First Lx3 panoramas

First panoramas stitched from photos shot with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 camera. I used Hugin for this task, an excellent piece of software. In the past I always needed to mark the control points manually but this time they were automatically detected and images were placed in correct order without my intervention. Cropping the final image can now also be done in Hugin, I used Gimp for this task in the past.

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...

Fresh powder

We got spoiled with fresh powder this morning. The fog lifted just in time giving us the chance to carve the perfect lines for most of the day.

Ski trouble

One of my skis developed a fault yesterday, minutes after hitting the trail. The binding, a Dynafit TLT Speed, started to release the boot when in touring mode which should never happen. Having just arrived at the cabin, prepared to spend at least a week in the mountains, I was reluctant to descend so soon in the attempt to fix the problem. Luckily the guy who mounted the bindings in the first place, was available in a nearby ski resort and kindly offered to help. So today I started my day with a 6km trip to meet him. The last 200m climb was a nightmare, the binding releasing at least 10 times during the ascent. It seemed that one of the fastening screws had become loose, forbidding the locking mechanism to engage when switching to touring mode. Missing some materials we were unable to finish the repair today. I had no choice but to walk back to my cabin.

Bâlea Valley once again

Bâlea Valley has become a regular spot for my ski tours this winter. I went up there again yesterday. The perfect day, overshadowed only by the death of a skier who was caught in an avalanche three days ago. The avalanche debris (not pictured here) were a stark reminder that the backcountry is a dangerous place, where written and unwritten rules of snow travel should be obeyed at all times.

Skiing in Predeal

The skiing season continues. I went to Predeal yesterday. Snow was great, I got to descend about 5000m in total, in a little over 4 hours. Thinking of going?! Note that a ski pass for half a day (12:00 to 16:30) will cost you €20, one for a full day (9:00 - 16:30) will hit you for €32. And avoid weekends or you'll spend most of your time in line at the lifts.

Skiing in Postavaru

It has been snowing at a slow but steady rate for the past couple of days. Skiing on piste, taking advantage of the lifts and avoiding avalanche areas, sounded like a good idea this morning. Not having to wait in line at the lifts was great, today being a working day. For the same reason good snow lasted for longer. Fog was the only minor nuisance. Total vertical descent: 4816m. A great day overall.

Viscol in Piatra Mare

Snack time!

Miercuri is hunting for a little snack...

Din nou în Valea Bâlea

Încă o zi superbă, însorită, fără vînt, temperatura un pic sub -5°C. Nu stau mult pe gînduri, arunc rucsacul și schiurile in mașină, Miercuri sare pe bancheta din spate si plecăm din nou spre Bâlea Cascadă. De acolo urmăm același traseu ca și ieri. Hoinărim cîteva ore prin căldare, ajungînd pînă aproape de Bâlea Lac după care ne întoarcem înainte de lăsarea serii.

Scurtă tură în Valea Bâlea

Pornesc de acasă tîrziu, ajung sus la Bâlea Cascadă un pic dupa ora 3:00pm. Pun focile pe schiuri și o iau în sus pe Transfăgărăsan. Zăpada este neatinsă. Un strat proaspăt de 15-20cm acoperă orice urmă. Urc încet, fără grabă.

O capră neagră se hrănește cu lăstari tineri la cîțiva metri de drum. Nestingherită iși vede mai departe de treaba. Mă opresc din cînd in cînd să fac cîte o poză. Stau și ascult: valea este încremenită, nici o adiere, nici un zgomot.

Începe să se întunece. Urc de aproape două ore, sunt deja în golul alpin. E timpul să fac cale întoarsa. Scot focile si încep coborîrea. La masină ajung pe întuneric , la lumina frontalei.

Văile Viștișoara si Viștea

După o săptămînă de congelator in Bucegi m-am gîndit să mă încălzesc puțin acasă, la Cîrtișoara. Ca să nu stau toată ziua degeaba m-am dus să văd noua pîrtie de schi "Moțul Drăgușului" deschisă de curînd în apropierea complexului turistic Sîmbăta. De dimensiuni modeste, deocamdată, pîrtia se pretează începătorilor. Din cîte am auzit, în primăvară vor începe lucrările de extindere a pîrtiei. De întors m-am întors pe sub munte, prin locurile unde am copilărit si pe unde n-am mai trecut de cîtiva ani buni.

Valea Viștișoara

Valea Viștea

Off-trail

Yesterday's snow storm laid more than 60cm of fresh powder. We took a 3 hours long walk off the beaten path earlier this morning. Miercuri was fighting to stay afloat in some places. In the end she decided to stop breaking trail and let me do all the hard work.

Four Elements

Air, Fire, Earth and Water

Pinus Mugo

Evergreen dwarfed tree native to mountainous areas in Central and Southern Europe.

Resting

Miercuri taking a break from pulling during yesterday's trip.

Beautiful seconds

A beautiful sky greets us early morning. It didn't last long, soon after the fog covered everything for most of the day.

In the blizzard

Snow needed!

There has been very little snow so far this winter. Even at high elevations there isn't much. There's still hope however...

Plimbare de Craciun

Din cauza vremii nefavorabile (ploaie torentiala si temperaturi cu mult peste 0°C) traditionala plimbare de Craciun a avut loc cu cateva zile intarziere anul acesta. Am profitat de acest pui de viscol care a reusit sa astearna un strat subtire de zapada in cele cateva ore cat si-a facut de cap.

Back home for the winter...

After leaving Ireland and driving 3031km in 36 hours stretched over 5 days I am finally home. No sign of winter yet.