Daniels alumnus Reed Rowley is a main character in DU’s story of “ferrata fervor”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m suspended 500 feet off the ground right now,” Reed Rowley thought as he hung in a harness with one foot on a small iron foothold bolted into the almost-sheer rock wall near Telluride, Colorado—his first time on a via ferrata.
The then-inexperienced climber was struck by the views of the San Juan Mountains made accessible by the cliffside cabled traverse. And soon, he set out to bring the magic of that experience to DU’s James C. Kennedy Mountain Campus.
Humans have taken to the mountains for millennia, ascending and descending vast alpine ranges as they migrated across the globe. Some embarked on high-altitude journeys in search of food or safety while others sought enlightenment or, simply, to get from one place to another. In recent decades, interest in climbing has skyrocketed, with the first American via ferrata opening in Kentucky in 2001. Today, there are more than a dozen via ferratas across the country, a number that grows annually.
In June, DU was the first college in the country to unveil two via ferratas of its own at the Kennedy Mountain Campus (KMC), located two hours northwest of DU’s city campus, adjacent to Roosevelt National Forest. Open to students, alumni and the public, the routes—designed and built by Rowley and his team—feature a spectacular mix of natural terrain, challenge course features, and sections that are easy enough for a first timer and challenging enough to test an expert climber.
“We significantly reduced the risk for [climbers] while still creating that incredible thrill,” says Rowley. “This is a really powerful activity.”
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