Şureanu – how we turned our snowboarding trip around

 Marcel and I were arriving for the first time in Şureanu Mountains in November 2018… and we ended up absolutely loving the area.

We kept dreaming to return there but we were only able to do it this year.

 

Haha, I started joking with Marcel that whenever we reach Şureanu Mountains, we’re not in luck. The first time, we had snow – powder, even! -, but the installations weren’t working. This second time, the Polar storm ‘Beast from the East’ was about to hit. /It reminded me of a rafting session in Iceland and I smiled./  

 

Where did we stop?

/you know I always like to discover new places/

 

On the way there:

☼ Turnul Roşu [The Red Tower], Boiţa (15^th century)

The vibe of the place was eerie and everything felt abandoned (I understood that an orphanage used to operate there), but a walk up the hill clears the air and offers a beautiful view over Olt River. I must add that I’ve never seen this river so wild – it was very windy and we noticed huge waves!

☼ Turnul Spart [The Broken Tower], Boiţa (1493)

sits by Olt River and once acted as a customs point between Transylvania and Wallachia. /hopefully, the area around the monument gets cleaned by the authorities/

And back:

☼ Mândra

We stopped again at ‘Mândra’, a café discovered by us during the same trip when our couple and Şureanu Mountains clicked. We were happy to be able to have some sweets and some natural juices inside and take some delicious dairy products with us. [Marcel makes some mean sandwiches from sărăţele –a type of Romanian crackers- and cheese.]

 

Annoying stuff

☼ Dear Orange, please fix the reception issue; you’re the only network that doesn’t work in Şureanu. At all. /It’s nice to be away from the online noise but to me, it was sort of a working trip – something I’m trying out – and I once waited for 3 hours to be able to send an e-mail and I had a big project to complete – so I needed data –./

☼ The road – in wintertime – is doable from Lake Oaşa to Luncile Prigoanei but you should use snow chains from Luncile Prigoanei to Poarta Raiului and then on to the actual Ski Resort.    

 

Weather & snow quality

Melted, watery in part… and I bet icy on certain parts of the slopes. Very different from the powder that I remembered. /I believe that Şureanu could be snowboarders’ paradise on a powder day./

I even stopped a man walking to his car with his skis in his hand: ‘How are the slopes?’ – it’s a Romanian thing, we are either talkative (sfătoşi) or incredibly candid (plini de candoare) –. Of course, we talked for a few minutes – it was as I imagined it and the worst part was that the visibility was low.

The vibes around me were already bizarre: the gloomy weather on the way to Luncile Prigoanei (via Boiţa), the snow quality, and the I-don’t-know-what-to-do in the air. It wasn’t how I had envisioned my return.

/What was there to do but turn the situation around?/

‘I can do this!’ and I let it all flow.

The wind was getting stronger by the moment, so we looked behind us and decided to climb S1 slope /the installations weren’t working and we did make it to the top this time around (1900m)/. We could barely hold our snowboards and I realised that I had never snowboarded under such strong wind conditions. I couldn’t turn and I couldn’t gain speed, but it was a special experience.

An aggressive snowstorm started /après-ski cappuccino + mulled wine and a tasty meal acted as extra-mood lifters/.

☼☼☼

/over the night, I kept fighting a war inside my mind… I wanted to go home; surprisingly, in the morning, Marcel supported me, so we packed and headed to snowboard one last time/    

We first went searching for C2 slope – which we heard it was excellent for snowboarding –. We got lost, ended up on the children’s slope, and then on C1. We stopped to admire the beauty of it all, rode C1 twice (the lower part remained my favourite!), and headed straight to the chairlift /where we almost didn’t wait – I hadn’t seen such empty slopes in years and there was a lot of friendliness on them!/. 

At the start of A1, it was freezing but the view was beautiful. We rode down smiling, maintained our speed and rode C1 one more time. It was late and there was a long way back home.

 

In the end, Şureanu Mountains are still my favourite winter wonderland and I wrote this article in English to encourage winter sports lovers to travel in the area.

/☼ You'll love Luncile Prigoanei, its views and tranquillity.

☼ Try out the food at Pensiunea Şureanu – don’t miss the syrups and the blueberry cake.

☼ Ada après-ski is cosy and friendly and can provide shelter when weather changes, which happens pretty often.

☼☼☼

Practical info: 10 points=60 lei; parking=10 lei (and you can park anywhere)/

 

We should, above all, feel grateful. Romania DID open slopes this season – the normal and sensible thing to do! – and we could enjoy them, ride them, and love them!

This trip reminded me once again how important it is to do what we feel, take our time, and follow our heart. We will always get a change of overall energy in return.

P.S. The slopes are not as hard as you are told by the staff. We will return. And hope for powder.