De la pilon in jos nu prea are baza asa ca take care, de schiuri ma refer. Totusi, ninge si saptamana asta si saptamana viitoare deci ar trebui sa fie ok de acum inainte. Spor la dat si ride safe!
Tag Archives: Muntii Fagaras
Făgăraș from peak to creek #barcaciu
Fagaras from peak to creek, a weekend to remember @barcaciu mountain hut. The plan was on for this year, we wanted so bad to visit Barcaciu hut and ride some fresh trails in Fagaras mountains. The trigger was some post on NUFO BIKE TRIP YouTube channel and we were certain we wanted to ride those trails as soon as possible.
We made a quick plan and booked some places @Barcaciu even though the weather was not looking friendly. But as I say (ain’t always true) gods favor the strong ones and this weekend was so true. We had some small showers on Saturday, just enough to keep us cool, and on Sunday we had the perfect weather, chill, a bit cloudy for good pictures and no rain.
And the trails, let me tell you about the trails, they were in perfect conditions. You recognize a good mountain hut by the trail that accesses it, and this one was clean as a bike park trail.
On Saturday we send it down from the hut on the same trail we push-biked on and it was amazing. It’s a 4km trail in perfect conditions with some technical bits in the first half, roots and stones and lots of lines, and at the end some nice flow with some tight switchbacks just to keep you on your toes ;). Then pushbike back at the hut for some drinks and a good meal. We had a nice evening, even built up a ramp and jumped it in the sunset light for some cool pictures, thanks Mihai for the good idea, and keeping us in shape for them trails.
Next day we woke up in the morning for a beautiful breakfast in front of the hut. Mrs Mariana cooks up some great food and we left the hut with our energy levels restored. The target was Scara peak and some epic descent on an unmarked trail. We had 3h of pushbike up to the peak and after that over 90% descent, and a long one, around 12km of descent on an epic trail with an unique view over the west part of the country with Olt river sneaking in the horizon. Once we entered the forest, we passed the trail that links Barcaciu to Negoiu hut and stayed on an unmarked trail that was in rather good conditions.
The trail is incredibly beautiful on a loamy terrain. It’s good to have a GPS track with you. We put it on trail forks so check it out if you’re in search of new trails to shred.
Overall it was one of those epic rides that will remain pinned in our memories for a long time. Check out the pictures and the clips bellow for a clear verdict ;). Enjoy and ride safe!
LESPEZI PEAK SPRING SKIING, FAGARAS MOUNTAINS
Probably the last ski day of this season, but we shell see. Not much options left, no lift access, not allowed to ride in larger groups, this kind of post apocaliptic atmosphere its nice but I don’t want to get used to it…
We put a nice patch to a rather bad season, with this last ski touring day. Looking bad, yes, we had bad snow, yes, we had less ski days and almost no powder but it was nice, I for one have good memories and got to ski some new places this year so i m pretty much satisfied. Now ill wait for the next one and hope that bike season will not be to much affected by these uncertain times… Thanks and ride safe y’all!
BALEA LAKE POWDER DAYS
An experience of some weekends ago, probably the only powdered days of the year.
Balea Lac and Fagaras mountains remain one of the coolest back country and freeride areas in RO and probably the only mountains with serious lines. Easy to admire but dangerous to approach 😆😅💪… I m glad we chose to go there. In the first day we skin our way up from Capra cottage to Balea Lac, then ski down to Doamnei valley, skin up again and made a final descent on Balea Valley, just under the cable car. We had fresh snow and was nice to remember how that feels. Then we took the cable car up and parked out skis at Balea Lac.
We sincerely liked to stay at Balea Lac or Balea Lac 2 cottage, clean rooms, clean bathrooms, hot water and good food, we clearly recommend it.
The second day spent at Balea we skin our way up vaiuga , near Vanatoarea lui Buteanu peak, made a descent to Capra lake, skin up again and then chose to go down the south part, in the sun and at a later hour, following a group of austrian skiers that had a guide. I would honestly recomand to avoid this area on clearer days and with temperatures over 5-6C degrees, especially when there is fresh snow accumulations. I found the snow quite heavy…
Ofcourse, we had to go down anyway because we had our car at Capra and we would either go down now or later…The transfer to the south part during the heating periods is very debatable.
Until next time, ride safe!
Ski touring and Romanian mountain hut, Bărcaciu, Făgăraș mountains
Ok, this country has some faults, nothing is perfect, but if you come to live with them and you love nature, you will find happiness here. We have traveled some and we liked what we saw over our borders, but somehow, I for one am always drawn back here, to Romanian mountains. Not the tallest, not the steepest, not the most beautiful, but they resemble us… complex, complicated :))
One thing I like about romanian mountains are the mountain huts. Basic, old, rugged but in a cozy kind of way. One place in particular that I’ve always come back to with pleasure is Barcaciu hut in Fagaras mountains.
Here I found knowledge, friendship, beauty, and will. The will to do something in the area, to develop and to offer free know how and that pleased me a lot.
This place is nice, Mihai, the guy in charge of the hut, along with his parents are making a great job on keeping the old hut alive.
This place is just great and if I had lived closer to the area, I would have visited it more often, alongside with the other huts in the north west part of the Făgăraș mountains.
This part of Făgăraș is the greatest, lots of trails, great amazing ridge, lot of snow in the winter and great people!
And don’t forget the food, they know how to cook a great meal! Mrs. Mariana, Mihai’s mom it’s a great cook and half of the reason I go to Barcaciu is for the meals I get :))), no lie here :D. The other half would be the trails and the snow in the winter. There are some spots there where you can have some great ski touring days if the weather and the mountain allow it.
We’ve been there already this winter and we got half lucky. Great day, not too cold and not too windy, and with decent snow conditions. We had some bad visibility, flat light on Puha descent but we had to deal with it. You cannot have it all, and you have to learn how to be grateful for what you received.
If on Saturday we had a bit of luck and we had a full ski touring day, on Sunday the snow came and we had to stay near the hut because of the bad visibility and unstable snow. But Mihai didn’t let us rest, he made sure we remembered how to use our avalanche safety and rescue equipment and had some avalanche rescue drills near the hut. We tried also to ski some of the fresh pow but the visibility was just too bad, so we called it a day. Not bad for the first ski touring weekend of the season.
If you want to discover the area in terms of ski touring, the event held by Mihai each spring is a good start, just check out Schi de tura la Barcaciu in the first weekend of spring :D. And here, another beautyful weekend spend here!
Thanks Barcaciu for all the good times! Cheers mate!
Ski touring on Lespezi peak, Făgăraș mountains, Romania
Ok, judging from the first pic of this post, this is a proper winter for shredding… but take a look at the other pictures… and this happens in January 12, 2020… this is critical…
Not even in spring did we catch these conditions here. Don’t look too far, we ourselves are the cause. But how radical the situation must become in order for us to change this… I’m really curious if technology or something else will save this one…ok, let’s leave this aside, for now.
This weekend we did the Lespezi descent, a bit too early because of the poor snow and spring conditions.
Lespezi peak is one of the easiest to access 2500m peak in Făgăraș mountains, and one that you can ski from the very top.
It’s a nice tour, the pictures from the last part of the climb, and from the peak are just awesome, as well as the descent. This one calmed my appetite for ski, but not for long. I really hope it’s one of those late winters that shows their strength in March :D, how wonderful would it be!
Until then ride safe!
LESPEZI PEAK SKI TOURING DAY
This one has to be one of the best ski touring days of this season. Second time I have been on Lespezi Peak, both on skis. This beautiful 2.5k peak is also known as Corporate Everest because of its shape and relatively easy access even in winter conditions, making it pretty crowded…😅❄⛷
It’s a nice peak that offers a terrific view over Făgăraș mountains range. As you climb you can see the whole south valley of Transfăgărășan road with great peaks on each side and when you reach the top you can see Negoiou peak and Călțun lake with the great Călțun wall in all of its steepness…
As a descent route you can either go back the way you climbed, or get back 100m elevation and then enter the valley beneath the peak, or, if conditions are good, as we catch them, you can enter the valley almost directly from the peak on one of the ridges (almost spines) that forms underneath the peak.
Either way, check the conditions and get all information.
For us, was a great climb, a little windy, and a wonderful descent on a sunny afternoon.
For sure we will try it next year too. Cheers and ride safe! Enjoy!
BARCACIU SKITOURING, BARRYVOX LIMITED EDITION
BARCACIU SKITOURING, BARRYVOX LIMITED EDITION.
Last weekend we managed to reach Barcaciu mountain hut in Fagaras Mountains. It has become tradition to go ski touring here each winter. Barcaciu is holding an event, each year around this time, event aimed to promote the ski touring possibilities in this area of Fagaras Mountains. We could not be present at the event so we decided to go 1 week earlier and make our own limited edition of Barcaciu Ski Touring, Barryvox Edition 🤪👊🍻.
It was a full weekend and did almost everything that we wanted in terms of ski touring. This winter really delivered big time. We had some top score powder and some good weather with no wind. A little problem with visibility on Sunday but we managed anyway. Because of the great amount of snow this year, the couloirs are very generous, larger than before and you can descent greater. But all this comes with a risk and you have to be cautious and know your way around the area. We did some cool descents in powder and on Sunday we played a little with some equipment from Mammut that Mihai had for testing and presentation. Cool stuff, light but reliable equipment as I have seen so far.
After making a snow profile and fool around with an avalanche backpack, we did a classic descent in Puha Valley.
Overall it was, as I said, a full weekend and we now have some fresh memories of Barcaciu to last us for a while.
As one said to me, you never regret going, so, go explore! Ride safe!
Cabana Suru and Chica pietrelor. Enduro bikepacking trip
This weekend we remade a track from last year, the one from Suru mountain hut and rocky ridge in Fagaras Mountains. It’s a must do for each year, really is one of the most beautiful and epic ride we took lately.
It’s a 2 days experience and you get to ride 2 awesome trails, one of 7km with 1000m descent and the next of 12km with over 1500m descent, and you get to stay at one cool mountain hut (Suru mountain hut) in the Romanian Carpathians, Fagaras Mountains. It’s just epic, you don’t have to take our word for granted, just watch the videos and the pics bellow and you will convince yourselves :D.
Also check out our last year trip to Suru, here: Cabana Suru si Chica Pietrelor enduro singletracks.
You can download the tracks here: day 1, day 2. Enjoy the bellow material and ride safe!
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 🙂 . Oh, have we mentioned biking? check this trip out to 😉 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!
Ski de tura la Cabana Barcaciu reloaded
Odata cu primavara vine si Ski de tura la Cabana Barcaciu, iar evenimentul asta este precum vinul, parca devine mai fain pe an ce trece. La noi a fost a 2-a editie la care participam dar evenimentul este la a 7 a si deja s-a format un grup omogen in centrul eventului care nu doar participa ci se si implica. Eu unul ma bucur ca l-am descoperit, imi face placere sa particip in fiecare an si sper sa ajung cat mai des la Barcaciu.
Anul asta am avut considerabil mai multa zapada dar si riscul de avalansa a fost mai mare. Am plecat dupa acelasi model, de vineri dimineata doar din dorinta de a prinde si vineri o zi de schi. Tiberiu din pacate nu m-a insotit dar cu siguranta nu va rata editaia de anul viitor :D.
Am ajuns pe la 10 in Poiana Neamtului, Avrig, si pe la 10:30 eram cu rucsacul si schiurile in spinare, pregatiti de urcare, eu si Daniel. Singurul lucru care nu imi place la traseul pana la cabana, este noroiul din prima parte a drumului cauzat de exploatarile forestiere din zona. Traseul pana la cabana este foarte frumos dar doar daca faci abstractie de mocirla de la inceput… Pe la jumatatea traseului deja am dat de destula zapada cat sa ne punem schiele in picioare si sa ii dam mai cu spor la deal asa ca pe la 12:30 eram la cabana si faceam o mica pauza. In 30 de minute am halit ceva rapid, am golit mare parte din bagaj si i-am dat inainte sa il prind pe Mihai Petre si brigada, care au plecat cu vreo 2 ore mai devreme. Mihai Petre schiorul nu dansatorul :))) sau ii poti spune si dansatorul daca se apuca de balet pe schiuri :P.
I-am prins in traseu spre platou, facand un profil de zapada. Si ce profil, cica doar a pus lopata pe el si a luat-o la vale :(… oups!
Urcam pana aproape de platou si ii dam la vale pe marcaj si apoi in drepapta pana in traseul catre cabana Negoiu. O coborare distractiva, mereu o facem de incalzire si chiar imi place segmentul asta, poti sa ii dai viteza, nu este nici un risc si mai ai si cateva movile cu care te poti distra :D. In carere ne punem schiurile in picioare si mai facem o urcare pana in platou si apoi o coborare pana la cabana. Cam asta a fost prima zi, total regulamentara avand in vedere ora la care am ajuns la cabana.
Seara am stat la clasicele povesti, am halit cea mai delicioasa mancare si am stabilit ce facem a 2-a zi. Ne-am primit si pachetul de “concurs” format dintr-un tricou marca Barcaciu si deja traditionalul buff :D.
A 2-a zi vremea s-a schimbat radical. De la ziua insorita de ieri am trecut la ceata si vant care batea cu 60km/h. Super! Urcam pe acerlasi traseu ca in prima zi, facem coborarea de incalzire si apoi o luam iara la deal. Pe o vreme ca asta doar Puha ramane ultima reduta. Ajungem in platou si grupul se sparge in 2. O parte o apucam spre Puha in “adierea” vantului si o parte ramane sa se dea pe traseu. Dupa ce infruntam cu vitejie iuresul reusim sa coboram in caldare unde conditiile erau mult mai bune. Zapada putin cam dubioasa caci dadeai ba de crusta (probabil a si plouat putin cu o seara inainte) ba de zapada viscolita si daca aveai noroc de putin pufulete. Facem caldarea de 2 ori si apoi coboram iara in traseul de Negoiu doar ca sa vedem restul grupului cum incearca sa urce in puha pe muchea opusa, cea din stanga cum te uiti la caldare.
Aici ne mai despartim iara, un grup care o apucam spre cabana cu speranta sa mai faca o ultima coborare pe fata de coboara din platou spre cabana si un grup care se iau dupa ceilalti ce incearca sa urce pe muchie.
Ajungem iara in apropierea cabanei dar nu e rost sa iesim in platou. Ceata mare si viscolul ceva mai starnit. Am inteles ca grupul din spate, i-a mai dat si ultima coborare dar aveau ghidul cu ei :P.
Ajungem repede la cabana pe la ora 15 si ne bagam la uscat cu totul. Seara 2 se termina tot cu stat la povesti ba din ziua ce a trecut ba din alte evenimente. Seara are loc si o tombola, premiul fiind o pereche de piei de foca date de catre Lucian Clinciu, Charpatian Man :D. Mihai A. a fost norocosul castigator ca tot zicea el ca nu urca bine din cauza focilor :D.
Ultima zi nu aduce nici o schimbare in materie de vreme. Se anunta ceva ninsoare mai tarziu dar vantul pe sus bate cam lafe. Alegem ceva mai clasic, o tura spre valea Avrigului. Ne chinuim putin pe carare dar ajungem repede la stana din vale. Stam sa ne halim pachetelul si apoi facem o mica urcare spre unul din culoare si bagam o coborare prin cel mai fain pulver. Ne intoarcem devreme la cabana, mai mancam ceva si ne pregatim de coborare. S-a mai dus o editie dar stim ca cabana nu pleaca nicaieri si muntele nici atat. Sper doar sa mai apuc sa mai fac o tura pana la cabana sa cobor si eu odata de pe Scara, ca de Ciortea nici nu mai zic. Acum am si motiv ca a trecut Mihai pe tricou toate varfurile pe care nu le-am facut :)))).
Facem o ultima coborare pe schie pana la masina lui Mihai lasata la jumatatea drumului. De acolo ne ia el bagajul si noi ii dam in pas alergator pana jos. Plecam spre Bucuresti parca cu parere de rau caci mie unul dupa un astfel de weekend prelungit, nici ca imi mai vine sa ma mai intorc la “dragul” meu Bucuresti. Sigur ma asteapta o zi depresiva de luni :)))).
Va las mai jos materialul foto/video cu care v-am obisnuit. Sper sa va convinga de frumusetea locului si sa ii faceti o vizita cat de curand. Eu unul, daca nu mai ajung anul asta sa cobor pe schie de pe Scara, o sa ajung cu siguranta cu bicicleta. Deja am stabilit cu Alex sa facem o nefacuta :D, abia astept. Pana atunci, enjoy! life!
Colectionarii de momente. Drumetie in Fagaras
Colectionarii de momente, nu de obiecte. Acesta ar fi urmatorul pas al evolutiei, in viziunea noastra.
In weekendul ce a trecut, am mai adaugat unul la colectie, un alt moment, un alt traseu prin niste munti batrani si semeti, Fagarasii. Chiar daca vremea nu ne-a suras, orice plimbare pe munte este un moment frumos ce se adauga la colectia fara de sfarsit.
Fagarasii ii consideram fratele cel mare din familia Carpatilor, coloana vertebrala a acestor muntii, si asta se vede din orice unghi te-ai uita la ei. Creasta ca a lor mai rar intalnesti, iar imaginile surprinse in orice tura pe care am facut-o in Fagaras sunt superbe.
Tinta noastra era si de data aceasta varful Moldoveanu. Plecarea am facut-o din Valea Rea, de la stana lui Burnei, pe dunga albastra ce indica 4-5 ore pana pe varf. Planul era sa mergem pe varf si apoi sa coboram la refugiu la Vistea pentru a inopta acolo. Am plecat pe la 11:30 din vale, pe un cer relativ senin, iar pe la 13 cred ca ieseam in Curmatura Pojarnei, 2045 m. Cam pe acum se pune si un vant naprasnic sa ne bata din fata. Uitandu-ne pe cer observam viteza cu care se misca norii nou aparuti si nu ne putem intreba decat cum va fi cand iesim in creasta si sa speram ca pana atunci se mai domoleste.
Dupa ce trecem Izvorul Rosu si incepem urcarea spre varful Galbena (2419m), se lasa si o ceata densa. Vedem ca din creasta coboara un alt grup de 6 persoane dar rapid il pierdem in ceata si nu ne mai intersectam cu el.
Prin caldarile Galbenei, orientarea este destul de ciudata. Oricum ai taia caldarile, daca sti aproximativ directia unde trebuie sa iesi, ai mari sanse sa nu te ratacesti. Noi, desi am urmat relativ traseul, celalalt grup era clar ca mergea paralel dar foarte distantat de el. Este marcat destul de prost si iarba din caldare ce mascheaza poteca nu ajuta deloc. Trebuie sa sti directia in care te indrepti ca sa nu te ratacesti. O harta pe telefon ajuta destul de mult :).
Odata iesiti in creasta incercam sa facem cativa pasi si vedem cu aproape suntem culcati la pamant de vant. Deja ne intrebam daca are rost sa continuam. Mai avem 1-1.5 ore pana pe varf si vantul puternic ar face deplasarea foarte greoaie daca nu imposibila. Ne mai gandim si la portiunea intre Vistea si Moldoveanu care ar fi destul de dificila pe ceata si cu un vant ca asta. Ca sa va dati seama de cum batea vantul, verificati video-ul de mai jos :).
Stam 15 minute in creasta ca sa vedem daca este vreo schimbare meteo si speram la o minune. Totusi, stand asa in vantul ala, incepem sa simtim frigul si nu dupa mult timp ne gandim ca ar cam fi timpul sa o luam inapoi :(. Regretam deja decizia sa urcam pe aici. Urcarea prin valea rea ne-ar fi scos direct la refugiu si atunci am fi avut perspectiva de a urca a 2-a zi pe varf. Asa, va trebui sa ne intoarcem la masina si cel mai probabil inapoi acasa. Incepem sa coboram usor si parca la intoarcere nimerim si mai bine traseul, vazand parca mai des marcajele. Incepem sa folosim si dslr-ul pe care credeam ca l-am carat degeaba. Odata coborati sub plafonul de nori, peisajele sunt superbe si norii intunecati de deasupra capului ajuta la acest lucru. Surprindem cadrele de mai jos in care Fagarasul apare asa cum este el defapt, semet, impunator, grandios si lista poate continua.
Dupa ce ne sadisfacem poftele fotografice continuam coborarea fara oprire si aproape cand terminam coborarea prindem si grupul cu care ne-am intersectat la urcare. Acestia ne confirma conditiile vitrege din creasta si cum s-au chinuit si ei sa coboare mergand pe unele protiuni in 4 “labe”. Ne dam seama ca am facut alegerea buna si ne punem pe infulecat caci am cam stat nemancati toata ziua.
Ne uitam la stana din vale si parca ne atrage la o sedere peste noapte dar dupa ce evaluam putin situatia, si oboseala din picioare, parca am sta degeaba, doar ca sa o luam inapoi a 2-a zi de dimineata.
Cu burtile pline ne suim in masina si facem cale intoarsa. Pe drumul de intoarcere filmam putin din dezastrul ce are loc pe Valea Rea. Defrisari multe, busteni mari zac pe marginea drumului. Din creasta se vede mai bine dezastrul. Nu cred ca asa se fac defrisarile corecte si legale. Suprafete foarte mari, fete intregi ale muntelui par rase cu masina de tuns. Nu se obseva nimic plantat in loc si starea proasta a drumului forestier pe care am venit confirma faptul ca defrisarile au loc pe suprafete foarte intinse :(. Speram totusi la o schimbare caci nu este chiar in puterea noastra, unitara sa facem ceva. Momentan nu putem decat sa aratam ce se intampla acolo prin filmuletul de mai jos…
Trakul ture il gasiti aici. Nu luati in considerare ultima portiune ce coboara de la 1450 m prin vale deoarece am oprit inregistrarea mult mai tarziu. Tura a avut cam 9 km si 1600m elevatie iar timpul de parcurs pana in creasta (vf Galbena 2419m) a fost de 3 ore.
Mai jos aveti cateva imagini si 2 clipuri din tura, unul cu conditiile meteorologice din creasta si altul cu defrisarile de pe valea Rea, filmate noapte pe drumul de intoarcere :(.
- DCIM101GOPRO
- DCIM101GOPRO
Alte trasee in Fagaras: Fagaras by bike , Vf Moldoveanu pe bicicleta