-footed and free of heights, as narrow paths and wild climbs lead through sometimes steep mountain slopes up to 1160 meters. The small Lotenbachklamm, branch of the Wutachschlucht with only 1.5 kilometers, is particularly attractive due to its wild and romantic landscape of countless waterfalls, stilling basins and dramatic rocks.

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Barranco de Masca (Tenerife): off to the pirates

Barranco de Masca is the sonorous name of the gorge, which is located in the north-west of Tenerife in the Teno Mountains and runs from the picturesque mountain village of Masca down to the sea. As sonorous as the name, the area is so charming: starting with the approach always along the coast to the houses in Masca, which nestle adventurously on the slopes, to the wild and romantic lava gorge. A path that takes five to six hours, depending on your fitness level, leads through the deeply cut stone labyrinth to a former pirate and smuggler's bay - from there it goes up the adultfrie dfinder.com same path again.

Access to the famous Masca Gorge on the Canary Island of Tenerife may soon be restricted due to the crowds. According to a media report from March 2017, there are plans that only 255 hikers will be allowed to visit the gorge per day - from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, an entry price of six euros will be charged. It is not yet clear when the new regulations will apply. The ADAC advises to inquire before going on a hike.

Gola Gorroppu (Sardinia): in the end the devil waits

One of the deepest gorges in Europe is located in the Supramonte Mountains in Sardinia: the Gola Gorroppu with cliffs up to 500 meters high. A hiking tour through the gorge begins after a winding drive about 18 kilometers south of the small town of Dorgali. From there, the first eleven kilometers can still be covered by car, but then you have to change the saddle for the remaining seven on shank's pony. Diverse paths lead through the gorge cut into the limestone by the river Riu Flumineddu, which is only four to five meters wide in some places - an impressive, oppressive feeling when you walk under completely vertical and partly overhanging stone walls. Light holm oak forests and wonderful pools, which the river has formed at the entrance to the gorge, offer a welcome cooling off on the hot Sardinian days; especially because the varied tour leads steeply downhill in parts into the gorge and five hours - which you should plan for the way there and back - are no big deal.