Category Archives: 5. Foto

Barcaciu skitouring camp VIII edition

When March comes, we know is time for Barcaciu ski touring event! This year it come in the last weekend of March, on an not so skier friendly weather… but how cares, like we say, make haven of what you got, so that’s what we did :D.

We ware pretty happy just before the weekend because some fresh snow was in the forecast, but by the time of the event, the sudden warm up of the weather screw up the conditions and we had a consistent layer of heavy melting snow that made our skis not want to turn when we did :))).

But that didn’t ruin our skiing, at least the snow didn’t but the wind… trying to ski at almost 100km/h winds its something you must try :)))).

But, even that didn’t stop us and we almost made it to Puha Valley :D… but it was beautiful. The hut, the food, the friends and the whole picture of the event make it that way. We had a great time and new experiences like all the years before.

Barcaciu mountain hut is situated at 1550m altitude, in the west part of Fagaras mountains. It’s the second mountain hut in Fagaras, starting from west, and a very casual and welcoming one. Mihai and his parents make it like that, oh, and the food, so great :))).

From the hut you can reach, very easily Scara peak, or Serbota peak and you can ski some pretty nice lines from there right in Puha valley and then all the way down to the trail that goes from Barcaciu hut to Negoiu hut. It’s a beautiful descent that offers lots of lines and is easily accessible if the snow conditions allows it!

Ski touring at Barcaciu is an event held by Mihai in order to develop the ski touring practice in the area. There are marks pointing to the hut and above and you can always count on Mihai to give you some advice about the routes and the conditions there, the guy knows the area like the back of his hand!

The event usually is held during 2 or 3 days and includes a bed over night, food and guiding thru the area as the weather allows it. His main purposes is, as I said, to develop the ski touring in the area and the costs merely covers the goods and the trouble needed for the event.

As these been said, please feel free to check out Barcaciu Mountain Hut whenever you want, summer or winter, it’s always there waiting for you to discover all skiing and biking routs πŸ™‚ . Oh, have we mentioned biking? check this trip out to πŸ˜‰ you might enjoy it: Fagaras enduro and freeraid tracks.

Bellow we leave you some foto/video material to better get a feel of Barcaciu ski touring event and here are the links for some of the routes we take day 1, day 2. Enjoy!

 

Iezer mountains backcountry skiing

Last weekend we have been to Iezer mountains on our annual ski touring trip there. I think this is the 4th year that we made it here, and it is my 4th year of ski touring :)))… man, time flies so fast…

Each year was similar but somehow different. In terms of snow conditions, this year was a lot more snow and we had some pow in the first descent on the upper part near the ridge of the mountain. Being so hot all of a sudden, I don’t think it was 100% safe to try new lines or spots, so we stayed chill and shred the classic descent from the ridge directly to Iezer refuge. Maybe next year we will try a descent from the peak, that will be cool ;D. I remember last year I was feeling brave and took a climb just beneath the peak. My luck was that fog come and “ruin” my descent :))))

This year the ski party was made by me, Tiberiu, Nicu and Bogdan A. We started touring just directly from Voina Hut, that was a premier because none of the previous years had snow right from the parking lot… What a luck, otherwise we should have walked that stupid forest road until the shepherd’s hut in the alpin area where the forest stops.

It’s a long climb/walk to Crucea Ateneului, around 10 miles or so with at least 1250m elevation. We had great weather, sunny and no wind.

Once we descanted, we had some nice pow at the beginning and some crud later on.

The refuge is looking good, by our standards :D. The guys from mountain patrol are really trying to make it better each year.

We made 3 descents in the first day and then stayed in the refuge, talking and making ourselves some tee and some soup. Nicu had some digging to do in order to get some water. The guys from mountain patrol indicate us the spot to dig for water, thanks guys! It was a nice evening and we took some good night sleep. The sky was full of stars that night and the refuge was pretty warm because of the sunny day we had :D.

We slept like tired skiers :))).

Next day the sun didn’t show his face just until we almost made it back to our cars. We also took 3 descents and then a last one in the fog. At the end of the final descent the sun showed up but the snow was bad, pulling on our knees a bit to hard… it was like we had our skins on our skis :))). In the forest, we just found more heavy snow and sweet our asses off until we reached our car. We stayed to eat something at Voina and then drove our way back home.

The track from the first day you find it here. The retreat was on the same path as the ascent. We leave you some pics and an edit. Enjoy!

Balea lac freetouring powder days

This is not a recent one, but we just haven’t hadΒ  time to write something about it.

It happen last mouth in one of the perfect weather weekends that we had. It was an weekend with all inclusive, powder, joy, happiness, problems, panic, doctors and again… powder :))). But all turned out alright as you will see. And we have the pictures to back it all up :P.

The plan was to claim a room that we paid over 2 months ago at Paltinu mountain hut (nice place by the way, VRR approved :D). We hunted this good weather weekend and now it’s here.

I haven’t been to Balea on more then one occasion, doing an avalanche course last year so I was pretty eager to go and better discover the place. Once up by the cabin we went directly to Paltinu to live Bubble (Cosmin’s dog) and go touring.

We climbed to Capra Lake and on the ridge of the mountain to Vaiuga peak. It was the most beautiful ridge walk I have taken so far, man that feeling. After this we made a first descent from under Vaiuga peak to Balea valley and on to the start of the cabin.

After this we took the cabin back up and go again to Paltiu to check how Bubble was doing. It seemed he driven the guys from the hut mad, so we had to take him with us. Bad idea! It was pow day and the dog is like 15 cm tall :))). This being told, Cosmin ended up carrying the dog almost all descent. Then, after following Cosmin on an narrow couloir and straight underneath Balea Cascada, disaster stroke. Cosmin took a silly fall and had his operated shoulder injured. We then had to go to Sibiu and go to hospital to check his shoulder out. We had some luck because Nicu stayed at Paltinu for this last descent and he could send to us some stuff and my car keys in order to go with Cosmin to hospital…. after the hospital experiences, Cosmin’s arm was immobilized and he took the next day off from riding. That night we go out to grab a pizza and then straight to a colleague of mine that helped us with accommodation for that night, thanks!

Next day was a bit cloudy. Cosmin stayed at Balea Cascada, at the start of the cabin, and I have gone up for one last ride with Nicu that ramaind at Paltinu to claim the room :)). We did a nice run to Doamnei Valley and back to the cabin. It was also powder day and the clouds ware low and over 2000m we had such a beautiful day.

After some further consulting, it turned out that Cosmin shoulder was ok and only needed some rest. One important advice, don’t take small dogs on powder days! :)))

Here are the pics and an edit. Enjoy!

Oslea backcountry skiing

So this year I decided to visit Oslea and Valcan Mountains again, near Straja ski resort. Last year I took part of Oslea hike and ride contest that is organised by Red bull and takes place each year, here, near Oslea peak. This year I did not get a place in the contest, looks like its a very popular one, in like 5 minutes all places ware filled up :))), maybe next year.

But, I did something else, I have gone to do some backcountry skiing there, and it was B E A U T I F U L ! It was such a nice 3 days mini vacation that I am seriously consider to do the same next year. First day, being an 5-6h drive from Bucharest (depending when you leave), I’ve been to Straja ski resort. It’s been a while science last time I have been here (first year when I learned how to ski :D). Such a nice resort, like all the ones in the west. Now I really discovered it, finding the second chairlift was a blast, that is where the fun off piste skiing is :D.

After a day at the ski resort, we took our accommodation in Lupeni and went to technical meeting for the contest to learn about the snow conditions on the mountain :D. So they took the contest in the old place, not the one that took part last year. That means that part of the mountain will be all free :D. The snow was perfect and the whetherΒ to. The forecast showed clouds but the clouds ware around Retezat mountains that are near and a little bigger so we had like the perfect ski touring day as you can see it from the pictures :D. At the evening we went to the contest party to see who won :D. Big surprises there, places switched and I am glad that the freeride scene is moving on here in Romania.

Next day was powday. We made a track to the contest place. In the ridge of the mountain was 50cm deep pow! It was the best snow I have encountered science I start skiing, balls deep powder! Too bad we had to make only one run because it was the last day and we had to get back home. Oh well, till next year! I leave to you some pics and some short edits for better resemblance of this beautiful mountains. Enjoy!

Photo credit: me and Alexandra Popescu.

ROMANIAN ENDURO MOUNTAIN BIKING 2017

This is a small retrospective of the last year in terms of mountain biking. Almost all footage is from Romania, except for a few seconds from Tour do Mont Blanc that we did in September. Awesome time riding here in RO and hope that this year will be at least as good as 2017. Check out this blog for more detailed content. Enjoy and ride safe!

Ciucas skitouring reloaded

Last Sunday we made it back to Ciucas mountains for a second ascent to the peak. We did this almost same track in the second day of the new year, in similar conditions :D. Ciucas mountains are perfect for ski touring. You have a south face that is perfect when it hasn’t snowed much and it’s a sunny day, you will have the perfect snow (but avoid the south part when is clouded, cold and windy. P.S.: It’s always windy in Ciucas mountains), and you have a north face that is perfect when it snowed recently, you have every chance to find some perfect pow there. Personally, I haven’t skied the north part of the mountain, but I can’t wait for a fresh snow to head back to Ciucas mountains.

This track was similar with the one from the beginning of the year, second and last descent wareΒ  a bit different but not so much, you have the track here, and bellow some pics and a video so enjoy and ride safe!

Iezer mountains skitouring day

Iezer mountains skitouring day. This happen on Sunday. The avalanche risc was a bit high because of the heavy snow so we decided on a more mellow terrain that implies no such risk. We went from Voina Mountain hut, near Campulung to almost Batrana peak in Iezer mountains on so called Plaiul lui Patru. It is a beautiful skitouring track that takes you to the ridge of Iezer mountains an an nice accessible “ridge”. You can find the track here. Next time in Iezer mountains, probably we will do the classic refuge ride :D.Β Until next time, ride safe!

Fagaras mountains skitouring day on Lespezi Peak

This one is from last weekend, best day so far this season. It was a close call, we were not so sure we wanna go to Lespezi peak but decided in the last moment and it turned out to be the best decision. It was the perfect day, the weather was as such that we felt the harness of the mountain because of the cold (-15 degrees Celsius) but also the beauty of it because of the bright sunny day and the beautiful pow that awaited for us on descent…

Lespezi peak is also called corporate Everest because it is an easy accessible peak from Fagaras mountains that happens to have a good height of 2517m. We took the ridge track that takes us from Transfagarasan road (Piscu Negru) and passes near a shepherd hut where you can sleep in the winter (1h from the road) and up on the highest ground till the very peak (4h from the road).

All the way, if you have good weather, you will have great view over Fagaras mountain range.

You can find the track right here, don’t mind the ending point, I forgot to stop the activity when we reach our car, but I stopped it when we reached Conacul Ursului where we had a great meal!

We leave you the video and the pics bellow. Until next time, ride safe!

Bucegi mountains backcountry skiing

Bucegi mountains backcountry skiing, Romania.

The pictures and the movie are from Sunday. After on Saturday we stayed on the slopes of Valea Dorului (Sinaia, Bucegi mountains), on Sunday we said to our self that we have to take advantage of the beautiful weather and made some touring skiing to Paduchiosu’ peak. First we climbed on Varful cu Dor peak and made a descent near Vanturis waterfall, then we climbed on Paduchiosu” peak and then back to the slopes.
It took us almost 5h, with snack breaks, pictures and all inclusive. Nice touring day.

You find the track here: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2421291173

Regarding the snow, there ware tow little avalanches spotted, but poor snow, you can see it in the pictures. Until next time, ride safe! Enjoy!

Ciucas mountains ski touring

02 of January was the last day of my winter holiday so I tried to make it count :P. The snow on the mountains is not too present these days so I decide to go to Ciucas Mountains. It was a track that I made it 1 year ago (much more snow then). It follows the same climb as in Ciucas Enduro contest, Bratocea ridge, but in the place called “La Tigai”, you follow the peak track to Ciucas peak (1954m). The weather, at the start of the track was not that promising but in the last part, the sky open up and I had the most beautiful landscape view from the peak. We have a call here in Ro, the weather looks at a person soul and reflects it :D… just saying :P.

After the peak, I decide to make a descent on the first valley that you see when looking south from the peak. This takes you to the marked track that runs between La Tigai and Ciucas Hut, so it was perfect to do so. The snow was ok, a bit hard at the start, near the peak, but then spring goodness after :D. No risk involved.

After, I took the way back to La tigai and then follow the track back on Bratocea ridge to Bratocea pass where I left the car. Bratocea pass makes the passing between Ciucas and Grohotis mountains, we did a bike track on these to mountains that you can find it here :).

On my way back I did another short descent. There are many valleys on the south face, and on the north, not very steep, just perfect! The track of the run you can find it here and I leave you a short edit and some pictures to confirm my landscape affirmation :))). Enjoy and ride safe!

Ciocanu MTB Trails end of season ride

Last ride in many more frames,Β #ciocanumtbtrailsΒ at its best 🀘. Riding, crashing, laughing and having fun, This is what it’s all about, except the second word. Until next time, ride safe!Β πŸš΅β€β™‚. Foto credit: Cristina IonΒ πŸ‘

P.S. next articles and movies will include snowΒ β›·πŸ”πŸ˜Ž

#trailridingΒ #verticalridingΒ #singletrackΒ #enduromtbΒ #mtbΒ #funride

Ciocanu mountain bike trails late autumn ride

Ciocanu mountain bike trails late autumn ride with beautiful colors, friends, fun trails and a bit of rain. It’s all you need to have fun. We made 4 runs and on the forth one we took some pictures on the main trail. In first video you can see a second best trail :D, a nice one, wit a flow line that ends up between Bughea de Jos houses.

After the 4 runs we stayed in the village for a beer and some trail stories.

The season ain’t over yet! Ride safe!

VELIKO TARNOVO ENDURO WARRIORS TRIP

VELIKO TARNOVO ENDURO WARRIORS TRIP (AKA weekend warriors :))), this is the best name for the trip we took this weekend. I got the tip about the enduro tracks near Veliko (Bulgaria) form Cosmin and since in our Carpathians we had bad weather forecast for this weekend, and already the snow started to pile up on the mountain, this Veliko trip sounded as a good idea, and it proved it was.

So, Cosmin booked 2 rooms in Arbanasi, 4 km away from Veliko and near the starting point of the tracks there. I arrived first, Saturday morning, only to find bad weather here too, it was raining.

That did not stooped us and done 3 of the stages. Even if it was raining, the tracks were in good conditions, not too slippery. Only the rocks were not too friendly. It seems that they have very cool rock gardens here, and when they are wet, they are not too friendly :D.

The last track that we did was the best, a narrow single track thru nice yellow autumn grass and whit 3 awesome rock gardens and at the end a speed section thru forest. Yes, was probably the best track here, but also the other 2 were awesome. Just watch the movies bellow, the one I am talking about is the third movie, first descent ;).

In the evening we got downtown to eat something at a good restaurant and to have a beer. The food here is great, almost as great as in Romania :P. The prices are similar and the portions are big. After, we stayed for another beer at the guest room.

Next day, I got up first and couldn’t wait to have a ride so I took my bike and got out and made 2 descents, same ones as yesterday. It feels so good to get out at 7 AM, ride 2 enduro stages and at 8:30 to be back for breakfast! Best #wakeupandride weekend so far!

After breakfast, me, Cosmin and Dragos went again for some rides. We ride again that cool descent, the one from the third movie and then we moved to another places for other 2 stages. This last 2 were more handmade as previous that were more natural trails. They had drops, ramps, lots of corners and they were pretty fun. One of them had a massive steep rock garden that reminded me of Metal Enduro Resita :D.

After this we got back to Arbanasi for lunch. We also found a nice tavern with great food and best view!

We recommend a 2 days trip here, with a nice room at one of the guestrooms in Arbanasi, we loved it!

Yes, you could do all 5 descents in one day, but it is more fun when you can take a beer break, or go out for a ride next day at 7 AM :D.

You have bellow some pics and movies from there to convince yourself πŸ˜€ and here are links to the rides we took: First day, morning ride, final ride.Β Enjoy and ride safe!

 

CIOCANU MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS DAY AND NIGHT RIDE

Last weekend we have been to Ciocanu mountain bike trails, near Campulung, Bughea de Jos, Arges county.

There, you can find some nice trails done by the local riders community. There are a sum of 4 tracks there, that average from 2 to 3 km long and with an elevation between 300m and 400m meters.

Are dirt trails, with some nice features done to them, like small drops, switchbacks and some natural roots section. Because of the altitude (starts at 800m), and that all tracks run thru forest, they are a good alternative to a bad weather day.

There is no shuttle there or cable for that matter but there is a forest road that takes you right to the starting point of the tracks.

We did a day and a night descent there. It is nice to descent a track at night. It’s like the track is totally new, like you discover it then, way more fun than the day descent. So, when you get tired of doing a trail, try to do it by night, rediscover that trail :D.

Bellow you will find movies and pics from there, and at this link, an older article that includes track and other footage. Enjoy!

Grohotis and Ciucas XC to enduro and road trip

Grohotis XC to enduro and road trip! Acesta ar fi cel mai adecvat titlu pentru tura din weekend. A fost prima tura in care am folosit toate pinioanele bicicletei mele enduro, chiar toate. Nici nu credeam ca pot sa ii dau cu 30km pe plat pe sosea :))) cui ii trebe cursiera :P.

Dupa Resita (Metal Enduro) parca vroiam o tura usoara, eventual ceva nou. Accidental am dat pe calculator peste un track din muntii Grohotis. Nici nu stiu de unde il aveam, probabil ca l-am salvat cine stie cand. Urcand trackul pe bikemap si cautand putin pe net, mi-am dat seama ca este ce trebuie, aproximativ :P. Trackul era clar de XC, o urcare din Valea Doftanei pana in apropierea varfului si apoi coborare inapoi pe un drum putin mai accidentat dar nu carare. Dupa mai multe negocieri cu colegii de tura, in speta Cosmin, am venit cu o derivatie, ceva mai hardcore a acelui track. Uite asa am ajuns sa facem 2 munti la pachet, in aceasi tura, si undeva la 90 de km cu ceva mai multa diferenta de nivel.

Planul final era sa plecam din Homoraciu, sa urcam in muntii Grohotis, sa ii traversam coborand in Bratocea de unde sa urcam in Ciucas si sa ii traversam si pe acestia pana in pasul Boncuta si apoi la final sa bagam si 20km de asfalt pana la masina. Practic incepeam cu ceva XC prin Grohotis, o dam in Enduro prin Ciucas si bagam si ceva asfalt in pluton pana la masina. Zis si facut si asa plecam noi de la masina dimineata pe la 8 in Homoraciu.

De aici se merge mult pe forestier pana aproape de creasta muntelui. Drumul este frumos si foarte putin umblat, ca doar deaia a vazut Alex 2 ursi de am rupt-o la fuga instant cand l-am vazut ca se intoarce in viteza spre noi. Am tras o spaima dar ne-am facut curaj si am continuat urland si facand ca toate cele doar doar sa se sperie ei mai tare decat eram noi deja. Dupa ce am urlat vreo 30 de minute de nu dureau gaturile, ajungem la capatul forestierului si incepe o usoara balaureala pana in creasta. Marcaj este dar se pierde rapid cum iesi din padure. In creasta dam de forestierul ce vine din Valea Doftanei si il urmam pana in Bratocea. Coborarea pe el nu este chiar plictisitoare, ai unde sa ii dai viteza si ai o multime de dropuri micute cu care te poti distra. La un moment dat devenise chiar scary din cauza vitezei :P.

Pe finalul coborarii, Cosmin reuseste sa taie cauciucul spate, exact inainte sa dam in DN1A. Stam sa il reparam si apoi ne indreptam spre celebrul pushbike din Bratocea. Daca exista ceva care ma face sa urasc pushbike-ul, pai atunci asta e. Te chinui sa impingi bicla printre niste braduleti care parca incearca sa te traga inapoi la fiecare pas….

Ajungem morti de sete si fara apa sus in culme. Stiti vorba aia, cere si ti se va da… merge, asa am facut si noi si am cerut apa la drumetii de coborau, altfel cred ca muream de sete pana la cabana :D.

Ii dam constant pe creasta pana la cabana unde ajungem la ora 5, insetati si morti de foame. Bem fiecare cate o cafea, o cola si o apa minerala si mancam ce mai avem prin ghiozdane si off we go spre pasul Boncuta. Distractia continua pe potecuta faina pana acolo, probabil cel mai fain segment al turei, dar deja cand dam in forestier se lasa intunericul si este chiar dificil sa il coboram mai ales ca este presarat cu muuulte crengi si pietre.

Intrun final ajungem la asfalt unde ne asteapta 20km de sosea pana in Homoraciu, de unde am plecat de dimineata. Se pare ca porcii astia enduro (la bicle ma refer :)))) sunt destul de polivalenti, am tras un pluton pe sosea si i-am dat o viteza prin bezna noptii … :D.

Linkul cu traseul, mai putin partea de asfalt de la final, il gasiti aici. In total, conform trackului lui Alex, ne-au iesit cam 93 km cu vreo 2700m elevatie, o gresala pe care nu o vom repeta prea curand :)))).

Va lasam mai jos filmuletul si pozele de rigoare si pana data viitoare, ride safe!

METAL ENDURO RESITA CNE 2017

Foto credit: Mihai Lupsan

Metal Enduro Resita is the final stage of romanian National Enduro Chanpionship #CNE, and probably the coolest one, but don’t take my opinion for a fact because is the second and the same enduro contest that I took part :D.

As I see it, the stages from our #CNE (national enduro championship) are starting to look more like the stages from enduro contests in western Europe with 8 specials and 2 days of competing and awsome trails. Who wold not want more, more trails, more fun, more riding!

Metal Enduro is held in Resita city in SW part of Romania. It is an oldΒ  and industrial city that has his charm because of it. At one time it was consider to be one of the biggest industrial centers of Romania with big factories in steel industry and metal processing (Combinatul Siderurgic ReΘ™iΘ›a) andΒ in motor and train factory (Uzina Constructoare de MaΘ™ini ReΘ™iΘ›a).

That is why, this stage is called Metal Enduro, and the name suits it well.

As I said, this is the first year that metal Enduro has 8 stages and 2 days. There are lots of trails here that are build and maintained by the rider community in Resita, that we are grateful to.

All trails are hand maintained and well build, they are narrow, dirt singletracks that have cool elements like switchbacks, drops, ramps and the best rockgardens ever :D.

All singletracks run from the top of the hills that surround the city thru a beautiful mapel forest and get down near city center where you can stop and have a beer after a nice flowy descent.

There are no chairlifts here, but the scenery is so beautiful and all singletracks have forest roads access that takes you to the top all the way on your bike from where you can brrraaaapppp your way down to beer :D.

The contest in the last 2 years was held in the middle of October, with stable weather and good riding conditions. When it hasn’t rained for over 2 weeks, the tracks are lose, and you can skid your way down easily but be careful.

If it has rained recently the tracks seem to become more grippy and you can ride faster.

All trails are shared between riders, trail runners or hikers. Here in Romania we do not have any grudges sharing the trail, just look up ahead on the trail, slow down if you see hikers, salute them and move on. The trails are not crowded, and there are lots of trails so you will have an nice continues descent.

This time I took one day off from work and reach Resita on Frayday. I managed to ride 5 of the specials then and I was as fit as I could be for the contest, to bad I had a cold that was fed by these 3 days of riding :). The thing is that, when you’re having fun and ride such nice singletracks you kind off forget about the cold and keep on riding. It’s not the smartest thing to do but who wants to miss 3 days of riding :))).

For me was 13th place in hobby category. This contest comes also as a confirmation of my riding skills and level and I get to ride some of the best trails along some of the best riders in RO so it’s an win, win situation for me :D. For contest I teamed up with the guys form BikePoint team, best team ever. They are the guys that organised BAISOARA ENDURO, another stage, and they ware the most fun team to ride along. I had a blast riding with them and lots of fun while transferring from one PS to another! Cheers guys and hope to team up again next year!

For now I can say that for sure I will be attending Metal Enduro next year to, and hopefully at least 2 other stages form #CNE.

Here are the track for the 2 days of contest: DAY 1 METAL ENDURO 2017 (25km with 1200m elev) , DAY 2 METAL ENDURO 2017 (35km with 1400m elev). You also have 2 pics bellow where you can see the tracks and the transfers on the map.

You can find more informations on event page here www.metal-enduro.ro.

Also you have pics from contest and 8 clips with all stages so enjoy andΒ until next time, ride safe!