On the cliffs of the Dolomites, perception can be far from reality. High on a rocky peak near the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo mountain, I’m hanging from a cliff, my toes balanced on a thin metal rung, with nothing beneath me but air. Looking down provokes tiny moments of terror, and yet I’m about as safe as when seated in a meadow below.

A climber ascends the Dolomites in Italy, with a little assistance from the Torre di Toblin via ferrata. Andrew Bain

Though I appear to be rock climbing, I’m stuck to the rock as strongly as lichen on one of around 600 via ferrata (iron path) routes that lace these northern Italian mountains.…