顺流而下-途经费拉塔
The best way to start your day is being greeted by happy people and a happy dog. That is what we got when entering San Juan Mountain Guides. 在这个晴朗的早晨，这是一个令人愉快的地方. We met our guide Ryan as we prepared for our morning adventure in Ouray, Colorado.
We drove up to the parking spot located on HWY 361 (Camp Bird Rd). 从那里我们再次检查了我们所有的装备, 水域, and if we needed to leave anything in the car prior to making the trek into the canyon area. Walking up the gravel road, we had stunning views of the town of Ouray. 过公路桥, you could look to the east facing wall to find the via ferrata course and the notorious sky bridge! Seeing that quickened the pace of my heart rate as excitement built up inside. We turned to head south on the Perimeter Trail off of HWY 361. 徒步旅行 this trail to the practice area was only about 5-10 minutes of an easy walk.
Ferrata大街的小练习场
This area is a great place to get your gear on and test it out. Ryan took us here to demonstrate and talk about the special via ferrata lanyard. What makes this different than normal climbing webbings and carabiners, is how it is designed. 这个装置的夹子锁住了, but with a quick release to be able to open and close them easily. The lanyard goes into a pouch that contains a bungee like rope. 万一你摔倒了, 它是一个减震器, this pouch unzips/ rips open to allow a cushion for your fall to decrease the impact to you and the equipment.
This practice area has a small section of the rock that replicates what you will be doing on the routes in the Uncompahgre River Gorge. Ryan took the time to show us how to properly do the movements, clipping, and how to take rests.
以下是我们了解到的情况:
1)夹入电缆
2) Move across the staple like beams with your hands and feet
3) Unclip one carabiner to lock onto the next set, then repeat with the second
如果你需要休息, use the third non-locking carabiner closest to your harness to clip into one of the handles of the route
不要把两个夹子都从电缆上拆下来
Making our way down to the start of both routes, we found the ranger. 这个人对这次行动至关重要! 每一个来到这里的登山者 必须办理登机手续. 为什么? Because this ranger checks your equipment to make sure you are as safe as possible, 给你一些建议, 以及在上游和下游路线上的技巧. 如果你有任何问题，问他们!
The downstream route was to the right of the ranger station. The first obstacle we came to face was the suspension bridge. This bridge went across the river to the east facing wall.
Once to the other side, the route goes to the left. The first bit took some getting used to with the flow of clipping, unclipping, moving, and repeat. Thankfully it was a lot of horizontal movement versus actual climbing. 峡谷的景色绝对壮丽. Almost like being transported to a different place in the world. The sound of rushing water below muffles the sound of the birds and chipmunks, 当太阳变热时，岩石和光线使你降温.
一路走来, there are many spots that are more like hiking trails that you walk alongside the canyon walls. This is super nice because it gave the biceps and triceps a break.
一路走来, there are sections that allow people to pass by safely. 或者让你路过某个人. You will see yellow signs that say, “Passing Zone.” There is an additional cable that will take you safely off course to that you can pass and let someone else go by you. 我们去的时候，那里并不太热闹. 我们只经过一个人.
There were some steep vertical climbs that led to epic views. On these sections, we were told to keep a two cable section apart from each other. This allowed us to keep a safe distance if the person in front falls.
About half way through we took a small rest and drank some water and had some snacks. 当然，我们把垃圾都倒出去了. 确保你也这样做!
Towards the end, there are two routes to pick from. One is the sky bridge, which is recommended because it is easier. 第二个选择是另一个长长的垂直爬坡. We chose to do the vertical climb because of the adventure. 这对手臂肌肉很有效. As you start your ascent, it is a normal straight up route. 到一半的时候，就变得棘手了. The way the rock leans, there is a bit of an undercut. This section called for me to use the back of my heels to hold my body up, 重新调整我的握法, then stretch as far as possible to reach the next hold. This was the most technical section of the entire route. 来到顶点, there was a small section that called for a break before the decent on the other side.
下来的时间比上去的时间长. 这是基于攀登者的偏好. 我往往会犹豫下去. Making sure I have all my footing situated before putting weight on it.
Once at the bottom, we only had a little ways till the end. 剩下的事情很容易. You’ll know you are at the end after going underneath the bridge that you hiked over on the way to the start. You exit through the gate to complete the downstream via ferrata!
Special thanks to San Juan Mountain Guides for taking us on the via ferrata and showing us the way to do it. 我们非常喜欢它, we bought our special lanyards from them and some t-shirts to commemorate the day.
看看我们的视频!
Exploring the downstream route of the Ouray 通过Ferrata. Something fun for friends and family to explore on their bucket list adventures, the via is a place where memories are made to last a lifetime.