The Klettersteige der Schweiz

The via ferrata experience - also for beginners.
Via ferrata are routes that can also be climbed by beginners and non-climbers, thanks to permanently installed metal wires and artificial handholds. They combine the experience of nature with a sporting challenge and a pinch of adventure.

In this via ferrata guide, all 100 via ferrata routes in Switzerland and some in neighboring countries are presented in detail with informative texts and numerous color photos, supplemented with maps, topographies and diagrams. Also included are the via ferratas that may only be climbed with a mountain guide, as well as about 50 other tours with secured passages.
The "via ferrata cross" invented by Eugen E. Hüsler shows at a glance the expected difficulties and the character of the tour.

In this book, the authors, experienced via ferrata experts and authors of numerous guides and publications on the subject of via ferrata and mountain hiking, present all Swiss via ferrata/vie ferrata routes and everything you need to know about them.
They explain what safe climbing equipment is, what the biggest dangers on the rock are and where you can find the best routes in Switzerland. Vital but easy to remember are also their 10 rules for via ferrata climbers.

All via ferrata routes divided into levels of difficulty
Each via ferrata is divided into six levels, from easy (K1) to extremely difficult (K6), according to the "Hüsler difficulty scale".
The climbing routes are assessed based on altitude (valley, mid-mountain, high Alps), climbing and descending performance, terrain conditions and slope (forest, grass, rocks, rock, snow, ice), route length, path conditions for climbing and descending (trails with markings , non-trail paths), orientation (markers), route condition (type of belay equipment, length) and route exposure.

In the inside flap of the book, all via ferrata routes are divided in a clear table according to difficulty into the categories via ferrata, sports via ferrata, alpine route and secured via ferrata.

The skills that a via ferrata climber must have to master a particular via ferrata are graphically summarized in "Hüslers Klettersteigkreuz (HKK)": Mountain experience, strength, endurance and psychological resilience. This makes it clear what the via ferrata will look like: whether it will be a short, very airy route or a long, strenuous ridge traverse. For all via ferrata routes in this guide, the HKK adds the total difficulty level (K) - an additional service for users.

The via ferrata guide for all of Switzerland
All regions of Switzerland are covered in this guide: Valais, Western Switzerland, Bernese Oberland, Mittelland, Central Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Graubünden and Ticino offer via ferratas for all needs.

Included are of course the well-known via ferrata in Kandersteg, Leukerbad, Engelberg, the Tälli via ferrata in the Haslital or the Mürren via ferrata above the Lauterbrunnen valley. However, in this revised new edition, new climbs have also been added: Via ferrata dellegids Macugnaga and Via ferrata Edelweiss et Androsace in Valais, Klettersteig L'Échelle a la Marchande in Western Switzerland, Klettersteig du Sanetsch and Klettersteig Hornflue in the Bernese Oberland, Klettersteig Felspfad and Klettersteig Husky-Lodge in Central Switzerland and Klettersteig Punteglias and Klettersteig Partnunblick, where a special family via ferrata has been constructed, in Graubünden.

Pack your via ferrata set, harness and climbing shoes and off to the next via ferrata!