• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Français
  • English
Simply Savoie Logo

Simply Savoie

Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent

  • Home
  • Snowshoe
    • Snowshoe Walking in the Three Valleys
      • Guided Snowshoe Walks Courchevel
      • Guided Snowshoe Walks in Meribel
    • Snowshoe Walking in the Vanoise
    • Guided Snowshoe Weekends in the Vanoise
    • Snowshoe Walking in the Beaufortain
    • Guided Snowshoe Weekend in the Beaufortain
    • Snowshoe Traverse of the Beaufortain
    • Snowshoe Traverse of the Chartreuse
    • Snowshoe Walking in the Haute Maurienne
  • Avalanche Courses
    • Introductory Avalanche Search and Rescue Training Course
    • Intermediate Avalanche Search and Rescue Training Course
    • Avalanche Training Essentials Course
    • Avalanche Awareness Talks
  • Via Ferrata & Rock Climbing
    • Rock Climbing
    • Guided Via Ferrata Weekends
    • Guided Via Ferrata Weeks
    • Via Ferrata in the Hautes-Alpes
    • Via Ferrata holiday in the South of France
  • Walking
    • Centre Based
      • Walking in the Maurienne – Vanoise
      • Walking in the Vanoise
      • Walking in the Beaufortain
      • Walking in the Aravis and Bauges
      • Photography and Walking in the French Alps
    • Trekking
      • Tour of the Vanoise
      • Tour du Mont Blanc
      • The Haute Route – Chamonix to Zermatt
      • The Tour of the Beaufortain
      • Corsica – GR20
      • Tour of the Ecrins
      • Tour of the Queyras
      • 3000m Summits Week
      • The Verdon Gorge & the Haute Provence
  • Custom Guiding
  • About
    • Mark’s Blog
  • Contact

How are Via Ferrata graded in France?

Via Ferrata de Saix Miolene Haute Savoie

In France via ferrata are graded using the well-established names used for alpine mountaineering. It is this grade that you will encounter on the information panels and in the local tourist offices.

So the grades (?cotations?) in use in France, in rising order of difficulty, are:

  • F (Facile) ? easy
  • PD (Peu Difficile) ? literally a little bit difficult
  • AD (Assez Difficle) ? literally difficult enough
  • D (Difficile) ? difficult
  • TD (Tres Difficile) ? very difficult
  • ED (Extrement Difficile) ? extremely difficult

These grades may be modified with a ?+? or a ?-? to indicate that they are at the top or bottom end of the grade respectively.

As with all grading systems there is a large degree of subjectivity. What one person may find D another may find TD and vice versa. However for long established routes the grades will be an overall consensus that will tend to be reasonably accurate. It gives some food for debate with friends!

You should note that there is no correlation between a via ferrata graded at TD (Tr?s Difficile) and an alpine mountaineering route of the same grade!

Via Ferrata Location

It’s also worth bearing in mind that some via ferrata are located in valleys whilst some are located high in the mountains.

Weather conditions can change rapidly and old snow fields (neve) may be encountered in early summer.

Via Ferrata for Children

Nant de Rossane Via Ferrata - Bauges - Alps - France
My youngest daughter enjoying her first via ferrata

Some via ferrata are especially adapted for children by the making sure that the bars, cables and other equipment are closer together for children and small adults. This may be indicated in descriptions.

Physical Difficulty and Exposure

The grade takes into account the physical difficulty, duration and ?exposure? of the route. Some via ferrata may have ?athletic? sections where you may need good arm and upper body strength. The length of such sections and how many there make up the physical difficulty element.

Via ferrata that are high above the ground give a feeling of ?exposure?. People’s ability to cope with heights varies but is usually related to how frequently you are high above the ground or on narrow ridges with large drops on either side.

Via Ferrata Guidebooks

The Cicerone guide, produced in the UK, uses a ?proprietary? grading system that makes it hard to relate to how via ferrata are graded in France.

Links

Check out my via ferrata holidays and guiding services


Footer

Useful Links

  • Offers
  • FAQs
  • Weather
  • Photo Gallery
  • Video Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions of Booking

Latest Articles

Stone Stacking in the mountains

Cairns A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. The word cairn comes … [Read More...] about Stone Stacking in the mountains

Autumn via ferrata trip to the South of France

Finally the time came to run my first via ferrata tour in the South of France! Saturday, 28th … [Read More...] about Autumn via ferrata trip to the South of France

Follow Simply Savoie on:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube