How often do you fall on Via Ferrata?

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 Trangia 24 Nov 2016
OK, I was just trying to be consistent with the other two titles. Let me re-word this one.

Have any of you ever fallen on a Via Ferrata?
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 Michael Hood 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:
Haven't fallen on a VF, in response to the title I suspect the answer is never more than once.
 Mr. Lee 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

No
In reply to Trangia:

Watch the videos on YouTube. More scary than a trad fall!!!
 digby 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

It's something not to contemplate. Could be very nasty.
 John Kelly 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

No - I struggle to envisage the kit actually working in maximum distance freefall situations - forces would be huge
 99ster 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

A very bad idea. So the answer is no!
 maxsmith 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

no, terrifying to even consider it!
 Casa Alfredino 24 Nov 2016
In reply to John Kelly:

And yet, it does In long falls you are more likely to injure yourself from hitting a ledge, a rung, a sticky out bolt than you are from the impact of the fall. I mean it's not going to be a comfortable fall, but it will not kill you. A rung impaling you might though...
 Neil Williams 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:
No, and you *really* want to avoid it. VF kit is designed to stop you falling hundreds of metres to your death, and therefore make you able to be rescued alive if injured - a bit more like commercial fall-arrest kit in a work context, for example, than climbing gear. If you think you are in any way likely to fall, you need a belay.

There's too much stuff to clout on the way down in what could be a 5 metre fall - ledges, ladders etc.

If it's overhanging or a slump you might be OK - but most of it isn't like that.
Post edited at 10:52
 John Kelly 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Casa Alfredino:

Im sure the numbers have all been crunched and the kit has been pulled to destruction but i still look at the lanyards and wonder how they can possibly survive

i must believe in them at some level, wouldn't do VF without

ledges - yes ouch
 summo 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

No never, probably had more wobbles on stairs than all varieties of climbing added together.
 Chris the Tall 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

No, but my wife has - slipped and took a bumpy slide of a metre or so, so very little impact on the KISA, but could have been fatal if she hadn't been using the kit
 d_b 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

Never, and I don't plan to.
 yelotango 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

Once , I`ve done about 30 different VF, mostly in the Dolomites.
A hold snapped downclimbing a slight overhang on the final section of Molignon / Laurenzi.
Fell about 2-3 metres onto a broad ledge.
Elasticated lanyards (Black Diamond Easy Rider) stopped me before the ripper deployed.
Could have been a lot worse - There were / are a few potential lengthy falls onto metalwork
I was solo early in the season, there was some snow and did not see anyone else doing the route.
 jimtitt 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Casa Alfredino:

> And yet, it does In long falls you are more likely to injure yourself from hitting a ledge, a rung, a sticky out bolt than you are from the impact of the fall. I mean it's not going to be a comfortable fall, but it will not kill you. A rung impaling you might though...

There are plenty of via ferrata out there where you can fall much further than the lanyards are designed to work to.
 Casa Alfredino 24 Nov 2016
In reply to jimtitt:

That's true, especially in the Dolomites. Although it tends to be less steep ground where the bolting gets much slacker and the fall will more likely be a tumbling fall rather than a through the air whopper...
 Michael Hood 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:
VF kit is designed to keep you attached to the wire. Doesn't mean you'll be comfortably attached after a fall though
Post edited at 12:02
In reply to Trangia:

On the VF that I have done I have adopted a 'leader does not fall' mentality as I'm not sure I would be able to get back onto the wall again. I'm not sure that I would like the kit that I used to take multiple falls.
Would definitely use a rope next time as well to avoid the issue above.
 tallsteve 24 Nov 2016
In reply to Trangia:

Never depite climbing over 35 VFs with two kids in tow, but I have only climbed in dry summer conditions. Ladders are your riskiest part and I elbow hook the rung with my forarm between ladder and rock pointing downwards before atempting to clip past a stansion.

In the Dolomites (as opposed to Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria) the routes have fewer staples and ladders so its more like scrambling/climbing so I guess there's more room for slippage as you're relying on foot friction and finger holds much more.

I did the Mürren VF in the Lauterbrunnen valley. This is a horizontal VF with the wire running above overhanging drops a good 700m above the tourist bus stop below. In places the stansions had come out and a fall would have left you dangling below and out of reach of the staples in thin air relying entirely on the gear trying to pull yourself up along a slick steel cable. Seriously scary. Not a Vf I recommend as it has short sections of andrenalin pumping overhangs followed by long walks in the woods at the top of a cliff.
OP Trangia 24 Nov 2016
In reply :
Interesting replies but the consensus is most definitely DON'T fall!

I agree there is lots to hit on the way down and a fall from an overhanging might prove extremely difficult, if not impossible to get back on again.

VF might seem benign compared to a Trad or Sport rock route but they should be treated with lots of respect.

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