Hiking in Switzerland: Via Ferrata

“Come here,” my wife, September, beckoned. “I want to show you something.” I followed her into the sportszentrum where a 32-inch flat-screen monitor was waiting. “What do you think of this?” she asked, pointing at the monitor.

I looked at the image and considered the juxtaposition of a man smiling while clinging to the edge of a cliff.

“We could do that tomorrow!” September exclaimed. “It’s called a via ferrata and looks totally doable. You wear a climbing harness and are always clipped into a safety cable.”

Back home, our family of four had been sporadic users of the local climbing gym, but to say we are climbers is like saying I’m a photographer, simply because I can snap a photo. “There clearly aren’t enough lawyers in this country,” I muttered.

Since our arrival in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, we had been partaking of the high-adrenaline offerings throughout the region. The following day, however, would be our last before returning to our cubicles in Silicon Valley. We had been planning a nice train ride on the Jungfraujoch, to the “Top of Europe.” In case you weren’t aware, the Swiss are positively mental, having built train lines to the top of many of their most infamous peaks. On a clear day, a ride to the peak is simply spectacular. On a stormy day, riding the train to the top is a lot like emptying your wallet to experience fog so thick you can’t see your own feet.

“I thought we were going to do the Jungfrau thingy tomorrow,” I replied.

“We were just on top of a mountain last week in Zermatt. This could be the highlight of our trip.”

It was.

Next: What is a Via Ferrata?