Austin and I agreed that today topped the best day of the trip so far.

We had such an incredible time scrambling in the Dolomites on a via ferrata. A via ferrata is "an Italian term which means ‘iron path’― is a protected climbing route, built with a steel cable rail fixed to the rock, metal steps, ladders, suspension bridges and zip wires." During the climb, we had helmets and climbing harnesses which had two 'ropes' and carabiners on them which were used to clip onto the fixed steel cable.

The route we did was actually pretty challenging but both of us love scrambles so we decided to give it a go. We started with a 1.5 mile hike gaining 2,000 ft in elevation so we rested, had a snack, and re-hydrated after that slog up a hill. The views were breathtaking the entire hike and climb so that always seemed to keep us going just fine, you'll see in the photos below.

The first 3 pitches were the hardest on the route so it was nice to have fresh grip strength and muscles for that. The route continued and summitted towers, went up and down the mountain, over a swinging bridge, around the mountain, through WWI tunnels, and we even hiked past an emergency hut that slept 6+ people if needed. Some parts were much more challenging than others which definitely gives you that tummy swirl feel when you look down and see nearly 1,000 feet below you with your feet pressed against the rock and your hands on the cables. The rock was so 'grippy' and solid which helped with confidence on foot holds and hand holds.

Some people choose to complete the via ferrata with only using rock climbing skills and not touching the cable but I shamelessly used the cable - I would have not been able to scale the mountains without the cable, ha! Austin crushed a lot of the route without using the cable, woo! We paused nearly every 5 or so minutes and were in shock with the views and I kept saying, "are we actually here and doing this!?" Playing in the Dolomites has been a dream of mine for years so I am over the moon excited to be here.

You'll see some shots of the via ferrata climb and some shots of the WWI tunnels and remains that we got to explore too! Austin was so kind and was the #1 action photographer. :)