Rope Jumping, 120 Metres
The deep gorge in Vayots Dzor — not your first jump.
At a glance
- Duration
- 3–4 hrs
- Season
- June to September
- Region
- Vayots Dzor
- Group
- 1–8
- Price
- on request
Every route is put together differently — we work out the price once you ask.
Fitness
Physically moderate: a rocky walk-in, long periods standing about, and hanging in the harness while being hauled up — which takes a while and presses.
Why these months
From October to May we advise against it: damp lingers in the deep gorge, the rim is brittle from frost damage in spring, and rigging the rope system needs settled dry conditions.
What to expect in Armenia
From the rim you can see the floor of the gorge lying in shadow while the sun is on your helmet. A rope hangs between the two, and one second more passes before it takes hold than you imagine.
The gorge in Vayots Dzor is deep, and the rigging takes correspondingly long. A rope system across a span like that is not thrown together; part of the morning consists of people working with ropes, carabiners and pulleys while you watch. That is the time in which you see what you are about to hang from.
The free fall lasts long enough for your head to catch up — that is what separates this version from the smaller one. At sixty metres it is over before you can file it. At a hundred and twenty you fall long enough to register that you are falling. Then the arc, which swings wide here, the wall goes past, and then you hang still above a dry stream bed.
Getting hauled back to the rim takes time. A team pulls you up in stages, and those minutes on the rope, alone in the gorge, are for many people the memory that stays — not the jump.
We do not recommend this height as a first attempt. It is protected exactly like the smaller jump; the difference happens in your head, and sixty metres is a cheaper place to find out how yours responds.
From the meeting point to the rim you walk over rock, and sturdy shoes that hold at the heel are the minimum. Up top there is no shade and no water beyond what you carry; on a day of long waits you notice both more than the jump.
Half a day goes into it. Turning back at the edge happens, costs nothing, and changes little about the rest of the day.
Included
- Rope system and rigging
- Full safety equipment
- Briefing
- Haul back to the rim
Not included
- Transfer
- Video recording
Bring
- Long, close-fitting clothing
- Sturdy shoes that hold at the heel
- Sun protection
- Enough water
We provide
- Full-body harness
- Helmet
- Ropes, carabiners and redirects
Safety and weather
When the weather doesn't cooperate
Rigging and jumping happen only in dry, calm conditions. Wind in a gorge is unpredictable, and so is wet rock at the rim — with either, the slot is postponed rather than shortened.
How we keep you safe
A redundantly protected rope system, built and checked before the first jump. Full-body harness and helmet are mandatory, and every buckle is verified twice. Experience of the 60-metre jump or a comparable jump elsewhere is expected; we explicitly do not recommend this height as a first attempt.
Sound like your kind of day?
Tell us what draws you — we'll build it into your trip or plan it on its own.