via ferrata

"Frank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for some good via ferrata close to a European airport, so
I don't spend hours out of a short break driving there and back. Any
advice?

I'm aiming to go the week after next (w/c Sept 24th), stay up in the
refugios for 3 nights, ideally string a few routes together to make a
loop. I'm an experienced walker and climber, and I've done a week of
via ferrat'ing out of Cortina in Italy before, so grade and exposure
isn't really an issue.

I'm hoping to find somewhere we can land, pick up a car, and be on the
rock with a refugio above us in under and hour from an airport. I live
within 1 hour of all the London airports, so the whole of Europe is
open to me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

You'll be lucky! I went to the Dolomites last weekend (avoiding the real via
ferrata, because I'm a whimp :-), and it was a 2 and a half hour drive from
Verona. Don't think you'll get any closer, as there are not many airports
once you get to the foot of the mountains, and that's still well over an
hour's drive from the places you want.

BTW, 4 days hut-to-hut trekking was superb, even with only simple bits of
cable on the tricky bits.

On 15 Sep, 19:16, "Graculus" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Frank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for some good via ferrata close to a European airport, so
I don't spend hours out of a short break driving there and back. Any
advice?

Quoted message said:

I'm aiming to go the week after next (w/c Sept 24th), stay up in the
refugios for 3 nights, ideally string a few routes together to make a
loop. I'm an experienced walker and climber, and I've done a week of
via ferrat'ing out of Cortina in Italy before, so grade and exposure
isn't really an issue.

Quoted message said:

I'm hoping to find somewhere we can land, pick up a car, and be on the
rock with a refugio above us in under and hour from an airport. I live
within 1 hour of all the London airports, so the whole of Europe is
open to me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

You'll be lucky! I went to the Dolomites last weekend (avoiding the real via
ferrata, because I'm a whimp :-), and it was a 2 and a half hour drive from
Verona. Don't think you'll get any closer, as there are not many airports
once you get to the foot of the mountains, and that's still well over an
hour's drive from the places you want.

BTW, 4 days hut-to-hut trekking was superb, even with only simple bits of
cable on the tricky bits.

.........thanks for this..I'm sure you're right that Verona is the best
airport for the Dolomites. Just wondered if there was anything closer
in any other European country? There are routes in France, Spain,
Czech Republic, Austria? I'm just geographically-challenged when it
comes to airports-near-mountains.

Any hey, its not wimping out....we all go to have fun right? not to
scare ourselves silly.

In message <[email hidden]>

Frank said:

........thanks for this..I'm sure you're right that Verona is the best
airport for the Dolomites. Just wondered if there was anything closer
in any other European country? There are routes in France, Spain,
Czech Republic, Austria? I'm just geographically-challenged when it
comes to airports-near-mountains.

Quoted message said:

Any hey, its not wimping out....we all go to have fun right? not to
scare ourselves silly.

There's one near Nice which I keep meaning to check out (since I'm
living vaguely in the area for a year), but AFAIK there isn't another
less than an hour or two away.

--
Simon Challands

On 15 Sep, 21:06, Simon Challands <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In message <[email hidden]>

Frank said:

........thanks for this..I'm sure you're right that Verona is the best
airport for the Dolomites. Just wondered if there was anything closer
in any other European country? There are routes in France, Spain,
Czech Republic, Austria? I'm just geographically-challenged when it
comes to airports-near-mountains.
Any hey, its not wimping out....we all go to have fun right? not to
scare ourselves silly.

There's one near Nice which I keep meaning to check out (since I'm
living vaguely in the area for a year), but AFAIK there isn't another
less than an hour or two away.

--
Simon Challands

Hi Simon,
strangly enough I lived Vaguely near Nice for a year....Villefranche
Sur Mer. Whereabouts is the local Via F.?

In message <[email hidden]>

Frank said:

On 15 Sep, 21:06, Simon Challands <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There's one near Nice which I keep meaning to check out (since I'm
living vaguely in the area for a year), but AFAIK there isn't another
less than an hour or two away.

Quoted message said:

Hi Simon,
strangly enough I lived Vaguely near Nice for a year....Villefranche
Sur Mer. Whereabouts is the local Via F.?

Closer to Monaco than Nice. The book has it at a place called Peille,
which I admit I've never heard of. It sounds a bit on the difficult
side for me (as a lot of the French ones do, which is one excuse for
not having done any yet). I suppose I should be out in the hills or
mountains now, instead of lounging around on a weekend 🙁

--
Simon Challands

On 16 Sep, 13:09, Simon Challands <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In message <[email hidden]>

Frank said:

On 15 Sep, 21:06, Simon Challands <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

There's one near Nice which I keep meaning to check out (since I'm
living vaguely in the area for a year), but AFAIK there isn't another
less than an hour or two away.

Hi Simon,
strangly enough I lived Vaguely near Nice for a year....Villefranche
Sur Mer. Whereabouts is the local Via F.?

Closer to Monaco than Nice. The book has it at a place called Peille,
which I admit I've never heard of. It sounds a bit on the difficult
side for me (as a lot of the French ones do, which is one excuse for
not having done any yet). I suppose I should be out in the hills or
mountains now, instead of lounging around on a weekend 🙁

--
Simon Challands

you could alway go here:

http://www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk/via_ferrata.asp

Enjoy

In message <[email hidden]>

Gazman said:

On 16 Sep, 13:09, Simon Challands <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Closer to Monaco than Nice. The book has it at a place called Peille,
which I admit I've never heard of. It sounds a bit on the difficult
side for me (as a lot of the French ones do, which is one excuse for
not having done any yet). I suppose I should be out in the hills or
mountains now, instead of lounging around on a weekend 🙁

Quoted message said:

you could alway go here:

Quoted message said:

http://www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk/via_ferrata.asp

A bit of a trek from the south of France! Anyway, that's a very high
charge (surprise surprise from that place), and seems to be mostly
going up the old inclines anyway, which hardly requires all that
protection (should've had a thorough explore of that area before the
place re-opened, but that was before I was interested in things
underground - OTOH the quarry doesn't actually own the land, so I'm
not sure if they could stop anyone else wandering around bits they
aren't actually working). Can't help thinking the original via
ferratas would laugh at this one.

--
Simon Challands

Not true via ferrata but the picos de europa have ropelines along a lot of
the bigger mountains that are similiar to via ferrata and they are only
about an hour from Santander.

"Frank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for some good via ferrata close to a European airport, so
I don't spend hours out of a short break driving there and back. Any
advice?

I'm aiming to go the week after next (w/c Sept 24th), stay up in the
refugios for 3 nights, ideally string a few routes together to make a
loop. I'm an experienced walker and climber, and I've done a week of
via ferrat'ing out of Cortina in Italy before, so grade and exposure
isn't really an issue.

I'm hoping to find somewhere we can land, pick up a car, and be on the
rock with a refugio above us in under and hour from an airport. I live
within 1 hour of all the London airports, so the whole of Europe is
open to me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I think you'd find it difficult to get to them in Czech Republic. The two
main airports, Prague and Brno would be a train ride away from any mountains
and getting from the station to the mountains is not always that easy. I've
never seen buses heading to them.

Rob

"Frank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 15 Sep, 19:16, "Graculus" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Frank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm looking for some good via ferrata close to a European airport, so
I don't spend hours out of a short break driving there and back. Any
advice?

Quoted message said:

I'm aiming to go the week after next (w/c Sept 24th), stay up in the
refugios for 3 nights, ideally string a few routes together to make a
loop. I'm an experienced walker and climber, and I've done a week of
via ferrat'ing out of Cortina in Italy before, so grade and exposure
isn't really an issue.

Quoted message said:

I'm hoping to find somewhere we can land, pick up a car, and be on the
rock with a refugio above us in under and hour from an airport. I live
within 1 hour of all the London airports, so the whole of Europe is
open to me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

You'll be lucky! I went to the Dolomites last weekend (avoiding the real
via
ferrata, because I'm a whimp :-), and it was a 2 and a half hour drive
from
Verona. Don't think you'll get any closer, as there are not many airports
once you get to the foot of the mountains, and that's still well over an
hour's drive from the places you want.

BTW, 4 days hut-to-hut trekking was superb, even with only simple bits of
cable on the tricky bits.

........thanks for this..I'm sure you're right that Verona is the best
airport for the Dolomites. Just wondered if there was anything closer
in any other European country? There are routes in France, Spain,
Czech Republic, Austria? I'm just geographically-challenged when it
comes to airports-near-mountains.

Any hey, its not wimping out....we all go to have fun right? not to
scare ourselves silly.