Austria

A weekend visit to Bratislava, Slovakia allowed for ample time to take a day trip to a mountain range just past Vienna, Austria for some Via Ferrata climbing. Via Ferrata is a style of climbing where there are fixed steel cables on a given route which you use as protection as you ascend/descend clipping into with a harness and some carabiners on runner (or “lobster claws”). It was originally used for the military, but people use it for recreation now – to access some of the more remote areas of European mountain ranges! We set out, five of us – 3 adults, 2 youth, to practice our mountaineering skills and to enjoy the wilderness of Austria. We had a fantastic time building memories and learning about some of the basics of mountaineering (for the kids).

Generational Alpinists - Marek and his son. Austria, 2011	Serious Horns	After ascending to this overlook from our parked car below, we stopped for a quick lunch before continuing our loop to descend again. While we were eating, a large group of rams casually strolled past...
Our car is parked below...way below.	Traverse Trail	Austrian Valley
Eerie Overlook	Tunnel on the Descent (approx. 15 m) I rapped down it (hence the anchor), but it also had a ladder.