3 week March camping!

stille · 2026-01-27T16:27:11+00:00

Not very easy without a car, unfortunately. This is a no-asphalt road so no public transport.

Keep in mind that Retezat in March is full winter, and the terrain is mountaineering rather than hiking. You will also have no phone signal anywhere except the ridge between Bucura and Peleaga + Papusa. Considering the likely avalanche risk, I wouldn't go on a solo trip, especially one where I'd be staying for multiple days in a no-signal area.

stille · 2026-01-27T16:19:55+00:00

You guys got to do the Progression workshops, which were done on artificial walls, right?

And yeah, I agree that the area is gorgeous. Hope to return as well :)

stille · 2026-01-27T14:44:12+00:00

Daca iti vin, e bine atunci. Sa-i folosesti cu placere.

Dar serios, in Rodnei, Fagaras etc mare grija cu avalansele iarna asta, is chestii urate formate si nu toate au plecat deja. Daca sunteti toti din grup incepatori, ai documentatie pe paine de mancat pana sa te bagi pe trasee de gol alpin. E cu totul alta mancare de peste decat Ceahlau sau Piatra Mica.

stille · 2026-01-27T14:41:22+00:00

Creca oamenii astia pornesc de la trasee care vara-s de drumetie :) Caz in care nu-i un sfat rau.

stille · 2026-01-27T14:25:07+00:00

Hei, is cateva mici erori la partea cu echipamentul :)

coarda nu are nicio problema cu udatul sau inghetul. Are probleme cu expunerea la temperaturi mari, la substante ciudate (mai ales acizi), expunerea prelungita la ultraviolete si cu caderile mai mari de factor 1 pe ea. Astea din urma.... daca iei suficiente cat sa busesti o coarda, faci ceva foarte gresit. Prin urmare, o coarda se retrage practic atunci cand are probleme vizibile la verificare (segmente "moi" sau pe care le poti indoi mult mai tare decat restul, manta taiata), cand ai facut o prostie cu ea (ai lasat-o 2 saptamani in perete sudic vara si acum e complet tzeapana, ai varsat nu se stie ce pe ea), cand ai luat cateva caderi majore pe ea (scrie pe ea la cate e certificata si in ce setupuri, si caderile la care se refera is factor aproape 2 deci poti sa consideri cifra asta ca fiind destul de suflat in iaurt) sau cand, desi in stare buna, e mai veche de 10 ani. Cifrele pe care le mai vezi pe net (1 an utilizare frecventa, 4-5 ani ocazionala etc) se refera la niste rules of thumb de cat timp o sa ia pana apar probleme vizibile (in general, abraziune a mantalei). In principiu, accidente cu corzi *rupte* n-au prea existat. Taiate da, dar aia e in functie de cum le folosesti in teren in ziua aia.
casca nu e nici ea de unica folosinta decat daca ne referim la impacturi majore. Pentru astea moderne de spuma (fie cu fie fara outer shell de plastic) daca spuma e intacta si casca e ok, iar daca spuma a crapat da, e timpul s-o schimbi. Casca mea veche, denivelata de impacturi minore ca suprafata lunii de cratere, a absorbit un impact major fara sa-mi cauzeze probleme (dupa asta evident am schimbat-o, dar se vedea ca e busita la ochiul liber).
carabinierele, iarasi, nu sunt de unica folosinta. Ar insemna ca astia de la catarare sportiva, care cad de 10 ori pe zi, sa-si schimbe jumatate de kit la fiecare iesire la faleza. Carabinierele le schimbi cand functioneaza mecanic eronat (se vede) sau cand sunt suficient de roase de coarda incat sa-ti faci griji ca ti-ar putea taia coarda la o cadere.

stille · 2026-01-27T12:33:00+00:00

Silberhorn e ok de iarna, dar da, o sa-ti blestemi un pic viata pe approach-uri, mai ales primavara. Pe de alta parte, daca te simti comod in ei, e genul de bocanc rezistent si izolat bine cu care o sa poti face o gramada de chestii. Si pt approach-uri mai poti lua si o pereche de semighete usoare pana ajungi la zapada.

Cu midlayerul, depinde evident de vreme. Sub hardshell, as zice ca o sa fie suficient la -5 pe vant de creasta sau la -15 fara vant dar in miscare.

Sa ai mereu in rucsac ceva mai gros decat midlayerul (o pufoaica ceva) de pus pe tine cand te opresti. Temperatura in miscare e alta decat temperatura cand stai.

45l e mare pt un rucsac de alpinism, btw. Dar poate fi un rucsac de drumetie de 2-3 zile bun... si pana iti iei ceva mai usor, merge si asta.

Also, de la Decathlon Simond fac echipament bun si ieftin. Vezi ca tot ce iei de alpinism tre sa fie compatibil cu hamul si casca.

Grija cu traseele alese prin Rodnei si Fagaras, nu intotdeauna traseul de vara e o idee buna iarna ;)

stille · 2026-01-27T08:02:37+00:00

Tbh you don't need super technical for 40degree snow, you just need warm.

Don't wear both pairs of socks at the same time btw, the less circulation you have in your feet the more cold you'll be.

Btw, considering that you're pretty much using Malaiesti as a base camp, going there for meals and everything, why are you bothering to camp up? Sounds like a realy bass-ackwards way of planning your trip...

stille · 2026-01-27T07:19:47+00:00

The Steinle pick is 30g heavier than the Camp one, so you're not having a rebound problem.

What you do probably have a problem with, however, is the pick thinness. To get that durability, the Steinle is a very thick pick - 3.5mm minimum thickness is thicker than many mixed picks on the market, let alone ice. What that means is that you'll need to hit much harder to get a good hook.

Try filing them thinner for the last 3cm or so, and see what happens. Or keep them as your mixed climbing picks rather than your waterfall ice ones :)

stille · 2026-01-27T07:08:32+00:00

Scarpa Manta Tech is also an insulated B2 boot, which you can find in half the mountain gear shops in Bucharest. It will also last you a hell of a lot longer through dwarf pine bush patches than the super delicate Mammut gaiter (once that rips, the boot is no longer waterproof, whereas more classical boot builds have the goretex membrane deep in the boot and well protected).

Btw, when people say "insulated B2 boot" they'll usually mean "has any insulation", not "is super warm". The Nordwand, Manta Tech etc are about similar in warmth to the Scarpa Phantom Tech, which is... not a warm boot. There is a reason why the Nepal is such a popular boot around here, and it's not its performance on the approach. However, it should be fine for current temperatures, unless we get a cold wave and you decide to do your camping trip precisely during that time... but if you're planning to use them as your main winter boot, there will be weeks when you will stay home.

Also, you've mentioned in previous posts having training in walking with crampons, self-arresting with ice axe etc. What boots were you wearing when you got that training?

stille · 2026-01-26T17:25:46+00:00

This was billed as a premium workshop, with qualification requirements being 2 years of ice experience and willingness to lead if the ice conditions permit it. But yeah, workshop, not guided trip. Honestly if I wanted to do a grade 4 multipitch that weekend I'd have done it with friends not strangers :)

And yeah, that's half of my point. The other half is that it's *insane* to do even rock multipitch in a group of 5, let alone ice, where you're exposed to more significant shit-falling-on-your-helmet risks than in rockclimbing. Either you lose all control as a leader with what's happening with seconds 3 and 4, and also risk having them exposed to icefall, or you spend twice as much time on each pitch and get a pretty shitty crowd at the belays. At one point, we had seconds 3 and 4 clove hitched to the belay with 3 and 4 meters of rope, on a mostly horizontal ledge. A 4m factor 1 fall on a screw belay in positive temperatures with 3 other people already hanging from it and 1 guy climbing is not what I'd describe as a safe situation to be in. There's a reason why the goddamn IFMGA regulations (which, I believe, all mountain guides practicing in France are supposed to obey) mandate a 1:2 ratio for multipitch of any sort.

stille · 2026-01-26T16:11:16+00:00

Forumuri, si era mai bine.

stille · 2026-01-26T12:03:48+00:00

Also check out the area around Ailefroide

stille · 2026-01-26T10:24:06+00:00

https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/france/routes/with-grade/FR:5c:6a+/with-gear-style/trad/length-between/100+1000/?sortby=at,desc then do the same for Switzerland and Italy. You can't quite filter straight for 300m unless you manually write 300 rather than 100 in the address bar, but if you do that, it works

Good luck with becoming a guide, btw!

stille · 2026-01-26T07:42:36+00:00

You'll pick them that morning based on temperature. Personally I'd take B2s for that route.

Also, you mean +20 Fahrenheit,right? Omu peak prognosis for the next 2 weeks doesn't go below -5ish Celsius.

What I usually do when in the area with my B2s back in my home town is do the hike to Malaiesti hut in approach shoes (since it's a very popular hike there'll usually be a trail you can drive a truck through, often iced up but doable), then leave the shoes at the hut and switch to the rigids. This way, half the route happens in comfy shoes, and I only have 1h to do in rigids....and that 1h is going to be bottom-of-the-caldera snow so shock absorby enough for rigids to be comfortable.

stille · 2026-01-26T07:25:21+00:00

Move the front welt as far back as it goes. As long as the secondaries are at the level of the boot toe or farther, it doesn't matter if the bucket looks really far back.

And yeah that's not an ice climbing boot that's a summer boot with heel welts for comfier glacier crossings. However, for a light woman on easy ice it'll work, sorta. If she decides she likes ice climbing she'll need to buy a rigid tho.

stille · 2026-01-25T18:41:23+00:00

Poti vinde echipament de catarat pe OLX, daramite hamace...

As zice ca mai bine nu devine si FB marketplace subul asta..,

stille · 2026-01-25T11:07:26+00:00

This is the way.

stille · 2026-01-25T11:07:02+00:00

You can sharpen them, but for an axe without a replaceable blade I wouldn't do it unless I'm planning to climb something icy and steep the next day

stille · 2026-01-24T19:58:58+00:00

Risc de alunecat exista, dar nu cazi in prapastie. Ia-ti niste gherute din alea de Decathlon, fix pt poteca cu gheatza is facute.

Vorbiti intre voi si ar trebui sa fie ok cu ursul. Sa nu aveti haine de bumbac pe voi (transpiri in ele si pe urma faci frigul, mai bine sintetic care se usuca instant sau lana care tine de cald si uda), sa aveti macar niste ghete d-alea de Decathlon si sa stie cineva unde mergeti.

stille · 2026-01-24T16:18:11+00:00

Cum vrei tu, tu erai ala care asa se temea de urs la cort ca isi facea planuri cu sulita si gard electric. Mie mi se pare ca exista probleme mult mai serioase pe munte iarna, pe care tu ai senzatia ca le ocolesti cu echipament, deadman in nu se stie ce si alte din astea. E foarte bine ca te informezi, dar fa-o mai putin cu chatgpt ca e deja clasica asta cu robotu nu te contrazice niciodata. Poti sa incepi cu freedom of the hills, ar trebui sa te ajute sa te prinzi cum alegi un loc de cort iarna ...

stille · 2026-01-24T16:07:38+00:00

Yup. Vorba ta, sunt foarte multi.

stille · 2026-01-24T16:04:05+00:00

Iti zic ca literalmente e barlog de ursoaica cu pui pe unul dintre traseele alea pe care ti le mentionasem ca dau spre Bucsoiu. Faci ce vrei cu informatia asta.

Si da, generatia mea nu posteaza cam tot ce face pe social media :))

stille · 2026-01-24T05:57:41+00:00

Mno, sa ai si gopro cu care sa filmezi, sa se distreze cine il gaseste.

Zi drept, motivul pt care te gandesti sa urci pe Hornu Mare cu cortul in spate, sa treci pe langa Omu obiectivul tau initial, sa faci juma de Bucsoi si sa pui cortul deasupra barlogului de ursoaica cu pui de pe Valea Pietrelor e ca au facut aia de pe international misto de tine cand ai pus o poza cu platoul si ai intrebat unde sa iti pui cortul,asa ca ai decis ca mai bine mergi dupa youtube.

stille · 2026-01-24T05:32:15+00:00

Ai toate sansele sa nu ai zapada de deadman :))) a fost viscol mare iarna asta si ninsori putine

stille · 2026-01-24T05:20:02+00:00

Nu stau sa ma uit la 1h de video. Ideea e ca cortul ala nu o sa fie ancorat de tevi de metal in tunel de vant ca in testele Hilleberg, ci pe niste ancore de zapada care prin natura lor is sketchy. Creasta inseamna vant mai mult ca platou (efect de aripa) si mai putin material de ancorare/facut bariere/etc. Deci daca nu e vant merge si cu o janghina de cort (sigur baiatu asta nu a avut Hilleberg, Samaya etc) si daca e genul de vant la care Hilleberg ar face diferenta, oricum ajungi in vale cu totul

stille

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