Ouray’s New Via Ferrata Colorado is becoming a national nexus of vie ferrate B Y M O R G A N T I LT O N
A plummeting cascade roars beneath me, and the cool breeze brushes my forearms as I traverse the Cable Bridge over the Uncompahgre River. I grip two suspended metal rails on either side of my head and inch my feet forward on the single steel cable beneath my approach shoes, like a high-wire acrobat on a tightrope. Halfway across the 35-foot connector, I pause to look over my right shoulder and upstream at the Uncompahgre Gorge. The craggy, grey slopes steeply arch into the river like dorsal fins. The canyon’s cracks, ledges and terraces are decorated with shamrockcolored shrubs and stunted ponderosa pines. I consider the ancient backdrop of this cable bridge, which was installed less than 12 months ago: rust- and lime-toned quartzite that dates back 1.7 billion years. This raw, magnificent landscape makes me feel like an explorer entering an unmapped pocket in the peaks. I mindfully shuttle to the ravine’s east wall. I’m climbing into the mouth of the country’s newest and most novel via ferrata on the southern edge of Ouray, in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Via ferrata is Italian for "iron path." A via ferrata involves climbing or hiking along an established route with metal holds and cables that are affixed to a vertical rock face. The anchored features range from rungs, steps and ladders to bridges, which allow recreationists to travel across otherwise impassable terrain.
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Owner of San Juan Mountain Guides Nate Disser stands with his two kids Addison, 9, and Mason, 11, outside the Ouray Via Ferrata Information Center on Main Street in Ouray. photo by Eric Phillips
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