Rayan Afshari, Cypress Ski Club u10, shared his experience facing a fear of heights with Via Ferrata during the 2024 Summer Camps.
Last year my sister and I went to the Cypress Ski Club summer camp. One of the activities was the Via Ferrata – a climbing route in Squamish that allows you to see the Howe Sound and surrounding mountains. We wore harnesses and helmets. We were connected to steel cables and had guides to help us climb and hike up. This is just how it started!
First we took the cool gondola ride up the mountain. It had an amazing view! As soon as we got off the gondola, we got onto the suspension bridge! It was so bouncy! We all ate snacks on the mountain and then we were finally ready to get started! We put our harnesses on and went on a hiking trail with lots of berries. It was fine at the start but not after. I was very scared when we got to the rest point. I realized, we have been climbing on a rock! When I looked down I saw how high up I was. We had to keep going so we rested a bit and then went back on climbing.
At last we got to a place which was very easy and then we were done! I was so happy because by then I had sort of lost my fear of heights. As we came down with the gondola I saw two mountains that had funny names – Copilot and Skypilot. I thought better names for them would have been Copilot and ChatGPT. ☺
Via Ferrata was my favorite activity at the camp because it was so scary and still fun. I would do it again but I would probably need some help to not freak out.
See you next summer!
Rayan
