MOUNTAINS

Almost all my passions are directly and unavoidable related to mountains. Mountain ranges are the perfect adventure terrain, where there is so much stuff to do that a lifetime is not enaugh to try everything.

On the opposite side, mountains are dangereous and a good experience is needed in order to return home safely.

Another problem with mountain activities is that they are very expensive. Good equipment is necessary and a large budget would be needed. A mountain passionate, unless he is very rich, must sacrifice a lot on his bohemian city life to save money to go on the mountains. So no more expensive and fancy fashion clothing, no 20 mil. cell phones, no money spent with stupid blondes in night clubs. By cutting most of these expenses, a lot of people should save enaugh for a decent mountain experience.

So, once you are addicted it can be easily seen: no more 2 mil. jeans from Kenvello, but some Gore-tex pants, no more leather jackets but a performant windstopper and it`s over with the shiny leather shoes, a strong pair of mountain boots will replace them. Everything you buy should be of good use in the mountains. Maybe you have an old pair of fancy clothig or two that you use for special occasions, as weddings, funerals and difficult oral exams at the university.

Your dream car is no longer a convertible Mercedes SLK, but rather a Land Rover Defender and the girls you meet at the dancing club suddenly become boring.

If you experience these, you are becoming a MOUNTAINEER....

As for me, there are a lot of mountain activities that I enjoy. Some of those I practice regularly, and these are caving, canyoning, mtb, skiing, ski touring, monoskiing, trekking. Some of them I practice ocassionally, and these are climbing, cayaking and there are some that I still wait to experience like paragliding, atv, enduro, hunting, fly fishing, ....

Romania has a lot of mountains, it`s almost impossibile to know them all. So here are the ones I visited: Apuseni Mountains (Bihor, Padurea Craiului, Muntele Mare, Vladeasa), Piatra Craiului, Bucegi, Fagaras, Retezat, Mehedinti, Gutai, Tibles. The rest are still to be discovered.

So fear the mountain, but don`t get scared!