What requirements apply for advanced and difficult via ferratas?
Difficulty from K4: not for spontaneous attempts.
From K4, it gets serious. Routes challenge physically and mentally. Overhanging sections, long rope stretches, few artificial steps. Only those who know what they are doing should attempt. Beginners have no place here.
Strength, endurance, technique: everything must be right.
Long tours with many vertical meters stress the arms. Advanced climbers train specifically through pull-ups, planks, and leg strength. Without power in arms, legs, core, overhanging traverses cannot be completed. Technique is essential. You should maintain body tension, work with legs, do not just hang.
Climbing without iron: rock demands more.
The harder the route, the more natural the rock. Typical iron rungs appear less. Advanced climbers use climbing techniques such as bracing, spreading, balancing. Climbing experience helps, some sections match climbing grade II or III.
Exposure, height: mind must follow.
Hanging in the wall. Abyss on left, nothing on right. Foot-secure, confident with heights essential. Mental strength is mandatory, you must stay calm, even if muscles burn or next anchor seems far. Advanced climbers manage pressure without overestimating.
Planning decides, preparation is everything.
Review tour info, including length, difficulty, key sections, exit. Start early and conserve energy. Long tours need buffer, no experiments. Bring and use sling if needed. Breaks not weakness, but smart.
Safety remains essential, even with experience.
Repeated practice does not allow carelessness. Many accidents happen to experienced climbers from small errors at the end. Helmet on, carabiners clipped correctly, even if annoying. Routine must never become negligence.
Examples: when via ferrata becomes a “king route”.
Switzerland has true tests. Daubenhorn in Leukerbad: over 1000 vertical meters through the wall. Via Ferrata dei Tre Signori in Ticino: technically demanding, physically brutal. Only in best weather, with enough time, reserves, preferably in a team.