Via ferrata
Via ferrata
Equipped climbing route - Via Ferrata is a secured hiking trail through hard-to-reach rocky terrain, equipped with sidewalks, handrails, steel cables, iron wedges and ladders, which are attached to the rock. At OPP Via ferrata, mountaineers use personal technical kits to ensure their safety while on the move. For the assessment of the technical weight and complexity of the Equipped climbing road - Via ferrate, the Mountaineering Association of Serbia has accepted the international scale of 5 levels: A, B, C, D, E. Via ferrata Gornjak has weight ratings from A to D.
Via Ferrata Gornjak was made on the initiative of the mountaineering association Gornjak from Petrovac na Mlavi, which is also the guardian of the ferrata. At the end of 2018., we gave a proposal for the construction of a ferrata and the local self-government recognized the great importance of such a facility for tourism development and approved the project, and through the municipal sports association of Petrovac provided funds for the construction of Via Ferrata Gornjak.
In 6 months, four alpinists (Slobodan Žarković, Obrad Kuzeljević, Helena Lambić and Dejan Antić) built the complete ferrata, taking out all the necessary tools and materials for making them in ranches or pulling ropes along the rock.
On May 12. 2019., Via Ferrata Gornjak was ceremoniously opened and put into operation.
Via Ferrata Gornjak is a sports ferrata and for that reason it is equipped only with a steel cable that is fastened with wedges to the rock, because the idea is to cross the ferrata in a sporty way, that is using only the climbing wall, while the steel cable is there only as a safety element in case of slipping. Mountaineers secure themselves through personal kits and a climbing harness by attaching the carabiners of the personal ferrata cable kit, and in this way severe consequences are prevented in the event of a fall. In addition to the ferrata set and climbing belt, a climbing helmet is required, and all equipment must be certified by the International Mountaineering Federation.
Ferrata is 1100 m long from the starting point, all the way to the endpoint of the old fortress Zdrelo (or as some call it Kudelin's town). The average time for the Ferrata to pass is 2-3 hours.
The height difference is 330 m, and the ferrata itself is divided into 12 parts - a section between which there are pedestrian parts. Around all sections (except the fourth because the configuration of the terrain does not allow), evacuation trails have been built, which in case of need, such as a storm or a health problem of the participants, allow easier and faster access to rescue teams.
Via ferrata Gornjak is the only one in Serbia (not counting Kosovo and Metohija) of this size and importance, made according to all modern international standards for the construction of such outdoor sports fields.
To cross the ferrata, good psychophysical preparation is required, with the use of certified equipment that mountaineers must know how to use properly.
Experienced mountaineers and climbers can use the ferrata themselves according to the stated rules, and others are advised to go with a via ferrata guide.
The Gornjak Mountaineering Association from Petrovac na Mlavi also has equipment for rent for mountaineers who do not own it, as well as a licensed via ferrata guide who is authorized to lead groups of mountaineers.