Sun, a bit chilly, day off together. What do we do? Well, it was time to open the via ferrata season. Quick check on the ‘MeteoSuisse’, yes, perfect, we’re off. Packed one backpack, checked some info before and we were on the road. Arrived in charming Champéry which is one of the villages of Portes du Soleil ski area and….
How to get there?
We left our car on the parking lot of the Sports Center in the village. Don’t worry, it’s hard to miss it. When you enter Champéry it’s on the left hand side. Just right next to it there’s a brown sign you’re looking for: ‘Via Ferrata’. Easy as that, just follow.
‘Marche d’approche’ or approach walk is charming. Walking next to the river in the forest was just a huge plus before via ferrata.
The sign you’re looking for 
On the way… 
And there it is! 
Via ferrata de Tière
Via ferrata de Tière is marked as K4 (difficult) and at one point there’s an overhang marked as K4+ . It’s 460 m long and altitude change is around 125 m. It’s not the longest via ferrata ever but as we were lucky to find out – one with a stunning waterfall and 2 suspended bridges. There’s quite a lot of ‘walking’ and traverse and just in the end you find yourself in front of almost 100 m tall wall.
Next to the waterfall 
Way down..
When you reach the top of the via ferrata you should continue with a little path just until you reach the street. Then you follow the street, there’s also a nice restaurant on the way down with a stunning view (yes! beer after via ferrata was a perfect idea!). We then continued with a trail down through stunning ‘Galerie Défago’ .
Beer break! 
Galerie Défago! 
Practical information:
Starting point: Parking space next to the Sports Center (920 m)
Target: summit of via ferrata (1126 m)
Hike lenght: Around 8 km both ways. It took us 45 minutes for via ferrata (quite easy tempo). Aprroach walk around 35 minutes . Going down – 4,6 km, 1 hour easy tempo.
Difficulty: Hike is not demanding. Via ferrata is marked as diffucult (K4 – K4+).
Tips: Might get a bit chilly next to the waterfall. Go down through ‘Galerie Défago’ for even more stunning views.
Text: Agnieszka Wajs
