Trip Recommender
Travel just 30 minutes from downtown Denver, and you will find yourself cliffside at our Idaho Springs outpost, high above the trees and in the mountainside. Here, thrill seekers have the opportunity to challenge themselves on our unique Mount Evans Via Ferrata course. Meaning “Iron Path” in Italian, the Via Ferrata has been a way to explore the cliff sides in Europe for centuries, dating most prominently to World War I when Via Ferratas helped soldiers gain footing and position in the Italian Dolomites.
You will be fitted with a harness, lanyards with secure clips, gloves, and a helmet. AVA guides receive training in all safety equipment, with AVA using only equipment that has been regularly inspected and tested. Cables run the entirety of the course and use an internal locking system, allowing you to remain connected to the cliff face. You will clip into the cables using a carabiner lock system that only allows for one carabiner to be unlocked at a time, making it impossible to ever be completely disconnected from the cable on the mountainside.
You must wear closed toe and secure trips on all of our Via Ferrata trips! We also recommend wearing comfortable clothes that you can climb and hike in. Loose clothing, short shorts, and jeans should not be worn on the course, and long hair should be tied up.
Trips will still run despite rain, and will only be canceled due to high winds or lightning. This means that it is a good idea to pack a raincoat, especially as weather in Colorado’s mountains can change rapidly. You may also bring a small backpack for water or layers. Please keep anything valuable locked in the car, to avoid losing anything on the course.
Beginning March 31st, 2023, our Idaho Springs Via Ferrata trips run weekends (Friday through Sunday) and daily beginning May, 12th 2023.
After Labor Day, September 4th, 2023, trips will run Wednesdays through Sundays throughout September.
In October, we offer trips weekends (Friday through Sunday) until our closing day, October 29th.
We offer trips at 9:30am, 12:30pm, and 3:30pm
The adventure can take up to 3.5 hours, so be sure that you are physically capable to adventure for that length. Via Ferrata trips have a minimum age requirement of 12, a minimum weight requirement of 50lbs and a maximum weight limit of 250lbs. The Via Ferrata is one of the most challenging and rewarding adventures you can try in Colorado, and although you do not need to have climbing experience, many sections require you to be able to climb up rungs and ladders.
