Lespezi 3-day winter ascent via the north face, Fagaras Mountains

Conquer the north face of Lespezi in Romania’s Fagaras Mountains with an IFMGA-certified guide on a 3-day winter ascent.

Private

Carpathian Mountains

3 Days

Jan, Nov, Dec

High

Intermediate

Highlights

Conquer the Romanian mountain of Lespezi, the country's fifth highest.
Experience the wonderful winter landscape of the Fagaras Mountains.
Savour the sights from the rewarding summit after ascending the north face.

Description

The Fagaras Mountains are home to spectacular peaks in Romania, where you’ll find some of the loftiest, iciest and highest alpine mountains.

Standing at 2,515 meters, Lespezi is the fifth highest peak in Romania. And with generous coatings of snow layering the slopes and valleys, Lespezi is the ideal setting for some exciting climbing.

We’ll base ourselves in the Caltun mountain hut, which rests at 2,135 meters close to the high altitude Caltun Lake.

Our approach to the refuge involves a basic hike to reach. Once we are at the base of the wall we’ll choose the line that looks in best condition. This will get us to the ridge of Lespezi and eventually to the summit.

On our challenging descent we’ll use 1 or 2 abseils while the sun’s still shining as we reach for the refuge.

Potential participants must have a good level of fitness, as well as having previous climbing experience preferably under winter conditions.

Get in touch now to reserve your place in the magnificent Fagaras Mountains on a 3-day winter ascent along the north face of Lespezi, the fifth highest peak in Romania.

Price includes

Guiding fee

Itinerary

Day 1: Hike to the refuge

After meeting in the morning we’ll catch the Balea Cascada cable car to Balea Lake. From here we’ll start the hike to the very basic, unstaffed, Caltun refuge (4-6 hours from Balea Lake). Overnight at Caltun refuge. We will cook dinner on gas stove and will get early into our sleeping bags.

Day 2: To the summit

An early morning start with a quick approach (20-30 mins) to the base of the wall. We will pick the line that looks in best condition and we aim on exiting the wall to the ridge in good time. We will reach the Lespezi summit before descending using 1 or 2 abseils as we return to the Caltun refuge. A second night here and a second Jetboil dinner.

Day 3: Hike back to Balea Lake

Another early start and hike back to Balea Lake (4-6 hours from Caltun refuge). Another cup of tea or maybe a hot soup at one of the hotels and then the cable car back down to Balea Cascada and to the car park.

Details

More info

If we make good time and the conditions are favourable, we may be able to finish the route to reach Balea Lake. This 2-day option is only available for very fit groups, and preferably a 1:1 guide ratio. We would spend the night at a hotel at Balea Lake and descend the next morning. The price for this 2-day option is 600 EUR for 1 person (Guide ratio 1:1) or 300 EUR per person for 2 people (Guide ratio 2:1).

0.35 cents per km roundtrip travel via car from the city of Baia Mare.

Meeting point

About the guide

Cristina

5.0

(8)

Mountain Guide

I'm an IFMGA mountain guide from Romania and a member of the Austrian Mountain Guides Association (VOBS) and the East European Mountain Guides Association(EEMGA).

My passions are alpinism, rock and ice climbing and ski touring. Over the last decade and a half I have climbed and skied all corners of the World, spent numerous seasons guiding in the Himalayas, New Zealand, Alps and the Carpathians Mountains.

My primary concern as your guide is your safety. With that comes a great deal of fun, learning and engaging in experiences that will be memorable for a lifetime. I hope to have the opportunity to climb with you and help you achieve climbs, summits and experiences not yet imagined!

I have a very strict policy on guide-to-guest ratios for all types of terrain and these are clearly explained prior to engagement. For multi pitch climbs it is usually 1:1 and it never exceeds 1:2. For single pitch venues (especially on instructional outings) it never exceeds 1:4. Higher ratios are possible with the hiring of additional guides and only following prior arrangements. For treks and ski tours the ratios are more generous but depending on the terrain and/or the group’s experience.

I am comfortable in using for guiding and teaching purposes the following languages: English and Romanian.
Contact me for availability, rates or to customize a program to help you achieve your climbing goals.

Languages

Romanian | English

Certificates

AGMR | IFMGA

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What people are saying about Cristina

The BEST weekend with the most glorious guide!! Cristina is a GEM 💎 - the perfect mix of expert guide and hopefully friend-for-life ⛰. Thank you as ever for going above and beyond to give me the very best experience 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Yuri

It was an amazing experience. Daniel Pobega was excellent. Calm, friendly and very professional. Will definitely book another trip with him if not Vallee Blanche but other future activities.

Sean

We had a great time , unfortunately Cosmin broke his arm two weeks before the trip but the replacement guide Nicu Durnac was superb.

Jianliang

The plan was to leave early to ascent Mont Blanc via Trois Monts. As a beginner, Cosmin accessed my performance by timing my ascent to the shoulder of Tacul, else he has to change the plan. I met the timing and proceeded to Maudit. Unfortunately, he made a tough decision to head back as the condition at the foot of Maudit was not great. (We heard serac fell at mid day). Being professional, Cosmin changed the plan to ascent Tacul and we did Cosmique Arete. I would highly recommend this trip!

Katherine

A Wonderful guide that taking care of everything for the expedition. Had a great mountaineering experience with Cosmin.