Via ferrata La Videmanette - A perfect initiation to via ferrata

🗺️ Overview

• Starting point: Top station of La Videmanette lift (Rougemont, 2150 m)

• Highest point: Le Rubli summit, 2285 m

• Total elevation gain: ~150 m

• Total distance: ~1.4 km (round trip)

• Total time: ~2h (45 min ascent, 30 min descent, plus breaks)

• Technical difficulty:

  • Easy ferrata: K2

  • Medium ferrata: K3 (our route)

  • Difficult ferrata: K5– (steep, vertical sections, but no overhangs)

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At La Videmanette (2150 m), above Rougemont, there are three via ferrata: a very easy one (K2), a medium one (K3), and a hard one (K5–). The K5 is said to include vertical passages but no overhangs, and is considered doable by experienced climbers. Our plan this time was to take the mid-level one anway.

From the lift, the summit of Le Rubli is immediately visible on the left. The approach is very short: just five minutes downhill, where you find a large panel marking the start. The difficult route begins downhill and climbs the rock face on your left, while the medium and easy ones start directly in front.

The first section is common to all routes and follows wide ledges. After about five minutes the path splits, with a loop system designed to avoid traffic jams. The climb then goes up a pleasant couloir where you can also use the rock for handholds. Ten minutes later, you reach a narrow ledge – the only slightly intimidating part of the easy route, though plenty of kids manage it without trouble.

Soon after, the via ferrata splits again: left for the medium route, right for the easy one (which is really more like a protected trail). The easy one is also used for the descent.

We went left, where the K3 begins with a series of vertical metal rungs before continuing more horizontally along a small ledge. The wall is not fully vertical, which makes it less scary. Another short section of rungs brings you quickly to the top. It took us 45 minutes in total. At this point, the hard route also joins from below.

This is not yet the summit: the true top of Le Rubli (2285 m) lies just beyond, along a ridge without cables. At the very end, you rejoin the easy via ferrata and clip back into the cable for the final narrow ridge. The view from the top is fantastic: Gstaad lies directly below, and the panorama stretches from the Bernese Alps across to Les Diablerets.

The descent follows the easy route. The first part from the summit is barely a via ferrata at all, more like a marked path. Later, it rejoins the ascent route, except for the bottom loop where a nice couloir completes the circuit.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable via ferrata – perfect for beginners or families with kids. And of course, back at the télécabine, we finished with my now traditional high-altitude cappuccino.