I hope the new year will bring lots of joy to you!
If I were to name what I want to get in 2010 the list would look like this:
more friends to share my outdoor adventures with
more sunny days during summer and more snow during winter
more mountain bike trails to be discovered
more climbing routes to be ascended
more adrenaline
more mountaineering tours
more courage for whatever outdoor activity I'll be performing
more wildlife encounters
less injuries
less pain in my knees
less rainy days
less flat tires on my bike
less weight... I'm 69 kilos right now and I'm usually 65 (1.78 cm high)
Follow your dreams both on trail and off trail and remember to stay true to yourself. Here's to an adventurous lifestyle, full of thrilling outdoorsy moments! Cheers!
The first time I visited the site - Rasnoave Gorge, Rasnov, Romania - I was both amazed and challenged by the 150 m high limestone cliffs. I knew it was supposed to be scary to either climb or simply be at such heights but I also new I wanted to taste that fear. It was at the beginning of my boy scouting era, back then, and I was learning about climbing and the related outdoor activities which involved ropes, carabiners, harnesses and testosterone (I lacked testosterone in many cases).
When I first got the idea of a bungee swing, I decided to check out the cables by sliding on them and see how the void looks like. Needles to say I was pretty scared and wasn't so sure if I wanted the swing anymore...
This year (2009) we gathered for the "abuse of the bungee jumping cables" - the cables were fixed above the gorge by some extreme sports club which charges tourists who want to experiment fear and courage through bungee jumping. We were basically doing something forbidden - that's why we choose to be there in the middle of the week, in the afternoon when there were no tourists and, of course, no one from the administration of the bungee rigging.
I know that some of you watching may say we should have used pulleys instead of carabiners for sliding on the cables and maybe we should have used another type of rope system - and you may be right. The thing is we used what we had and the rope system was thought to be simple and secure (two ropes for the swing).
Because we we didn't have pulleys, it took us on average an hour per person to:
leave the edge of the cliffs
slide along the cables
pass the carabiners over the connecting rods between the two cables - these rods keep the cables parallel
get to the point of the swing ropes - I was the first so it took me a little more time as I had to do the rigging
tie in the swing ropes
slide more onto the cables till the swing ropes become horizontal and stretched
slide back onto the cables till I reach the edge of the cliff and inherently the ground, which I want to kiss and caress :-)
I can't say this is the most extreme experience I've had but it's worth giving it a go if you have the chance. You can try to do this on bridges and cranes as well.
We took it as a mental training for big wall or alpine climbing where you have to be relaxed and confident even when you can't find the next hold, being at hundred of meters above the ground. There was lots of fear but I believe that's normal... And, as you might guess, it was fun!
Video made in HD by Razvan Precup - professional photographer and cameraman. Looking forward for the rest - Pti's and Georgel's jumps and some pictures.
A short message to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
I guess for many of us there's no better way to spend the winter holidays than doing what we like best: adventuring outdoors for our favorite extreme sports.
I preferred to build my own fingerboard versus buying one from a mountain shop. The main reason for this is I could customize it how I wanted in terms of dimensions and holds placement.
What you will get is basically a piece of an artificial climbing wall on which you can do all your training exercises: pull ups, shrugs, dead hangs, lock offs. Whenever you get bored with your current holds arrangement you can easily change the configuration and thus you'll have a new board being motivated to try new workout sessions.
Necessary tools and materials:
electric drill
jigsaw
hammer
drill bits for wood and concrete
4 long bolts to go through wall (10 or 12 mm diameter)
sandpaper
glue
T nuts
plywood
2 laths (will be glued on the plywood board)
a free doorway (make sure your folks/room mates/spouse knows about your plans of drilling the wall above the door frame - and of course tell them you will be hanging there regularly)
Steps for mounting your hang board:
saw the plywood to your desired dimensions - a rectangle that will fit above the door jamb
smoothen the edges of the board with sandpaper
saw the laths no longer than the height of your board
glue the laths on the board - each lath at a palms' distance from the edge of the board, parallel to the margins of the plywood
drill your board for the T nuts - make sure to drill it from front and have holes in a zigzag pattern - if diameter of cylindrical part of the T nuts is 11 mm then use an 11 mm drill for wood
turn the board front down and hammer the T nuts into the new holes - after this you can already place holds if you like
turn the board with front facing upwards and drill four holes (10 or 12 mm diameter) through plywood and laths - these holes will serve for mounting the board on the wall above the doorway
put the long concrete drill bit onto your electric drill, turn the hammering option on
ask someone to help you from now on
grab two chairs, get on them with the board and ask your fellow helper to hold it above the door frame exactly where you want it
now you will make your first hole through the wall - pass the drill bit through one of the top holes (left or right) that go through both plywood and lath and start drilling the wall - ask your fellow to hold the board firm and try to keep your drill perpendicular to the board/wall - the main reason for drilling the wall through the pre-drilled holes in the board is to make sure the resulting tunnel (hole in the board and lath + hole in the wall) is in a straight line and thus will neatly accommodate the long bolt
after you made the first hole pass the long bolt through the board and the wall - now you won't have to hold the board that much as it will hang from the bolt - however you still need to hold it on the loose side
repeat the process of drilling the wall as mentioned above for the other three holes
now that you've put in place all four long bolts it's time to go on the other side of the wall (next room) and add some washers and nuts to the bolts - you can use some wooden plates instead of regular metal washers as the wood is softer and thus you won't do too much harm to the plaster
add holds as you wish, just like you do it in the climbing gym - work from the front of the board enjoying the convenience of T nut system
you are now basically done...
Try to have all types of holds on the board - crimpers, slopers, pinches, monos, two finger pockets, jugs, small ledges - so you can cover all types of exercises that will ultimately make you a stronger climber.
If you don't want to buy too much resin holds, you can make your own out of wood or rocks. This worked just fine for me - I only bought a few slopers, the rest are made of wood and provide both great friction and friendliness to my fingers' skin.
For more information about training for climbing please consult indoorclimbing.com - don't miss the links on nutrition and stretching in the right sidebar. Also you may want to try some hangboard training sessions like this or this.
If you prefer a ready made fingerboard for working your forearms and fingers in order to improve your climbing capabilities then watch Metolius training board installation guide video.
Be a good climber and if you can't be good then be strong. But remember that doing one arm pull ups won't make you champion. Don't forget to go climbing as well!
Tourist client being lowered by his colleagues - a simple technique
in building trust among workers within the same organization
One doesn't have to be a climber in order to experiment the thrilling sensation of rappelling or flying through the air on a flying fox line (Tyrolean traverse). Most of the times you can find someone who's willing to show how to do this climbing related stuff without much effort on your side.
What is fun in the extreme sports business is that many activities don't require much strength or endurance but they do require sheer courage. I've seen men trembling and quitting just before they were supposed to rappel off cliffs using a static rope but I've also seen ladies jumping into the void with no fear whatsoever.
I believe outdoor adventure is all about attitude. That's why boldness and experience earned while engaged in action sports is not only valuable in the sport itself but also in one's life. The main reason most people vacillate before going for the adrenaline rush is because they get out of their comfort zone which is not a very cozy feeling... However, great things have been accomplished by those who stepped further and challenged the odds, be it in sport, science or business.
Conclusions like the one above were self evident in my last trip to Bucegi Mountains where I helped Dan Borcea (Castoru') with his team building business - providing thrilling moments for tourist clients.
My suggestion for printing your snowboarding hoodie
I have received a snowboard as a gift and that's how I got in touch with snowboarding. I'm not a master in this sport and most of the time, while riding, I resemble the guy in the print below. Lots of crashes, sore knees and wrists was my beginning but eventually I managed to get control of the board and enjoy riding the slopes.
There's a lot to learn for me at this moment and I also need a new board for this outdoor activity which is not only fun but also extreme. My current snowboard is for speed riding and this limits my possibility in learning tricks and techniques for powder riding or freestyle.
Many words have been said about the motivation behind our desire to climb rocks and mountains. I guess we climb for the same reasons an artist paints or a bee collects nectar. I don't know really...
Thailand offers a multitude of options when it comes to climbing:
DWS
bouldering
sport climbing
I haven't been there yet but it's definitely on my to do list. Some people I've met said it's simply great - partly because of the beautiful cliffs and partly because of the exotic fruits one can buy for very little money straight from the peasant farmers.
Consult this website for more info on climbing venues in Thailand.
A short mountaineering tour in Piatra Craiului mountain with my friend Alex Scurtu. The weather wasn't too great - high clouds and strong wind - but we enjoyed the hike, the view upon the surrounding mountains and the chamois.
I suffered from serious knee pain due to treading on rocky trails with my heavy and rigid winter boots. I need to see a doctor...
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View from the top of the cliffs 
