Routes in Romania for selected grade

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.

https://anghelmarian.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/catarare-in-muntii-vrancei/

first pitch bolted, bring some mobile pro for second pitch

Great beginner's route, bunch of big sturdy slab flakes you layback on or traverse under, good holds all around. Fully re-bolted as a sport route in October 2022.

The initial length follows a system of cracks on easy slab terrain to an intermediate rappel station (for use as a sports top/retreat option, since it's badly positioned for a belay). Afterward, it traverses to the right, and then again 5 meters up a dihedral to the belay station. 4+ UIAA, 50m

The second, much shorter length traverses left on easy terrain and then heads up for a few meters to the final belay station. 3 UIAA, 20m.

Approach: From Raza Soarelui head left on the path at the base of the wall until you see the route name.

Retreat: With a 60m rope, rap down to the intermediate sports top from p1 and then back down to the start. With 60m halfropes, one single rappel gets you to the base. Alternately, the pre-rebolting retreat has you climb to the ridge and walk a few meters left of it to a sideways growing tree. A single rap on a 60m rope placed around it gets you on a slope a few meters above a path that descends round the ridge to rejoin the access path.

Don't let the depressing look of this line fool you, it's pretty sweet. Locate the name on the left side of the cave up on the platform, on the mossy back wall facing outwards toward the exit. Shares anchors with Dric and Rostaş.