Ashley Gorge Via Ferrata
In late October I joined my friends Drew and Tom on a road trip up to Vernal, Utah to tackle the new Ashley Gorge Via Ferrata.
Translating to "iron way" in Italian, via ferrata are climbing routes have fixed cables that climbers can clip into for safety, making it possible for hikers and novice climbers to safely climb large, steep routes that normally would only be the domain of experienced climbers.
Via ferrate have a fascinating history; they were initially installed by Italian and Austrian troops who fought a ferocious battle against each other in the Dolomites during the First World War. After the war, European alpine clubs built lots more via ferrata routes throughout the Alps for recreational fun. In more recent years, via ferrate have started to gain popularity in the United States, with numerous routes established in Colorado and many other states (see a list of via ferrate in the USA here). The Ashley Gorge via ferrata is free and open to the public, and it's billed as the longest public via ferrata in the northern hemisphere.
Claudia and I have done quite a few via ferrata routes (or klettersteig in German) in the Alps in Italy, Germany, and Austria, so I was excited to see how the Ashley Gorge via ferrata compares! I'll talk more about that below. Off we go!
After an approach hike up from the parking lot, then a "warm up" via ferrata descent into the gorge, the route begins in earnest with a large hanging ladder.
There's a variety of different routes, cutoffs, and variants here, so it's possible to take a route suited to your skill level or appetite for exposure. We chose to do the largest circuit around the whole thing. It ended up taking us 7 hours in total!
From a physical standpoint the climbing isn't too difficult, as you are climbing on steel rungs and cables the entire time. In the Alps you can often climb on the rock itself and only use the cables for protection; but here it's mostly sheer vertical sandstone, so there's barely any natural handholds at all and you're almost completely dependent on the rungs and cables for climbing.
As we progressed through the route, we were more and more impressed and delighted by the creativity and inventiveness of the routes. This is clearly a via ferrata built by climbers for climbers.
The route we took clings to the side of the sheer sandstone cliffs and is almost constantly exposed to hundreds of feet of air below your feet! People with a fear of heights would have a BAD time here! 😳
The massive suspension bridge is a highlight of the route!
The final and most challenging section is called "Jur-ass-kicked" and it goes straight up the edge of the massive face shown above. If you look closely you can see the spiral ladder dangling from an overhang near the top.
Up until this point in the day, I was having a blast – just pure fun. I will admit, though, that while we traversed across and then climbed up the nose of this face, my fear started accumulating... The sheer exposure is dizzying here, and since I'm not a climber I'm just not accustomed to being in such a vertical realm for so long! The exposure started to get to me, and while I'm pretty good at just ignoring my fear I think it was building up and finally starting to bubble over as I ascended. I didn't lose my sh-t or anything; in a situation like this there's simply no other option than to just keep pushing through (and not look down!). But I was certainly gripped for a while!
And then, near the top of this relentlessly vertical section, with hardly any chance for pause, there's this absolutely ridiculous spiral ladder overhanging the endless void! Given my tenuous state of mind by now, I knew there was no way I was going to attempt that. Fortunately the was an alternate route on the rock that I could take. But Drew was up for the challenge and I had fun photographing him as I rested in an alcove.
With adrenaline coursing through my blood, I admit I was relieved when we finally topped out and I could stand on solid flat ground again! I guess you could say that the "Jur-ass-kicked" section of the route lived up to its name, and my ass was indeed kicked.
It's worth mentioning the obvious, which is that Ashley Gorge is totally stunning in its own right. What a gift to have such a fun via ferrata route amongst such spectacular scenery!
On our way back out, we descended into the gorge one more time for a final steep and fun climb.
I've always thought that the via ferrate in the Alps give you a sense of mountaineering climbing. Those routes often follow steep ridge lines that go up to a summit, but even if there's huge exposure on the sides you are still often standing on solid ground on a ridge. By comparison, the Ashley Gorge via ferrata clings to sheer vertical walls most of the time, so this one gives you more of a sense of big wall climbing. You can probably see what I mean if you check out more of my via ferrata photos from the Alps here.
Interestingly (to me at least), the Ashley Gorge via ferrata has roots in the San Juan Mountains, as it was designed and built by many Ouray County locals, including some of my friends Clint, Chris (who also did the engineering for our house in Ridgway), and Jason, among others. My friend Jeff (who built the steel beams for our house) also fabricated a bunch of the iron rungs used throughout the routes. I'm proud of these guys and what they've built – possibly one of the most radical and creative via ferrata in the world!
Here's a video about the project of building the Ashley Gorge via ferrata. Cool to see familiar faces in here!
