Part-time soldiers with a head for heights yesterday successfully completed an unusual exercise yesterday to mark 70 years since VE Day, when the Allies finally won World War II in Europe.
A Company, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment – which is part of the Army reserve – donned their full combat kit and carried assorted weapons to take on Scotland’s first via ferrata in the morning.
Vie ferrate – Italian for iron roads – are protected climbing routes found mainly in the Alps. This one is in Kinlochleven.
The exercise was designed to emulate the conditions that would have been experienced by their historical counterparts in World War I and II.
Ben Starkie, who was guiding the part-time soldiers up the cliff face yesterday, said: “The weather was good and the guys really enjoyed it. We talked quite a lot on the way up the via ferrata about what it would have been like for the guys during the war, as their stuff would have been much heavier and there was very little emphasis on safety.”
The via ferrata runs on the inside of the Grey Mare’s Tail Canyon, tucked away behind the village and just a short walk from the road.
The installation has more than 1,500ft of iron rungs, fixed cables, bridges and ladders following the course of the river and up the side of Scotland’s third highest waterfall.
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of VE Day in 2015, 10 members of A Company travelled from their base in Glasgow for the challenge.
The original via ferrata were developed during World War I to enable the Italian army to move troops and artillery across dangerous mountain passes in northern Italy.
Scotland’s via ferrata was built in 2013 by Vertical Descents, the Lochaber outdoor activity providers who will guide A Company on this event. Vertical Descents also runs canyoning and rafting trips locally.