45.04° N · 6.34° E · Écrins National Park
An introductory vertical via ferrata at Villar-d'Arêne, climbing about 200 m up a pillar that is shaded in summer and has an exit halfway. The Bureau des Guides de La Grave runs it with a guide, in a group or privately.
Part of Écrins National ParkAlps
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
On foot from the car to the foot of the route, with the rucksack.
Climb the pillar, with the escape route halfway up.
By the path back to the starting point.
If you want to try verticality without being a climber, this is the via ferrata in the upper Romanche valley that the Bureau des Guides de La Grave suggests for beginners. It is short, shaded in summer and has an escape route halfway if someone does not feel comfortable.
The route follows a pillar at Villar-d'Arêne and climbs about 200 m through vertical sections and the odd overhanging step, with cable, rungs and wide views over the valley. The company classes it as introductory technically and for beginners physically, but warns that it has some exposed steps. Before you start there is an approach on foot of up to half an hour, with a 5 to 10 kg rucksack and perhaps over steep terrain.
The guide is with you the whole time: a high-mountain guide or an instructor with a state diploma. They teach you to use the energy absorber, to clip the carabiners and to move along the rungs, and decide whether the group continues to the top or leaves by the escape route.
For teenagers and adults with no experience who want something more than a footpath. The website says it is accessible from age 8 or 10 and sets a minimum height of 1.20 m, which is what really counts for reaching the rungs. If you have a strong fear of heights, a walk in the valley or the climb to the Alpe refuge is better.
In a group, €62 per person, with a minimum of four participants. Privately, €240 for a group of up to six. The price includes the guide, their liability insurance, shared equipment such as the rope, and individual accident insurance. Bring mountain clothing, water and something to eat. Helmet, harness and energy absorber must be brought or hired, and transport to the foot of the route is up to you.
At the guides' office, in the cable car square in La Grave, or directly at the foot of the route, at 9:00 or 14:00. Villar-d'Arêne is a few minutes from La Grave on the D1091, heading up towards the Lautaret.
Who it's for
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
That way you finish before the afternoon storms.
The group outing needs four people and places fill up.
In the afternoon, the Pont d'Arsine is a few minutes away by car.
Questions
No. The route is introductory and the guide teaches you the technique at the start.
The website mentions 8 or 10 years and asks for a minimum height of 1.20 m.
About three hours in total, with the approach.
The route has an escape halfway up. The guide decides whether you leave by it.
From June to October, according to the company.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/france/provence-alpes-cote-dazur/ecrins/things-to-do/arsine-via-ferrata
