My First Attempt at Via Ferrata

Me : Hi, is the Via Ferrata (VF) suitable for beginners ? I have never done it before.
Girl on the phone : It's suitable for beginners and for people of all fitness levels. 

Me : Great, that sounds like me.

09 May 2010 - Having been assured that almost anyone can climb, i decide to book an appointment to try the VF in Orchard Central, which is the world's tallest indoor VF.

Via Ferrata actually means "iron road" in Italian. It was used during world war I in Italy to aid in the movement of troops on the mountains.

The wall starts from the 4th floor in Orchard Central and climbers have to make  their way up to the top at the 8th floor in 1.5 hrs. At level 7, there's a platform to rest.  Sounds simple enough I thought, should be a breeze :-) However, when i actually got started, I was feeling nervous. Although I wasn't afraid of heights, i wasn't really sure of the VF system. Where to hook ? How to loop the rope round the pigtail ? where to step ....

I was very anxious to move quickly from one step to another.  There were times when i overshot the safety line and had to back track to hook in.  I used my hands and forearms extensively to pull myself up the metal rungs, which was really tedious and was wearing me down quickly.  This can't be for beginners and "suitable for people of all fitness levels" i thought.   Anyway, cant stop now - so many diners and shoppers looking at me ! "die die" also must reach the top !

With Aine's (the instructor) help,  i made it to the rest area - barely.  By then, my hands were really tired.  My forearms and biceps were trembling and aching !  Aine, on the other hand, hardly broke a sweat ! She was there smiling and relaxed while i was very tired and sweating like a pig.

Aine is a petite girl who does this part time on weekends.  Prior to climbing with me, she had just completed the route twice with the climber before me.  Gosh, my fitness level cant be that bad right !  

I chatted with her at the rest area and realized i wasn't doing too bad for a first timer. Maybe it was her consoling me or her job to motivate me haha.  From our conversation, i realized i should have used more of my legs and lower body to propel and support my weight… that way, i wouldn't have strained my hands that much.

Look at how far my body is away from the wall, 

while the instructor is leaning close to the wall.

Resting ...

When i realized that the end point is at the 8th floor and i was already at the 7th floor, i felt motivated and decided to go on.  Using more of my legs and whatever strength that's left in my feeble arms, i  pushed on and reached the top. Woo hoo !  I finally made it ! Although i was fatigued, I couldn't contain my happiness and was grinning from ear to ear when i descended using the elevator.  :-)

I took about 40 mins to scale the world's tallest indoor VF, which was not too bad for a complete beginner, but was really slow if you are a experienced climber.  The climber before me, who is fatter than me, took only 20 mins.

Looking back, i guess i was nervous and had bad technique. Using all arms and no legs was a really bad idea.  Sure way to tire fast. Technique is really important in VF.  This time, the VF almost conquered me.   I'll be back for another attempt !

Check out Borderx Website for the worlds tallest's indoor Via Ferrata, which i conquered - Yeah ! :-)