It was a couple of weeks ago, the weekend after the code orange snowstorm. The guys from Montaniarzii Aventurieri were organizing an introductory winter climbing workshop and I signed up for it. I left Bucharest a day early hoping I would find enough snow to ski a little in the area. Train to Brasov, bus inside Brasov, bus to Zarnesti and then I was ready to put my skis on. There was barely enough snow for skis and going downhill on them would have been impossible.

The first part of the hike was through Prapastiile Zarnestilor:

After this warmup I took a left into some gorges that were unknown to me until then. I could see on the map that I had a decent climb in front of me. Yet the first few meters were doable on skis, with some nice fresh snow:

After a corner, the terrain changed dramatically. I had to strap my skis on my back and carry on by foot:

I hoped it would get better, but:

And finally, when the going got too technical for my ski boots, I thought it would be best to turn around and pick an easier route:

I returned through Prapastiile Zarnestilor and took the first road on the right, eventually arriving in the village of Pestera, into somebody’s backyard.

After several backyards I finally made it to a road. The sun was setting, the wind was getting stronger and I upped my pace.. until an old lady started talking to me. She was alone and just wanted to chat with somebody. Sheep, life in the city, real estate and climbing Elbrus made half an hour pass really fast, by which time I really had to go, because it was getting dark and I was freezing from standing still.

Next day, with everybody having arrived at Casa Folea, the workshop started. First part was theoretical, with an useful discussion on winter gear and climbing equipment. After that, everybody got outside in order to practice the technique of ice axe self-arrest.

On Sunday morning, we packed and returned to the cars. After a stop at the cave in Pestera, I hitched a ride back to Bucharest.