The Dilettante Society hiking trip in Romania

The Dilettante Society hiking trip

We had a marvellous 6 –day trek in the beautiful Carpathian mountains of Transylvania, mostly at an altitude of 1800 – 2500 meters. The landscape is beautiful and varied, with impressive forest at lower altitude and alpine as one gets higher. Wildlife is plentiful. We saw chamois on several occasions, came across fresh bear droppings and wild boar tracks. The trails are good and well maintained. The terrain can be quite challenging but still well within the abilities of a bunch of fairly fit 50 – 60 year olds. We were lucky with the weather in mid-September, very pleasant daytime temperatures of up towards 20 centigrade even at high altitude, but cold nights, of course.
Our trek was very well organized by Iulian Cozma, with charming, professional English-speaking guides. Accommodation is comfortable and on the whole of significantly higher standard than the Cabanes de Montagne in France and Switzerland, generally with hot water and good, clean beds, except Podragu where the standard was rudimentary (no heating, no hot water). The food is good, as is the wine and beer.
We also appreciated the good administration part, i.e. the process involving the pre-booking, booking and general follow up of info and exchange of ideas.
Ted Wachtmeister – The Dilettante Society with members from Sweden, UK and Switzerland – September 2009

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Con il tour della Romania concludiamo il trittico di scialpinismo dei Paesi dell'Est,che ci ha visti prima in Slovacchia,Bulgaria,ed infine in Romania. Iulian ha capito fin da subito ,grazie alla sua mentalità molto aperta,che il nostro gruppo,non essendo abituato ad essere accompagnato da guide alpine,avrebbe faticato a seguire le direttive di un leader,e ci ha difatti resi partecipi di tutte le sue decisioni sullo sci tour,facendoci sentire assolutamente a nostro agio. Un altro aspetto di Iulian che ci ha piacevolmente colpiti è la voglia da parte sua di far crescere il movimento alpinistico Rumeno per portarlo ad un livello europeo,cercando anche in questo modo di far uscire il suo paese da un periodo storico non esaltante. Grazie Iulian per la splendida settimana passata assieme.
Lecco Italy,Marzo 2010,Felice con Beppe,Giamma,Gianni,Sandro e Stefano. more

For me it was the second time that I went on a trip with Iulian. Like last time (when I hiked to the highest peak in Romania – Moldoveanu) everything was very well organized by Iulian. We enjoyed good weather, snow was maybe not so ideal (too wet and heavy the first day and too icy the second day), but at least we knew at the end of these two days why we were tired. The Bucegi mountains are ideal for ski touring – and it’s good to have a guide like Iulian who knows the region and prevents you from going in the wrong direction. We stayed the night in a cozy and clean chalet in Pestera which allowed us to have a well-deserved rest after the first day. On the second day the temperatures were much lower and we found out at the end of the day that below 1700m it seemed as if the entire day it was foggy, windy and really cold. Fortunately we stayed above this altitude most of the day
Thomas Bubendorf, Zurich, February 2010 more

Thanks very much for all your help in introducing us to your country and its people. We enjoyed both! We were truly impressed, though, by your thoughtfulness and attention.
Scott Isler, New York, October 2009 more

Dear Iulian, thank you so very much for a wonderful time in your wonderful country. I appreciate your patience with us. It was a pleasure to be with you and to get to know you and, as Scott says, I too hope we can keep in touch!
Kindest regards, Laura Picone, New York more

Die Fagaras Gratwanderroute bietet fantastische Bergwanderungen in einer atemberaubend wilden und einsamen Natur, wie man sie in Westeuropa nicht mehr findet. Berggewohnte Touristen aus den Alpen sollten allerdings die Anforderungen von Wanderungen in den Südkarpathen nicht unterschätzen: Obschon die Gipfel und Grate "nur" Höhen zwischen 2000 und 2500 m erreichen, können die Touren dennoch recht anstrengend sein: Sie weisen teilweise ziemlich steile und auch rutschige Stellen (T3) auf, welche die volle Aufmerksamkeit des Wanderers erfordern. Die grossen Horizontaldistanzen zwischen den einzelnen Cabanas führen zudem zu recht langen Tagestouren: Tagesmärsche von 8 Stunden und mehr.
Prof. Dr. Fritz Dolder – Hochschule für Technik, Zürich more