It was the beginning of May. I just skied down Cerbului Valley and it was a pretty cool experience. So I mustered some courage and signed up for an event organized by the Carpati Mountain Association. We would be skiing down two alpine valleys, under the watchful eye of our guide Ciprian Lolu, mountain rescuer and ski touring athlete. On the first day of the event, everybody gathered at the Continue…
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, Continue…
I’m not a competition freak, but I don’t ignore them altogether. I enjoy a couple of contests each season to keep my motivation up while training. Organized events are particularly welcome for a sport such as ski touring, which is highly dependent on the group you’re in, the weather, terrain and snow conditions. Last season’s events were Squeezy Challenge and Cupa Calimani. This year, I took part in Mountain Assault Continue…
I don’t like running. I don’t get why others like it. I don’t. So the only effective way I’ve found of motivating myself to run is signing up for running contests. And this year’s first challenge was Brasov Marathon. 38 km long, with 1900m in climbing (although my GPS recorded 2200m) and with a good chunk on the ski slopes of Poiana Brasov. I’ve prepared for this by trying to Continue…
Back in March, we set off for climbing Lespezi Peak, fourth or fifth highest in Romania (it’s unclear to me if it has 2522m or 2517m). Since we had to drive to the Faragas Mountains and back, we left Bucharest at 5 am. We got on our skis at Piscul Negru, at the base of the Transfagarasan. Quickly got above the tree line, baking in the spring sun. Without the Continue…