Colorado Via Ferrata FAQs

For the Via Ferrata course, you must wear closed toed shoes that will stay securely on your feet, as well as comfortable clothing that will not get in the way of equipment. Please avoid wearing skirts, short shorts, jeans, and long necklaces, and tie long hair back away from harnesses and cables. You may also bring a small backpack to carry water or sunscreen, and we recommend dressing in layers, as well as bringing a raincoat, as Colorado weather can change drastically during the day.

AVA provides all the necessary gear for you for your Via Ferrata experience, including helmets, gloves, harnesses and carabiners. This gear is safety inspected regularly, and your guide will help fit your gear to you, as well as provide any necessary instructions.

No, you may not use your own equipment on our Via Ferrata courses. Our equipment is specifically designed for our courses and is standardized for safety purposes.

To undertake a Via Ferrata, you will need to be at least 12 years old. Our weight minimum for our Granite course in Buena Vista is 75 pounds and 50 pounds for our Mount Evans course in Idaho Springs. The weight maximum for both is 250 pounds.

If you meet the age and weight requirements, about anybody can join in on the Via Ferrata!  It is a bit more demanding than the classic zipline course, so we recommend that those wishing to undertake a Via Ferrata are physically fit enough to climb ladders and stay moving for 3.5 hours.

Our Granite Via Ferrata at our Buena Vista outpost is open from May through September, with trips running at 8:30am, 11:30am, and 2:30pm. At our Idaho Springs outpost, trips run 9:30am, 12:30pm, and 3:30pm April through October. Trips are available daily throughout the summertime, and during the fall and spring, we offer trips Friday through Sunday. Please check our trip pages for current booking information.

Between traversing the cliffside via iron rungs, crossing multiple suspended bridges, rappelling down a rock face, and concluding your adventure with a few ziplines, our guided Via Ferrata tours provide up to 3.5 hours of adventure!

AVA Rafting and Zipline now offers the best cancellation policy in Colorado. When you purchase our Cancellation Guarantee, you are eligible for a 90% refund if you cancel your trip at least 24 hours before your scheduled departure. Trip changes can also be made without penalty if completed more than 24 hours in advance. If you need to make changes within 24 hours of your trip, a 15% change fee will apply, and changes will be subject to availability. If you cancel within 24 hours of your trip, your reservation will be converted to an open credit equal to 85% of your total adventure cost. This credit is valid for the current season only. The Cancellation Guarantee applies to both guided trip reservations and rental gear.

If you opted out of our cancellation guarantee:

Cancellations made at least 14 days prior to the trip will receive a 90% refund. Cancellations within two weeks of the trip are nonrefundable and changes to your reservation will incur a 15% change fee. No changes are permitted within 24 hours of the trip start time.

Lateness Policy:

Guests who arrive late for their trip will be placed on the next available departure and will incur a 15% change fee. If the guest is unable or unwilling to join a later departure, the reservation will be considered a no-show and is nonrefundable.

Weather and Water Levels Policy:

All rafting trips depart as scheduled regardless of weather. AVA reserves the right to change or substitute river sections at any time due to weather conditions and water levels to ensure safety and the best experience possible.

For zipline and via ferrata tours, AVA management may cancel or delay trips due to unsafe weather conditions, such as heavy winds or lightning. If a tour is canceled, you will be contacted to either reschedule your tour or receive a full refund. AVA may delay a tour by up to one hour in order to wait out inclement weather. If the tour is started but less than 50% of the course is completed, you will receive a 50% refund. If more than 50% of the course is completed, no refund will be issued.

In the event of rain, AVA reserves the right to upgrade a rock climbing trip to a via ferrata trip or to reschedule, based on your preference and availability. If at least one climb has been completed and the trip has lasted less than 1.5 hours, you will receive a 50% refund. If the trip is beyond 1.5 hours, no refund will be given.

Low Participation Policy:

AVA reserves the right to cancel any trip due to an insufficient number of bookings. Should we need to cancel your trip, the full cost will be refunded or credited to another trip according to your wishes.

NOTE: All cancellation and change fees are calculated based on the full cost of your trip.

Our Via Ferrata tours will take place in rain, snow or shine! Whether you’re planning a tour at AVA’s outpost in Idaho Springs or Buena Vista, it is best to come prepared for the weather. However, AVA’s via ferrata management team reserves the right to cancel tours due to unsafe weather conditions, such as heavy winds and lightning. If your tour has been cancelled because of weather by management, we will contact you to refund or reschedule your reservation. AVA reserves the right to postpone or delay your trip up to one hour to wait out inclement weather and then resume once conditions are deemed safe by management. If the trip is started and less than 50% of the course is completed, you will be refunded 50% of the cost of the trip. If the trip is started and more than 50% of the course is completed, you will not be refunded.