Italian for “iron road,” via ferratas consist of steel rungs, cables, ladders, aerial walkways and other creative progression aids firmly, but unobtrusively anchored into rock and mountaineering tradition. Originally built during the First World War in the Dolomites of Italy to aid the movement of troops, in more recent times thousands of recreational via ferrata routes have been developed throughout the alpine communities of Europe. Their popularity and contribution to the tourism economy is well documented, but only recently have via ferratas made an appearance on the North American continent.