ROCHER DU VENT VIA FERRATA
(Wind Rock)
With views of Mont Blanc and a summit climb Rocher Du Vent is an amazing Via Ferrata.
A Via Ferrata is a series of fixed cables, ladders, steps , bridges and more. Originally built to help the military move through the mountains during the wars, they are now generally free for the public to use if you have your own equipment. For more information on Via Ferratas then check out Hannahs Dads in depth guide to Via Ferratas here.
After parking the cars we all got out and put our equipment on before starting the hike towards the Via Ferrata starting point. For the hike we could clearly see what we would be climbing. After a 30-40 min hike we stared up at a 550 meter wall above us. We clipped on and started to ascend the 850 meters of cable, ladders and metal foot holds.
The views from the climb are incredible, it takes a bit of concentration when on the wall because you don’t want to slip. Being able to grip onto a hand hold and point the camera back down the wall to the others and see the drop below is pretty exhilarating.
Eventually we made our way to the top and caught a glimpse of Mont Blanc just before its summit was covered by clouds. We made our way off the summit before finding a sheltered area after a few more cables and ate lunch. The hike back down to the valley is another 40 minutes or so and our legs were tired by the time we made it to a small stream. It was very refreshing as we all cooled our feet off in the cold water.
It was a great way to end an epic climb and to make it even better the cows came close and shared the water with us. The drive back down towards home was just as epic and we stopped a few times to photograph lakes and mountain scenery.
The Via Ferrata itself was very quiet, I am not sure if it is always quiet but it was nice to have it pretty much all to ourselves.
