After Bucegi Winter Race I thought the skiing season was over. I mean.. who skies in May? It’s nice and sunny outside, time for taking out the road bike. Well, it appears snow lasts quite some time on some alpine valleys. The high altitude and low temperatures along with the valley walls protect the snow while everybody is walking in shorts further down at the base of the mountain.

So, in the first weekend of May, I was skiing my first alpine valley. The weather forecast looked glum, cloudy with a high chance of rain. We took the cablecar towards Babele, climbing through thick fog. It wasn’t looking good. … until we emerged on the sunny Bucegi Plateau, leaving the darkness behind us.

Skied a little down Sugarile Valley and then climbed back towards the entry point of Cerbului Valley. There was a lot of snow – knee deep, but it was wet and heavy, impossible to ski on if you’re not into hop turns. So I descended by foot for the first part – which sounds easier than it was. At one moment one boot got stuck in knee deep snow, probably jammed in front of a rock. I tried lifting my foot and breaking it free, but with no use. As silly as it sounds, I was stuck. Managed to set myself free by digging my foot out with a snow shovel.

Ok, finally some actual skiing! Left, right, left, right; ok, that’s it. Got to the base of the valley. It might seem short, but it’s a very rewarding experience.

The trip ended with a hike down through the forest towards Gura Diham and from there a minivan back to real life.