Tag Archives: Muntii

My hardcore hardtail is fantastic, NS BIKES Eccentric CROMO

This year was new bike year. After riding a pump track on a hard tail of a friend of mine, in my head the idea of owning a hard tail was implemented. So this is how the conceiving of Cromo starts.

This bike is made half with second hand parts, half with new parts. After some time and lots of lets say planning, the bike took shape and its a beautiful one. And rides like no other… its just perfect.

I can say one thing, if there exists the one bike, the most beautiful one of them all, it must be a hard tail 😍.

In terms of parts ill just say the following:

  • NS bikes eccentric frame 2017 on 27.5 wheels  second hand but in perfect condition;
  • DT swiss CSW AM wheels second hand with Magic Mary tires new;
  • BX components dropper post new;
  • Guide R brakes second hand;
  • Race face Turbine crank second hand but in perfect conditions;
  • GS shifter and rear derailleur second hand but in good condition;
  • Revers components saddle new;
  • Fox 34 140mm fork 2016 model new;
  • Truvativ descendant and steam new;

Even if I went a bit over the budget it is still a good deal and came up way to good for how it looks and handles :D. I’ll be using this bike to have fun in the city, for trail riding where I have more mellow terrain (like Viscri or even Ciocanu rides) and for longer bike packing trips where I know I have bigger climbs that I can do on the bike (if it’s pushbike I rather push my enduro bike). I’ll just leave you some pictures and a movie to see just how good it is :D. Enjoy! 🚵‍♂🤘👊

Straja Enduro

This year was the first edition of Straja Enduro, the last stage of the Romanian National Enduro Cup, #CNE, just 1 week after Metal Enduro Resita!

Man, 2 contest in 2 consecutive weekends, mad schedule, must to become an habit!

Straja is beautiful, we know it from the winter. Awesome slopes and offpiste skiing here. And close to some awesome mountains just perfect for back country, skiing or biking.

But, the contest was something else. The landscapes ware just perfect, with the fall and the golden trees! It was a photographic orgasm as you can see from the pics bellow!

And the trails are awesome, one in particular, Wolfe’s trail catch our site. It’s an natural long trail full of natural futures, roots, rocks, single track, off camber and anything in between.

The contest has 6 special probes and its quite a long day! Enduro!

Thanks again to Bike Attack Resita for making this second and last contest possible and to all the people involved in developing the bike scene in this area! Keep it up guys!

We leave you bellow some edits and the pictures that we ware talking about!

Also check out Bike Attack, Metal Enduro and Valea Jiului MTB Trails!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=757JpTYJM-Y

MEHEDINTI FTW

Mehedint FTW!

Some years back we’ve been to Isverna, an remote village in Mehedinti county. Going there was like a time travel. 2 years back we sow people still wearing “opinci” traditional shoes made from pig skin, and they ware not wearing them because of any touristic purposes.

This year we decided to go back but to explore more of the place.

Wee look up trail forks only to find out that our trail forks ambassador in Romania has his headquarters in Mehedint county. Good!

Our trip took 3 days and we ridden 3 different places.

First day we ride near Isverna, where we also stayed. We go to Beletina meadow and traverse Mehedinti mountains. We followed 3 trails that you can find on trail forks, Starway to Beletina, Beletina – Pigs neck and Springs Face, all tied up and all beautiful trails. We climb on fire road up to Beletina then you follow Pigs neck on animal trails and then descent back to Isverna on an wild raw trail!

We sleep well the first day, dreaming about the awesome track that we did.

Next day we meet up with Pufalot, the trail forks ambassador and did another awesome track in Cerna Valley. We visit the remote villages in Cerna Valley, and the awesome single tracks that unites them. On the descent we did 2 trails that you can find on trail forks, Prislop – Dobraia and Dobraia – Dumbrava. The whole second day track can be found here.

The descent was just awesome, long, over 10k and combines technical terrain with speed and flow. The ground is loose in this period and you must be careful of the offcamber corners :)).

We ware so tired after the second day that we did not dream about anything, just a long deep sleep…

Last day we made it short. We meet Pufalot on his home ground, Sindrilei hill, near Izvorul Barzii just to Blame Canada :)))).

Man, this guy is a crazy trail builder! 🤘 Cant wait for him to finish all the trails. Blame Canada trail its awesome. starting from the top it has 8 jumps one bigger then the other. The last 2 are a gap and a droop with an insane landing !

Next year he will have 3 trails and if the others will be as sick as Blame Canada, then we will spend double the time in Mehedinti county! Maybe a new enduro contest is in sight 😍.

Until next year we leave you some photos and an edit to better understand the beauty of Mehedint county, form our point of view ;).

Enjoy and ride safe! 🚵‍♂⛰🎥📷👊

METAL ENDURO RESITA

Metal Enduro 2018, in our opinion the best enduro contest in RO, and, this year, EWS qualifier!

Its fun, its hard, its long and the trails are just sick! 😍 I personally didn’t finish after a crash in the first day but things turned out ok because I had time to take pictures and film some segments in the second day, just enough to put this edit together.

For those who don’t know yet, Metal enduro its an enduro contest in our notional enduro cup, hold in Resita city, old industrial city with big old factories in steel industry and metal processing…. get it… metal enduro…🤘

The contest takes place over 2 days and 8 specials that run between 1.5km and 2.8 km and around 300m elevation and all single track.

If you haven’t ridden Metal enduro trails yet, you must! and in this period, the landscapes are just beautiful.

No more words, if you want to find out more please check the page of the event or our last article form last year when we put out some more words. Thanks to Bike Attack Resita for organizing this awesome contest! and Straja Enduro too so stay tuned! 😉

We leave you this edit to better get the felling of the contest and some pics 😉 Enjoy! 🚵‍♂⛰🎥📷🤙👊

Old Mountain Epic trip in Veliko Tarnovo and Sopot

A few weekends back we took a trip to Bulgaria to meet again with the crew from Old Mountain Epic.

They have invited us to do a track in the Central Balkan Mountain Range near Sopot. Being a 5h drive to Sopot, we decided to make this a 2 days trip, and spent 1 day in Veliko Tarnovo and the next day we went to Sopot and checked that trail out, which we heard it would be massive in terms of view, terrain and intensity :D.

In Veliko, you cannot go wrong. You have the trails, the city, the people and each time we’ve been here we had a blast. The trails are in perfect condition and it’s the place to ride till the seasons ends because of the friendly weather. The town is nice and you have great food here. The crew from Turnduro (enduro bike community) and Old Mountain epic are top!

Ok, so we had a great Saturday on the trails doing Ani, Rodopa, 2 Offcambers and the DH trail. You would say next day we should have rested but not us :D. On Sunday we woke up at 6 am, went to Nedko and started from there in 2 cars. After 2.5 h were in Sopot, around 10 am waiting for our chairlift. We took the lift up to 1500m and from there we pushed the bikes until 1800m elevation. From there started our single track. I cannot say too much about the exact location, instead I’ll leave you a link bellow to the track we took, but I can say for sure it was the most demanding trail we’ve done so far. And also very rewarding. We had a beautiful single track, wonderful view and some huts along the way. The bottom part of the trail was just hard enduro but beautiful as in a fairy trail :D.

We leave you bellow some pictures, a movie and soon we will upload on youtube a longer edit with the Sopot Old Mountain Trail.

Until then enjoy and ride safe! Link to the track here: Sopot Old Mountain trail!

HARGHITA ENDURO 2018

This year we took part of Harghita Enduro, the seccond stage of Romanian Enduro Cup.

Man what trails they have! tehnical, natural segments, steep, hard! Combine this with some english weather and you get an up grade weekend race :))).

The contest has only 3 specials but they are quite something. In my opinion this is how enduro looks like. I hope in the future another special will appear here but for now we can be glad we have this ones.

The contest is held in Harghita Madaras, mountain group of Transylvanian Carpathians belonging to the Eastern Carpathian Mountain Range. The highest peak is Harghita Madaras Peak, with 1,800 m (source wikipedia).

These mountains are beautiful and wild, if you wander alone on this trails, you have lots of chances to run into a bear or a wolf so be careful 🐶🐺🦄. Or into an awesome single track for that matter :))).

For accommodation you can chose Sugo Pension because is very clean and cozy and has great food! We enjoyed staying here a lot!

Also once here, you must take a hike or a bike up to Madarasi peak, the sacred mountain ;0, the peak it’self is one of the most beautiful ones in RO and the view is breathtaking because you are right in the middle of our Carpathians :D. Here’s an album to show you just how beautiful it is on the peak and trails 😉

But, mainly if you are into enduro, you must come ride here, even in contest weekend. Here you find the track of the 3 specials and bellow we leave you some pics and a movie to get you fired up! Enjoy! 🤘🚵‍♂⛰

MAGURA CODLEI, NICE GEM OF A TRAIL ON SMALL MOUNTAIN

Magura Codlei, nice gem of a trail on small mountain!

This is the track MAGURA CODLEI but don’t take our route up. You can barely call it a trail! Just climb on the descent, you can cycle half of it ;). Enjoy!

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!

Cozia mountain enduro mtb descent

Cozia it’s one little, mean, but beautiful mountain that holds one of the gnarliest descent we’ve encountered. The trail it’s just superb, it starts with a narrow and technical singletrack, then it becomes loose and steep, then you have to carry you’re bike, then you have another technical section with some climbing and at the end you have a speed section with lots of flow.

In total you have another over 1000m descent that we for ones are willing to work our asses around 3-4h to climb the mountain and then send it :))). It’s an nice epic descent that I think we will do each year because its just to good! We don’t try to convince you but we leave you some pictures and also this movie that we’ve made :D.

And here’s the track of the trail 😀. Enjoy and ride safe!

Cozia enduro MTB short edit

A small slice of Cozia, a trail that deserves it’s place in the calendar of bike season. Enjoy and ride safe! 👊🚵‍♂⛰🎥 Soon an longer video and an article. Soundtrack: Strung Out – The Animal and the Machine.

Balea lac freetouring powder days

This is not a recent one, but we just haven’t had  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!

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!

Cozia enduro ride

Cozia enduro ride, sau poate freeride 😀 caci s-ar incadra si la categoria asta, sau mai degraba freeride ciobanesc :P.

Gata, am pus permanent in calendar tura in Cozia. In fiecare an, cel putin o tura. E prea tare ca sa nu fie facuta, are de toate, si urcare si coborare iar coborarea o poti impartii pe categorii, de la singletrail fain bing-bang printre copacei :)), la rockgardenuri de toata frumusetea sau la singletrail alpin cu pietre ascutite si obstacole pana la forestierul de toata frumusetea de la finalul coborarii, tura asta le are pe toate, you name it! Inclusiv boschetarelile de rigoare fara de care nu am numi-o freeride ciobanesc.

Anul asta brigada a fost de 3, eu Tibi si Petre si tura am facut-o in ziua cu mult titratul cod portocaliu cand peste tot arata furtuna si ploi si descarcari si grindina, noi am avut parte de cea mai faina tura de pe sezonul asta, pana acum :D.

Intradevar, se vedea ca toarna cam peste tot in jurul nostru, dar nu pe noi. Oare om fi noi mai speciali, desi nu cred, caci ne-a plouat cam 5 minute la un moment dat, cand eram prin padure :)).

Traseul sper ca il stiti, se pleaca din Calimanesti spre Stoenesti inainte de care se face stanga si apoi inca o stanga in Dangesti de unde incepe forestierul de 18 km pana la Cabana Cozia care se afla chiar langa varful cu acelasi nume. Forestierul este perfect, lejer si relaxant chiar fara nimc iesit din comun. De la cabana incepe distractia. Sa nu va lasati descumpaniti de modul in care incepe traseul, cu niste megaradacini si apoi o zona bolovanoasa unde trebuie sa luati bicla in carca, dupa primele 5 minute mai hardcore, treaba se mai domoleste dar nu indeajuns cat sa iti lasi simturile relaxate :D. Totusi, incepe distractia aia faina.Traseul de urmat este marcat cu dunga rosie si merge pe muchia Turneanu pana la un moment dat cand face stanga in padure pe o panta destul de abrupta, probabil cea mai abrupta de coborat pe bicla, din aceasta tura.

Mai departe distractia continua pana in apropiere de manastirea Stanisoara si apoi manastirea Turnu. Mai este o zona de pushbike/carrybike dar si asta vine ca sarea si piperul in bucate, cat sa mai dea putina aroma turei. De la manastirea Turnu, pe asfalt pana inapoi in Calimanesti.

Si cum codul portocaliu si-a cam luat liber la ora la care noi am ajuns inapoi la masina, am mai facut o oprire in Valcea si am dat o poteca faina prin parcul de la capela. Si cand zic faina, chiar ma refer la o poteca dinaia faina de iti lasa un zambet tamp pe fata muuult timp dupa ce te-ai dat jos de pe bicla. O aveti mai jos in ultimul filmulet.

Va lasam aici linkul cu traseul, si mai jos cateva imagini si 3 videouri de data asta :D, pe principiul “unde-s multi, puterea creste”. Photo and video credit also to Petre Paraschiv and Tiberiu Tebeica. Enjoy and keep on riding!

Cabana Barcaciu ReReloaded, skitouring Fagaras

HAHA, nici nu am postat bine experienta de la Ski de tura la Cabana Barcaciu ca nu am putut sta departe de locul asta prea mult.

Vremea buna si gasca de la Barcaciu ne-au adus iara in muntii Fagaras si nimic nu ne-a putut tine departe ;).

Planul l-am incropit rapid in timpul saptamanii dupa ce Mihai ne-a activat cu cateva poze faine de la cabana si cu prognoza nesperat de faina, pt weekend. Imediat temerarii s-au activat asa ca vineri dupa munca plec acasa sa imi iau bagajul, cu mici obstacole :D, si apoi fuga sa ii culeg pe Alex si Gabi. La cabana ne mai asteptau Mihai cu Ovidiu si alti cativa doritori de adrenalina.

Ajungem… greu, mai ales cu iesirea din Bucuresti, orasul capcana, care ne-a luat peste 1h. Pe la ora 10 si ceva seara eram in Poiana Neamtului si pe la 10:45 cu rucsacii si schiele in spate 😦 gata de urcarea vietii… o placere. Nici nu am ajuns la cabana mai devreme de 1 noatea :))). Totusi, drumul ii faini cand il imparti la mai multi :D. Si racoarea noptii ne-a facut urcarea mai placuta desi ultimele 45 de minute parca au durat o vesnicie :P.

Ajungem la cabana si suntem intampinati de nea Petre care ne astepta cu ceai cald si bere :)) tot ce e nevoie.

Mai stam la un pahar de vorba si peste 1 ora ne bagam la somn… noapte buna.

Dimineata la 7, Mihai da trezire… nu ma misca din pat decat gandul la omleta buna facuta de tanti Mariana si ceaiul la halba, ca altfel, nici ca ma ridicam, aveam si motiv de data asta.

Incepem sa ne echipam, facem cunostinta care cu care nu ne stiam si pe la 9 cred ca ne punem si in miscare. Urcam de-a dreptul printre jgheaburi ca sa mai scurtam putin. In ciuda prognozei favorabile, zapada la primele ore ale diminetii este bocna si ma chinui cu urcarea in zig-zaguri pe zapada inghetata de la fiecare intoarcere ma incordam din tot corpul ca sa nu o iau la vale. Gata, urmatoarea investitie, cutite la schie ca nu mai tine! Ajungem cu greu in paltou si aici incepe negocierea, care ce vrea sa faca pe unde vrea sa se dea. Incepem de incalzire cu o coborare clasica in Puha, apoi urcam pana in creasta, negociem o coborare in Serbota dar o lasam pe alta data si ii dam iara la vale in caldare dar de data asta cu plecare din creasta. Faina coborarea, este prima data pt mine si chiar mi-a placut. Lasam planurile mai marete pentru ziua urmatoare :D. Coboram pana sub pragul glaciar in cararea de Negoiu si apoi o luam iara in sus spre platou ca sa facem o ultima coborare la cabana. Faina zi si faina zapada! Seara stam iara la povesti iar oboseala acumulata ne doboara pe rand, repede. Eu cred ca am cedat primul :D.

A 2-a zi incepe lafel de… matinal. Ma dau jos prin rostogolire din pat si astept sa ma dezmeticesc. Curand se trezeste si Alex si iesim afara sa bem un ceai. Dupa, incepm sa ne echipam, luam micul dejun si la deal cu noi. Aceasi urcare pe zapada inghetata… as da orice pentru niste cutite de schie, Tiberiu, sper ca citesti :))).

Totusi, parca ajungem mai repede in platou si de aici la ultima urcare in creasta unde ne si punem coltarii. Ajung pe varful Scara in urma lui Gabi si tocmai cand ii fac semn sa ma astepte, o si ia la vale. Asta e, echiparea si hai la vale. Am facut o mica coborare, pe partea sudica de Scara dar apoi am urcat iara in creasta si am coborat in Puha unde restul grupului tocmai ce urcau dupa ce au dat o coborare in caldare. Cobor cu Gabi pana in cararea de Negoiu si apoi urcam iara in platou pentru a face o ultima coborare spre cabana. Curand ne-au urmat si restul. Caldura mare isi cam spune cuvantul si abia astept sa ajung la cabana si sa imi deschid o bere rece … the end :P.

Cam ce ati citit mai sus este una din retetele unui weekend reusit. Printre ingrediente se numara vreme buna, gasca faina, un hobby minunat si un loc pe masura care sa le lege pe toate ;).

Incercati si nu veti regreta. Plecam pe la 4 de la cabana si nu dupa mult timp si cu ajutorul lui Mihai ajungem la masini in poiana Neamtului si apoi plecam spre Bucuresti refugiul temporar pana la venirea weekendului. Va lasam mai jos pozele si filmuletele care sa ateste cele de mai sus. Photocredit eu, Mihai and Jean pe numele sau de scena. Pana data viitoare, ride safe! Enjoy!

Oslea Hiride si Scorota Valea

In ultimul weekend din iarna ce a trecut, am ajuns la Oslea chiar la deja renumitul concurs Hiride si unde mai pui ca am si participat :P. Nu cu prea mari sperate ci mai degraba sa ne dam un reality check, lucru care a si functionat :D. Totusi, eu personal pot spune ca m-am cam indragostit de zona. Arata intr-un mare fel, ca sa il citez pe geograful Bogdan A., un fel de Piatra Craiului mai inierbita.

Oslea face parte din muntii Valcan si de ceva ani este locul in care se tine Oslea Hiride care a ajuns deja la a 6 -a editie. Este foarte faina zona cat si concursul. Nu este un concurs cu pretentii si asa cum a spus unul dintre organizatori, nu este concursul vietii noastre asa ca pe primul loc trebuie sa fie mereu siguranta, te dai in limitele tale si conform cu conditiile oferite de munte.

Entuziasti ca de obicei noi am plecat de vineri dimineata, cu noapte in cap chiar, si dupa 6 ore de condus am ajuns la poalele munteleui pe la ora 11. Ne-am echipat cat de repede am putut si i-am dat la deal pe traseul de la concurs. De data asta am inteles ca traseul s-a schimbat, urcarea fiind mai lunga cu aproape 1 km si pe un forestier usor plictisitor pana cand iesi in golul alpin si vezi frumusete de creasta ce te asteapta. De cand iesi din padure si treci pe langa stana toata creasta ti se dezvaluie si vezi cat are de oferit in materie de ski… wow! Am stiut clar ca locul asta va fi si pe lista de anul viitor.

De la stana incepe o portiune mai plata si apoi urcusul final pana in creasta. Ziua de vineri nu a fost cea mai faina. In mod ciudat zapada era grea ca si cum ar fi batut-o soarele toata ziua dar afara batea un vant puternic. Am inteles ca in ultimele zile a tot batut un aer cald care a schimbat radical conditia zapezii. Ba chiar exact pe valcelul pe care urma sa se tina concursul se vedea scursa o avalansa destul de maricica exact pe vaiuga pana in dreptul finishului.

Ajungem sus in bataia nu chiar blanda a vantului. La un moment dat mai mai sa ne darame si pe partea cealalta nu i chiar asa de domoale panta :))). Apucam sa ne dam de 2 ori dar pe partea mai lina a coborarii caci chiar nu banuiam ca concursul va fi pe vaiuga cu avalansa. Pare ok, putin cam greu de schiat deoarece zapada alterna ba crusta ba zapada grea si tot asa.

Duap 2 urcari si coborari ne intoarcem la masina si direct la cazare, Cabana Liliacu, aaaaaa Cabana Mihai pardon :))). Asa am poreclit cabana dupa ce ne-am trezit seara ca, pe langa colonia de paienjeni mai trebuie sa impartim camerele si cu un liliac :)))).

Seara am tras putin pe la Cheile Butii, pentru a ne ridica kiturile de concurs si a asculta brieful dinainte de concurs, tinut de organizatori.

A 2-a zi la ora 11 eram in zonta de start si asteptam nerabdatori numaratoarea inversa. Incepem la ora 12 sa urcam si dupa scurt timp ficatul protesteaza si avantul ni se taie. Scoatem un timp ceva mai modest pe urcare si odata ajunsi in creasca constatam ca vantul bate mai tare ca cu o zi inainte. Stam cuminti si ne asteptam randul in timp ce emotiile se acumulau. Ne vine timpul si START! start, start dar pe unde?! Acum am inteles cat conteaza alegerea unei linii clare la un concurs de freeride, asta pe langa restul conditiilor de indeplinit. Aici se puncteaza mai intai linia aleasa, fluiditatea cu care o cobori si sariturile si trickurile ce le faci. De cele din urma nici nu se punea problema dar si cu primele 2 am avut disesiuni. Linia a fost cea mai safe si am mai facut si cateva opriri de orientare pe drum :). Overall a fost bine, acm coborat in siguranta si ne asteptam revansa de la anu’ :D.

Mie unul mi-a placut super mult si abia astept sa revin in zona dar si la concurs. Mai pierdem vremea putin prin zona de finish si apoi incepem retragerea. Sincer cred ca si asta trebuia punctata caci retragerea s-a facut pe stilul freeride ciobanesc pe un traseu improvizat pe care am transpirat mai mult ca la urcare….

Ajunsi jos infulecam ceva si ne retragem la cabana si apoi la Cheile Butii pentru premiere si pentru petrecerea de dupa. Dupa ce sorbim cateva beri, e timpul sa ne bagam la somn caci ne asteapta o ultima zi de tura, Valea Scorota.

In ultima zi vremea este mai mult decat superba si plecam de dimineata spre Valea Scorota. Lasam masina pe marginea drumului si ii dam usor prin fromoasele chei. Chiar superb traseul si am avut destula zapada cat sa urcam direct de pe marginea drumului. Ajungem in 2 ore la stana si apoi mai urcam putin pe un valcel ce venea dinspre cabana Buta. Il coboram de 2-3 ori si apoi ne intoarcem la stana pentru a servi pranzul. De la masa de pe prispa stanii stam si admiram Osle, coama dragonului….

Frumoasa si stana, sau mai bine zis eurostana care iarna se dpare ca are regim de refugiu. Chiar arata mai bine decat majoritatea refugiilor pe care le-am intalnit prin alti muntii. Ar merge o excursie de ski aici, caci chiar ai pe unde schia.

Dupa masa ii dam la vale prin padure prin cheile ce le-am urcat. Distractie maxima cu schiurile pe carare, cel putin ultima portiune printre peretii de piatra  chiar a fost spectaculoasa. Nu prindeai nici cea mai mare viteza dar nici nu dadeai prea mult la bete.

Cam asa ne-am petrecut ultimul weekendi din iarna ce a trecut. Va lasam mai jos materialul foto-video. Sa ne revedem cu bine si la anu’, Oslea. Enjoy!