Routes in Central Region for selected grade

4B 6+ (6 A0), one of the easier, better-protected routes in the area.

P1: head right on a slab then up left on a crack (with a slightly overhanging, airy, tricam-eating exit) to an intermediate, single-bolt belay on the right (only needed if rope drag is going to be a problem). Then head left over a series of ledges under a short overhanging dihedral. Belay on bolts, next to a tree.

P2: head up on a finger-width crack, ignoring the line of pitons heading to the left. After the first bolt, pay close attention to the holds you're using since there are some friable slabs that would fall on your second if pulled loose. There's especially some sketchy sandstone - especially after rain or in freeze-thaw cycles it may be safer to just pull on draws instead. Follow the bolt line to the right on a traverse to a chockstone (the rock gets decent again right before the chockstone) and up left on the chimney the chockstone fits into. It'll narrow to a crack as it goes past an overhang. Traverse right at the second overhang, belay on a ledge

P3: Head left on a grassy, slabby dihedral then bushwhack a bit to the belay (bolts,next to a tree)

P4: Traverse left to a very well protected dihedral, past an overhang, then into easy but unprotected terrain for the second half (there's a crack version which is harder, or a ridge one which is easier). Clip the bolt on a ledge near the exit and belay off some trees.

P5, 6 (optional): Continue on the ridge, on easy but hard to protect terrain (sling the occasional bush, plus there are a couple pitons and anchors, go over a small peak (there are two pitons, a boulder that takes a 120cm sling and a tree to use as pro so the second doesn't downclimb it unprotected), belay in a small col off your harness while clipped into a piton.

Retreat: If not doing the optional pitches, rap down the third (platform) belay on Hermann Buhl (2x 35m, first rap on a piton rather than the tree to prevent the ropes from getting stuck). If single-piton raps aren't your thing, stop after the 3rd pitch and get down to the last belay of Fisura Însorită (20m), then down the second belay of Hermann Buhl (30m) and down (30m). If doing the optional pitches, continue right around the ridge (on a fixed rope) to anothe col full of bushes, that has a tree with a piton in it. Rap off the piton since the tree leads to the ropes getting stuck (30m), and throw your rope to your right since the crack on the left eats ropes.

Route difficulty: 3A Romanian, 6+ UIAA rotpunkt, 5- A0

Approach: upwards from Costila refuge on the crossing into Galbinele valley

Gear needed: 60m rope if you want to connect some pitches, 50m otherwise. 12 draws, preferably extendable (the route is very sinuous). 3-4 120cm slings in addition to the belay gear. Small to medium friends (BD 0.4 to 1 or equivalent) and/or tricams can be useful

Pitch 1: (40m, 4 UIAA) Easy if a tad runout slab - head upwards and keep to the left to find fixed pro, and supplement it by slinging the occasional tree.

Pitch 2: (20m, 5+ UIAA) Climb a crack to the left, then continue on an airy, if well-protected traverse which crosses a chimney (an alternate route entrance) and head up to the belay in the saddle above the rock formation you've traversed (2 pitons in a vertical crack, or contine up pitch 3 and belay off a tree)

Pitch 3: Walk upwards through the forest until you reach rock again. The rock you reach is right in the fall line of some rather large and loose rock formations (latest collapse: 2022) so, rather than using the bolted belay (also in rockfall line) try belaying off the last tree. Depending on how you choose your tree or protect the following pitch, this may require a few meters of simulling, with the second on easy scrambling terrain.

Pitch 4: (55m, 3 UIAA) Climb the slab on the left, aiming at first towards a tree on the near-the-wall side and then keeping on the dihedral, until reaching a the belay in a flat overhang (single chemical anchor) Both in situ and natural pro are quite sparse

Pitch 5: (40m, 4 UIAA) Continue left on the belay ledge and climb left, up on a dihedral and then left again to a bolt under a dwarf pine field.

Pitch 6: (60m, 1+ UIAA): Walk up through the dwarf pines, crossing a small slab, until reaching a chemical anchor belay on the rock wall

Pitch 7: (50m, 6+ UIAA) Used to be 2 pitches (5+ and 6+) but the intermediate belay lost most of its pitons and they're vertical pitches so it's best to do them in one go. Pitch 7a goes up a small, slabby dihedral, crosses slightly to the right then heads up on a dihedral that leads to a crack up until a ledge where the bad belay can be found. Pitch 7b continues on the rightward crack (the crux of the route, well protected) and heads up to a belay platform.

Pitch 8: (35m, 5 UIAA) Follow a crack on the left to a left traverse, then another friable slabby crack to a belay. There is another intermediate belay in the following pitch that can be reached on 60m ropes, if you prefer.

Pitch 9: (55m, 3 UIAA) Go up easy, friable slab and a small chimney to some bushes,go past the bushes to find an intermediate belay, and up another slab to reach the second belay

Pitch 10: (25m, 5+ UIAA) Head up a chimney. After it, there are two alternatives. To the left, there's a slab with visible pro. To the right, there's an easy variant going to the right of a boulder above (protection can be found behind that boulder, and there's a good horizontal crack under the boulder as well). Belay on a comfortable ledge (3 pitons). The left variant may allow skipping the piton belay and going straight to the bolted belay in the following pitch.

Pitch 11: (40m, 2 UIAA) Head up easy slab to the chimney visible above. Bolted belay on the right side of the chimney, on a large platform.

Pitch 12: (20m, 5 UIAA) Follow the chimney right of a large boulder, to an intermediate piton belay under a roof. Traverse left then climb a friable little ridge to the final belay.

Retreat: Follow the ridge upwards for 300m until Brana Mare a Costilei

Line follows a series of hollows and the cracks uniting them.

Pitch 1: climb a chimney (no pro except 1 piton at the entrance) up to a grassy ledge with a bolted belay. 35m, 3+ UIAA

Pitch 2: slabby crack, belay in a large cave (1 bolt and 2 pitons). 40m, 4 UIAA

Pitch 3: gain the ledge right above the belay and head right on it, then follow the crack back above the belay. Bolt on the face to the left. Head up on an overhanging crack, leave it by traversing to the right at the top of the cave. Head up on easy terrain to the next cave, and the bolted belay. 25m, 6+ UIAA

Pitch 4: partially overlaps with Don Corleone. Start up and traverse to the right to a heavily pitoned crack you'll quickly abandon for easy slab (look for the bolt here). 10m above there's a belay from DC, then a crack that widens to a large funnel with a small ledge on top, above which are a bolt and a piton. DC heads right, we head left on a slab, then straight up on the protuberance until we reach another cave and bolted belay. 50m, 6- UIAA

Pitch 5: traverse left then head up on the crack (lots of pitons) and 10 more meters on easy ground to a grassy ledge and the final belay. 25m, 6/6+ UIAA

Protection: Reasonably well protected as far as Romanian adventure multipitch goes. Belays are at least partially on bolts, and there's the occasional bolt on-route in sensitive areas that aren't piton ladders. Counting the in situ pitons as bolts, there isn't any passage worse than S2. Some small to medium-sized pro can be useful, esp on p3.

Retreat: rap down back to Galbinele valley, or continue on the ledge to the second-to-last belay of Creasta Costila-Galbinele, and climb that then walk to Braul Mare al Costilei.

3B Romanian, 6+ (5/5+ A1), S4 protection grade on P3 (mobile placements available, but friable rock so I don't feel comfortable giving a RS grade). Belays all have at least 1 bolt in them. Gear needed: 1 medium-large friend (cupped hand), some medium-small ones (BD 0.5 to 2 equivalent) .

P1: Go up a 2m chimney and then scramble towards the dwarf pine bushes (1 more piton in a rocky area, gear placements available). Belay is above the bushes on a confortable ledge.

P2: Climb a 3m 6+ overhanging portion (used to be pitoned for aid, but the middle piton broke so that's a bit harder, if not impossible, now). Then follow a ledge to the right, and a well protected 5 crack with an aidable 6- crux back to the left.

P3: Follow an offwidth crack to the left (5- solution but not immediately obvious) then a rightwards, well-protected dihedral. Both some parts of the dihedral and the end of the easy but friable runout above it come with a risk of hitting the ledge under the dihedral in case of a fall if only fixed pro is used. The official belay is here, but if rope drag is still manageable, the pitch can be continued for 10m to a belay in Coman.

P4: If using the official belay, an unprotectable and a bit friable 5 slab follows, before gaining the main ridge. Climb the space between the separated slab to the left and the main wall (medium/large friends protect the vertical part, there's a piton on the horizontal). Belay afterwards.

P5: Rappel 10m, and then climb an unprotectable but low-angle and very secure chimney to the final belay from Fisura Galbinelelor. Do not try to skip this and rap straight down, or your ropes will get stuck.

Retreat: 4x 30m rappels down Fisura Galbinele (one of the belays is on 2 pitons). Attempting this in 2x 60m rappels is a surefire ticket for hours of (mostly) harmless fun.

At the start of the route, on the first three bolts, it has two different types of rock: to the left limestone and to the right conglomerate (a bit chossy)

4B Romanian, 6+ UIAA (5+/6- A0), S5/RS3 protection

A very airy and spectacular 2-pitch ridge, with a long scrambling approach. Bolted belays, two bolts in the crux and one on a friable portion of an approach pitch, a few old pitons and reasonable gear placement (recommended: 0.3 to 3 BD or equivalent cams, a couple of long slings, maybe some small nuts)

Approach - Entrance to Canionul Cioranga

P1: Start from Floricioiu's memorial plaque on 15m of runout easy grassy slab, keep left under a small rock wall (2 pitons and some gear placements available) then when the wall becomes a small peak head right on some slabs, past a cordelette-slung tree (the old belay) and on to a bolted belay. 4 UIAA, 45m

P2: Continue to the right up a wide gully, ignore the bolted belay on a platform to your left (it's from Les Pas R'venus) and continue on the gully to the belay. 2 UIAA, 40m

P3: At the piton above, cross 1 gully to the left (there's a bolt with yellow cordelette to guide you/protect the friable crux but it's not visible from the belay if you're short) and continue upwards on it until reaching a platform at the right of the ridge. 3 UIAA, 45m

P4: The first ridge pitch and the most airy. Gain the ridge on a runout 4 UIAA section (some placements for small gear available but not ideal) until pitons start appearing (the 5 crux is well protected). Belay in the saddle, on the left. 5 UIAA, 40m

P5: Gain the ridge using some vertical slabs (medium cams), then continue on it until reaching the crux crack of the route (bolted, and pitoned densely enough to French-free it). Exit right (free climb crux of the route). The next piton will be the last one of the pitch. Follow a crack back to the ridge (medium to large friends, protect the exit for the second) then walk on the ridge for 10 unprotectable meters to a rock horn and then the belay. 6+ UIAA (6 A0), 45m

P6: Follow a succession of easy slabs and chimnneys, avoiding a dwarf pine patch on the left, until reaching a second dwarf pine patch. The belay is on a single bolt, to the right of it. 3 UIAA, 45m

Retreat: Follow a rather unclear path to the dwarf pines until reaching Braul de Sus, which should be taken right towards Acul de la Amvon. Rappel/downclimb Valcelul cu Fereastra (30m raps)

Beautiful face climb, occasional great holds.