Routes as trad in Postăvaru Massif

Ridge going directly to cable the Romanian Army uses to move donkeys across the gorge in training exercises. Route name in guide not quite right.

Ridge after the bridge below the metal constructions next to the road. Protection is decent pitons, and bolts for the belays. The old piton belay for p2 is more comfortable but the pitons are iffy - sling the rock next to it (120cm) and extend the anchor to minimize drag. Can be done in a single pitch even on a 50m single. Retreat by rapping down the route or taking the retreat path from the via ferrata that crosses next to it.

A relatively beginner-friendly route, albeit with some poorly-protected scrambling portions. Gear needed: 1 60m rope (or 2 50m ones, don't do a single 50m since it won't be enough for the retreat), 12 draws (including 4-6 extendables), 2 120cm slings for the belays. Optional: 1-2 extra 120cm slings (to sling threads or minimize rope drag even further), small friends (BD 0.3-0.75 or equivalent), medium nuts.

Pitch 1 (50m, 3 UIAA) : Use a ledge to gain the ridge proper (look for a golden piton when on the ridge), then scramble on grass steps upwards, through a small chimney and back on the ridge to the first belay (2 pegs + 1 bolt) right before the ridge gets steeper. The grass portions can be quite loose and the fixed protection is quite sparse, so extra pro can be quite helpful here.

Pitch 2 (35m, 5+ UIAA): Use the chimney on the right to return to the ridge, and continue upwards until reaching a grass ledge that goes to the left and up. The belay should be on the bolt + pitons next to a boulder there.

Pitch 3 (35m, 5+ UIAA): This is a sinuous pitch so be mindful of rope drag. Climb an airy but excellently protected chimney on the left, then traverse further left, then up a small crack and back right. You'll reach a downward 45 degree slab with the belay visible on it (1 bolt and a bunch of pitons) - the 3m downclimb can be protected either by a .75 cam or a piton (behind the boulder above the slab, at approx. head height, not visible from the start of the slab but visible from the belay)

Pitch 4 (35m, 6/5 A0 UIAA): Crux of the route is at the start, protectable by a bolt (ignore the piton below it, it moves). Traverse slightly below the belay to the dihedral on the right and head up, and follow a well protected chimney (sustained 5). After a second bolt, follow a grassy, hard to protect chimney left to the belay (bolt + piton)

Pitch 5 (60+m, 4+ UIAA): Follow the ridge upwards on easy terrain with sparse fixed pro but decent mobile placements until reaching a small dead tree wrapped in cordelettes. This used to be the old belay but clearly no longer. Continue past it on scrambling terrain with no fixed pro but occasional mobile options until reaching a flat ledge with a bigger, rotting dead tree (the newer old belay) behind which a live tree can be seen. 60m ropes will reach right up to the dead tree. 60m ropes with long slings and not using more protection than absolutely necessary will reach up to the live tree.

Retreat: On left, there's a tree with cordelettes. A path down starts from it - it's extremely friable however, so don't try to walk it. Rather, rappel along it, go past an old rappel station (rotting pegs), and 5m below there'll be a young twin tree with cordelettes. Rap from that, continuing on the path left. Go past the first cordelette tree you see, and rap from the second one down to another cordelette tree. From there, leave the path and rap down a grassy couloir to the main rocky couloir.

Left ridge on Animal Wall. One of the most climbed routes in this sector. Nice crux pitch, where good feet placement is essential. Not wise to retreat in abseil after that pitch, the rope gets stuck.

4B Romanian, 7- UIAA (6 A0)

Pitches 1-4: follow the ridge up on at times friable and airily protected, but quite easy, terrain. Feel free to skip the two old piton belays you'll find - all of the currently used ones have at least 1 bolt in them.

Pitch 5: crux of the route is a very well protected crack section. The slab forming the right side of the crack isn't very well attached to the wall, and there are further loose boulders in it serving as support for bigger boulders, so be careful what you pull hard on, and when in doubt consider aiding your way through it (some of the pitons have loops of cord for this purpose) rather than risking sending Stuff towards the belay. After that, follow a horizontal ridge across a small mound and belay in the saddle.

Pitch 6: climb left a few meters next to another, even worse attached slab (also hanging above the belay), then traverse left on the slab and into a well protected chimney. Exit, and continue on trivial terrain slightly right and then up until reaching the end of the ridge.

Middle ridge of wall. Crux close to top.

5B Romanian, 7- UIAA (6+ A0). The longest route in this wall, quite varied climbing. Bolted belays, in-pitch protection (except for the occasional factor bolt) is all pitons, small to medium friends (up to BD 1 or equivalent) recommended, especially on P3.

P1: Starts with a 6-7m scramble up to a ledge with the first piton, then heads up on easy terrain until a small traverse to the right (5+ UIAA, the first intermediate belay of the pitch) and straight up, past a belay from Acvila (1 bolt and 1 piton) and into a 5+ dihedral up to the belay. 5+ UIAA, 50m

P2: Continue on a system of cracks (5+) past an intermediate belay,and then up a slightly overhanging at the end dihedral to a belay on the right (6+) 6+ UIAA, 45m

P3: Traverse to the left, downclimbing slightly, head up an easy crack (be mindful of future rope drag), then traverse back to the right to the base of a large dihedral. Follow it upward (6+, 5 A0) until a broken down portion, where you cross on the right arete and follow it upwards until the end of the dihedral (intermediate belay on 2 pitons, do not use) and traverse left for about 6 meters to the bolted belay. The single piton protecting the traverse (1.5m in) moves, but the angle means it should hold a fall. 6+ UIAA, 45m

P4: A shorter, but very meandering pitch - while this + the following can be united with 60m ropes, the drag will be phenomenal. Traverse slightly to the right and follow a dihedral (finger crack, 6+) up until the pitons end, then cross to the right to the base of an arch, where you follow another dihedral (6) up to an intermediate belay. Traverse to the left (slightly descending at first), airily protected but on good holds, then follow a 5+ crack up to the belay. 6+ UIAA, 35m

P5: Head up a crack and past an overhang (7- or 6 A0). Afterwards, it's all scrambling terrain up until the ridge. Belay off your preferred tree. 7- UIAA, 25m

Retreat: take the path through the forest. If needing to retreat in rappel, rap down pitches 5 and 4 (separately, or the ropes will get stuck) and then do a 55m rappel to an intermediate rap station (bolt + piton) and a 50m rappel down. If on 50m ropes, the 55m rap can be broken down in 2 using the second belay station of Diedrul Corbilor.

Highly aesthetic route combining crack and dihedral climbing with rather technical face traverses. Protection includes slinging threads, and the crack in pitch 3 has quite airy in situ protection, so consider bringing small/medium friends. Pitch 3 used to be 2 pitches, but the intermediate belay was not rebolted so it's now treated as a single, very long pitch - bring at least 20 draws, many of them extendable, or back-clean your draws from the initial crack after reaching the bolts. 60m half-ropes allow descending the route in 2 clean rappels (down to belay 2, or an intermediate belay in Pantera Roz), then down to the path). 50m half-ropes allow descending the route in 2 raps and a downclimb (down to belay 2, then down to a platform that can be downclimbed). No half-ropes means you'll need to climbpoorly protectable tterrain to reach the ridge and walk off.

Pitch 1: Start on easy, grassy terrain and head up and slightly left until reaching an old piton belay. Traverse right and up towards a small overhang, where you'll find the belay (rather crowded for a team larger than 2)

Pitch 2: Head left past the overhang and climb a crack for ~10m before traversing left and slightly downwards on a grassy ledge, then on a slab (crux of the route) and on another grassy ledge that leads to a vertical crack heading to a not very comfortable belay.

Pitch 3: Climb a crack slightly right and then up (protection includes some threads threaded with old accessory cord, and may be supplemented with small/medium friends), then traverse left on a slab to the base of a dihedral you'll follow past an intermediate belay and into an overhanging arch. Past the arch, continue slightly left on an easier face, then up on a crack to the final belay.

Retreat: Rappel down 50m to belay 2 or 60m to a belay from Pantera Roz (slightly to the left from belay 2), then rappel the rest of the ditance to the base of the route.

Recommended gear: small offset friends, offset nuts, an optional cliff

Pitch 1: start from right of Mielul cel bland, on the right side of a chimney, then head upwards and slightly left. Slightly runout before the belay

Pitch 2: head straight up then traverse upward left, under an arch. Pass the overhang (crux of the route, estimated at 7a free) and traverse slightly left on a ledge before heading right to the second belay of Cotofana