Valley of Ialomița

Yesterday was another successful day, the highlight was a late afternoon descent into the Valley of Ialomița. Snow was still soft during the descent, forgiving to the knees but hardened during the climb back making for perfect skinning conditions.

Winter fighting back

We have been trapped inside the hut by a wild snowstorm all day today. The weather turned bad in a matter of hours.

Sunday Outing

Glorious weather for third day in a row. Sunny, no wind whatsoever. Having arrived at the hut yesterday afternoon, the plan for today was to pay a visit to our neighbors to the North, Vf. Omu weather station, some two and a half hours away (by foot or ski). I left quite early to avail of the frozen snow. The weather and landscape were an invitation to stop often and take lots of pictures. Spent about two hours at the station discussing avalanches, weather fronts, heliografs (sunshine recorders) and many other things with the guys on duty. On my way back I tried to hide my face from the sun as much as possible. Why, you might ask? Well, the sunblock decided to stay at home... Finally some pictures:

Morarului Ridge

Gaura Valley

Omu Hut

Bucsoiu Peak (2492m)

My latest hairdo :p

Unexpected visitor

We laid bait for foxes, hoping for some nice photos. A pine marten showed up instead, a rare and unexpected visit... Link to video (to force the video to show in Google Buzz)

Sunrise over Cârțișoara

Two consecutive days, same hour of the morning, slightly different angles, dramatically different landscapes.

Skiing in Busteni

I've never skied the piste in Busteni before so I gave it a try today. The piste was groomed to perfection, skipass a bit dear however. A very enjoyable day overall.

Heavy snowfall

It has been snowing uninterrupted for the last 24 hours. We attempted our now usual route in Bâlea Valley earlier today but had to abandon early. The fresh snow reaching high above the knee offered no support even when on skis. Breaking trail was a nightmare. Higher up at Bâlea Lake the snowpack has reached 230cm.

Short ski video

A short video shot by Dieter last Sunday.

Resting day

My knees needed a break from skiing today so we went for a short walk around the hut enjoying the sun and the beautiful landscape...