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. 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. These protected routes, which use fixed equipment such as ladders, wire bridges, iron rungs and cables bolted to the cliffs, are now found on mountains across the world – Australia’s first via ferrata opened on Mount Buller in 2023 – but they originated in the Dolomites during World War I to help move troops across otherwise inaccessible terrain. I’ve come to the Dolomites for a week to explore this elevated world.…