Wanna get high?
A precarious latest “floating” staircase dangling above a Norwegian fjord is the most recent — and maybe scariest — solution to appreciate the country’s unparalleled natural beauty, when you dare.
A whopping 2,591 feet up, the brand new “Stigull” ladder, a 131-foot-long climb in midair, is the most recent draw for adrenaline junkies to the little town of Loen, situated in Norway’s northwest.
“It’d make most individuals’s legs tremble a bit,” Per Helge Bø, operations manager of Løen Lively, told CNN Travel.
From afar, “it looks like individuals are floating within the air,” Helge Bø said.
Loen is situated within the Nordfjord region, prized for its dramatic landscapes. The 120-step ladder is the most recent leg of the world’s expanding via ferrata climbing route.
Via ferrata is Italian for “iron path” — the term is used to explain climbing routes that use cables, ladders and other guideways to help mountain climbers.
The brand new ladder — mounted at a 45-degree-angle — is an element of that course. To even reach it, you’ve got to get a part of the best way up Loen’s Mount Hoven, an adventure in itself.
Still, when you can hack the heights, Helge Bø said that the views are greater than definitely worth the trouble.
“In case you dare to go searching, you possibly can soak up the spectacular fjord landscape with the glittering fjord and the majestic peaks, with the huge cliff face and narrow gorge right beside you,” he said.
And whilst you don’t rating as many adventure points, you don’t should subject yourself to the iron path to summit the mountain, which is served by one in every of the world’s steepest cable automobile — there’s even a restaurant on the summit.
You’ll definitely save a buck — most hikers on the Via Ferrata Loen pay a whopping $160 for the privilege, which incorporates the services of a guide. The experienced can go it alone, but will still pay an equipment fee of about $46.
In case you’re game, don’t worry when you’ve never done anything like this — the route’s bark is seemingly worse than its bite.
“All climbing in Via Ferrata Loen, including the Stigull, takes place if you are securely attached to a wire,” Helge Bø explained.
“Climbing the ladder itself isn’t difficult, however the exposure and the sense of accomplishment you’re feeling when climbing there are immense,” he said.
