(Rivière-Éternité) Some describe it as one of the most difficult via ferratas in Quebec. Hearing this information a few minutes before setting off for the first time on this type of mountainside route instantly caused our heart rate to accelerate. And we weren’t at the end of our surprises.
Located in the Baie-Éternité sector of the Fjord-du-Saguenay National Park, this via ferrata takes amateur adventurers over 200 metres up rock faces.
“Is the course suitable for beginners?” we wonder. Guillaume Brouillard, guide and team leader at Parcours Aventures, is reassuring. Yes, you have to be in good physical condition to do this activity, but experience is optional. There has to be a first time for everything.
The basics
After putting on our helmet and harness under a shy sun, we head towards the training wall to familiarize ourselves with the different holds that will allow us to succeed in this very special climb.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
Guillaume Brouillard, guide and team leader at Parcours Aventures, on the exercise wall
As the sky darkens, Guillaume Brouillard finishes listing the safety instructions. It is each adventure companion’s turn to practice.
As if the challenge wasn’t already big enough, the rain starts to fall. Not a fine, refreshing rain. Oh no! In less than two minutes, everyone in the group is completely soaked.
On the practice wall, we fear that our feet will slip on the anchors. On the lookout for any questions or concerns, Guillaume Brouillard tells us what position to adopt to have more stability.
The departure
The group is all set to take on the Grande Dalle, a 570-meter course that will take about 4 hours. Will we set off despite the persistent rain? Of course, our guide informs us as he leads us to the start of the journey.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
The first part of the course is very vertical.
Because yes, via ferrata is an activity that can be done rain or shine (except in the event of a storm), which sometimes disappoints some customers, admits Guillaume Brouillard. People fear that the rain will complicate their climb or that the clouds will prevent them from enjoying the view. The experience is different, but no less fun, assures us the man whose job for the past three years has been to guide groups on the three via ferrata routes in the Fjord-du-Saguenay National Park.
Here we go! One after the other, we hook our two carabiners, sometimes to the metal holds firmly fixed in the rock, sometimes to the steel cables so poetically called “lifelines”.
Even though we progress slowly by moving one carabiner at a time, we gain a lot of height in a short time in this very vertical portion of the route. Each member of the group can therefore assess whether they are afraid of heights and whether this sensation will prevent them from continuing the activity. A stop called the “plateau des indécis” also allows climbers to turn back if, despite listening and encouraging the guide, they are not comfortable.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
The view of Eternity Bay
Inverted ladder and other challenges
“I see the ladder upside down,” says a fellow expeditioner. According to the comments gleaned here and there, this is “the” challenge of this via ferrata. Why do we say it is upside down? Because, the way it is set up, it forces anyone climbing it to look at the landscape rather than the rock face.
And what a view! The bay and the fjord seem even more magnificent from this height. It’s magnificent, but, let’s admit it, a little scary.
At the top of the ladder, we finally think we can land on dry land for a moment. Once we have crossed the last rung, we notice that, on the contrary, the route continues on a more horizontal section. We walk along the wall, placing our feet on metal steps that sometimes seem to be floating in the void. In our eyes, the real challenge is here. Guillaume Brouillard agrees. “It’s getting tougher and tougher. It gets on your nerves.” […] You’re really on the side of the wall and there are fewer and fewer holds,” he confided in an interview.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
Our photographer, on the famous inverted scale
On several occasions, we wonder where to put our hands or feet. Especially since the rain has created waterfalls here and there. Fortunately, we can ask our photographer colleague who leads the way for advice.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
The rope bridge
Other passages give us a few cold sweats: a rope bridge formed simply by two ropes as well as an 85-meter-long footbridge. When we see it at the bend of a rocky pile, we dread setting foot on it. However, once on it, our fears dissipate and we can admire the landscape before calmly going back down.
On the way back, an incredible feeling of pride fills us. We would never have believed that we would climb a cliff like this in our lives. Even less so in the rain.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
The footbridge, which measures 85 m
“A via ferrata is like a hiking trail. They are all different. You won’t have the same landscapes, the same feelings. […] “When you do one, you want to try another,” the director of the Saguenay Fjord National Park, Jérôme Perrin-Gouron, told us in the evening.
We must prove him right.
Part of the costs of this report were paid by SEPAQ, which had no say over its content.
Visit the Saguenay Fjord National Park page
Teams on the lookout
The weather can sometimes be very changeable in the Saguenay Fjord National Park. In order to ensure the safety of visitors, all teams keep an eye on the weather forecast. This is especially true since the tragic events of last year. The 1er July 2023, more than 130 mm of rain fell in two hours in the region, causing landslides that claimed two lives. “If we ever see that there is an alert, we are on the alert,” says Jérôme Perrin-Gouron, director of the Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay. His teams will not hesitate, for example, to close the road during a storm. Improvements to the radio communication systems have also been made in recent months. Even if the damage caused by the landslides is still visible in the park, visitors are not worried, says the director. This summer, the park returned to a normal level of attendance, after being closed for seven weeks during the summer period in 2023.
Visit the SEPAQ website