How to stay safe with children on Via Ferrata

[@carolin8645]

thank you, I was waiting for this. thank you!

[@dominikkocinski]

I'm planning to take my daughter on a via ferrata for the first time and this information is very helpful. Thank You!

[@JetSetYourself]

Love it! ♥️ Make sure you have a rope to keep her belayed to you in verticals if the Via Ferrata is difficult. A side note, when it comes to children (young or adolescent) I think parents have to balance the need of the child to both feel protected by the parent but also allowed to just figure it out and go through it the real way (not too much pampering). Returning to you and your daughter (please accept my apologies if it feels like I overstep boundaries and talk too much). Isn't this amazing? I'm sure you will help her have an amazing time. Isn't this empowering? What a thrill the day out will be. I hope she will like it and buy into outdoors as much as in everything else.

[@dominikkocinski]

@@JetSetYourself Thank you very much for the advice. At first we chose easy routes with difficulty B with elements C (but easy in my opinion). My daughter is 12 and has experience with climbing walls. I also climb a bit, but via ferrata will be something new for us. We don't have them in Poland, we have to go to the Czech Republic or Germany. I have just ordered Edelrid Via Ferrata Belay Kit II to be able to belay her easily. We will definitely have a great time, but safety is the most important thing for me. Great channel, I have subscribed :)

[@JetSetYourself]

@dominikkocinski no money is worth the safety of your daughter. Plus, this will enable you to open doors for her. I'm glad you bought the belay kit from Edelrid. I had it with me on Schlossberg Via Ferrata when I lost the X3 camera and I've used it to belay myself up after rappeling after the camera. That simple but amazing metal plate it comes with is efficient and does the job right. I was once with a friend on Via Ferrata, it was his first time, I did not have a belay kit with me, at 300m he ended up totally disconnected. He was holding hard the cable but you get the idea. Mistakes are always happening without our will. Next day I bough the belay kit from Edelrid. Imagine my case, I have to travel all the way down from London. But, what don't we do for a healthier life. I'm now two weeks on the road and not even know what day of the week is. It feels good.

[@dominikkocinski]

@@JetSetYourself I used this set last weekend on via ferrata in the Czech Republic. It's brilliant. Very handy and works great. It has greatly increased safety on the more difficult vertical walls. My daughter felt very safe thanks to it, as did I. We had a great time :) Only once did I have a problem with giving slack under tension, I pulled the blue loop up, but it wouldn't release. Maybe I did something wrong :) I also saw another father with a child using this set. Overall very good equipment.

[@violahaag8981]

Can we expect to see more mountaineering content this year? I love your gran paradiso video!

[@dominiknycz7912]

Thank You. I was fighting with my self... now we'll focus on makeing weight&strenght of my son before going out.

[@JetSetYourself]

If possible try to spend time together hiking until he gets better with the mountains and to be selv reliant, with trained reflexes, able to properly understand the rules of safety and you confident he will master the rules and not make human errors that can cost highly. Moreover, if possible, maybe you can together go to the climbing gym. If I would take someone first time on Via Ferrata and he or she is an adult for sure I will push their limits of fear and unknown but with a child, is best to do it slowly and calmly. He needs to learn the basics and eventually to overcome fear and difficulties through strength and good habits you as a parent help him master. I hope you don't mind me speaking my mind about this.

[@chrisk7693]

very interresting and informative...but why are there no via ferrata sets where you can weight over 120kg like up to 140kg...i think it must be possible to build stronger equipement, carabiners etc

[@JetSetYourself]

I can only speculate on this. On why a Via Ferrata Set can only hold up to 120kg. It is easy to guess why at least 40kg. Probably we can get into the physics of it and figure out more scholarly reasons on the why. In my view, a) the cost of accommodating more than 120kg is too high. It is hard to have so many heavy people wanting to go up on a Via Ferrata (and probably capable). The cost to produce sets that hold that much will be high because they become bigger bulkier and it will get into trouble the 40kg climbers. b) I guess that 120kg is already a lot. Imagine a weigh of 140kg falling. I didn't study the webbing but I guess there are limits as well. Even the sitting harness. Will a sitting harness fit a 140kg person? I have 100kg and use an XL. For me to get to 140kg it means that I will get quite big (muscle or no muscle). Most probably I will need a different sitting harness. I will study this further and will try to provide you a more comprehensive and facts checked answered.