It's all about the mountains and alpine playground. It's about safety, so having a mountainguide involved in your adventure it's a must. Welcome to MountainPro Guiding, the Romanian Guiding Agency!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Ice Climbing Festival - Kandersteg, Switzerland 8-10 January 2010



It seems like the beginning of the new year is filled with lots of stuff to do(or must do), and if you're an ice climbing addicted you cannot miss the 3rd edition of the Swiss Ice Climbing Festival, held in Kandersteg. One of the top ice climbing destinations in Europe Kandersteg ice climbing area offers a wide range of climbs, from the easy first-step-on-vertical-ice to hardcore mixed climbs along the Oeschinen valley. More details about the event can be find here, on Ready2Climb website.
The new location for this event is in the near of cable car Sunnbüel - Gemmi Lodge - Taverne Pub.
Some info from the Kandersteg website:
"For nearly 3 days, Ice Climbing will be the main focus in the climbing areas around Kandersteg. Not only can you meet with ice climbers from all over the world but you will have the chance to test the latest ice climbing gear. On Friday night the focus will be on a slide show presentation and there will be another on Saturday night as well as a Ice Climbing Party."

The programme looks like that:
Slide Show:
Friday, 8th January 2010, 8:00 pm (German speaking)
Saturday, 9th January 2010, 7:30 pm (Dodo Kopold: English speaking, Bernd Arnold: German speaking)
The slide shows will take place at "Kongresshaus" opposite Hotel Bernerhof

Shuttle bus to slide show from Gemmi Lodge to "Kongresshaus" on Saturday only
Away: 7.00 pm and 7.15 pm
Return: 9.15 an 9.30 pm

Climbing:
Saturday, 9th January 2010, from 10:00 am onwards climbing contests
After the slide show the final competition will take place 9.30 pm
See you at the Party held at Taverne Pub Gemmi Lodge with DJ music from 11.15 pm.

Sunday, 10th January 2010, 9.00 - 11.30 am Workshops togethter with world known ice climbers. Final of Ice Climbing Event 2010 at 3.00 PM.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

MountainPro Romania recommends : Ouray Ice Festival


The Ouray Ice Festival is an international gathering of ice climbers, gear manufacturing exhibitors, and ice climbing voyeurs simply thrilled to watch at a safe distance from the precipitous edges.

Events over this incredible weekend include various climbing clinics from beginning to advanced, an opportunity to check out and try the latest and greatest gear and catch up with some of the world’s most famous and experienced climbers. During the Festival, we offer one of the best competition route’s that continues to challenge the best climbers in the world.

The Ouray Ice Festival is 100% locally owned and operated by Ouray Ice Park, Inc., and is a major source of funding for the Ouray Ice Park. All proceeds go directly to the operation and maintenance of the Park.

So this is it, start fresh the new year 2010 packing up and preparing for a great experience! Further info can be find here, at www.ourayicefestival.com

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

PIEPS ARTstation - serious avalanche training


What is PIEPS ARTstation? "An emergency: a psychological strain testing your limits. In this situation, only trained procedure is any help! And that’s why training for the real event is absolutely necessary. For this purpose PIEPS has developed the ART Station. Approved in instruction courses of Mountain Guides, Military, Police, Mountain Rescue and Avalanche Comissions. The system can also be operated fixed in one place during the whole season due to the integrated batteries."(PIEPS website)

So if you're up to improving your avalanche safety technicues check the Pieps A.R.T-Station on 10.01.2010. Location: Stubaier Gletscher, Austria! Have fun!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Safety comes first

Winter is finally here, is snowing pretty much everywhere, and the thrill seekers are getting ready for a new adventure. That's nothing wrong in that, but keep that in mind: never ignore the safety issues.
No matter if it is called freeride, skitouring, mountaineering or winter climbing the safety gear must be always handy when you need it. Cos in a matter of seconds the thrill might became nightmare, a cool adventure can turn into disaster.
Our first call when talking about safety in winter is the avalanche gear. There are a several brands that can provide the necessary goodies: Pieps, Barryvox, Ortovox or Arva are maybe the most famous of 'em.
The basic kit means an avalanche transceiver (avalanche beacon), a probe and a shovel. The beacon can be digital, analog or both analog and digital, having up to 4 antennas in order to offer you an ultimate accuracy when looking for a victim. High tech pieces of equipment they all operating the same frequency(standard 457 kHz). Still you should be aware that just wearing one of those devices cannot prevent a burial, but only the time that you'll be under the snow. Remember that proper training in using avalanche beacons is a must.
As an avalanche beacon is not cheap to get but Pieps has a solution for the ones that still want to get the protection without spending lots on it, so, here it is, Pieps Freeride, the lightest and cheapest avalanche beacon on the market, with a size of a mobile phone; not as "smart" as the most expensive transceivers, Pieps Freeride will still be effective with appropiate training.
A cool gadget to have is the Black Diamond's Avalung, special design for breathing when buried under the snow, an ultra light piece of equipment that weights only 265 g (9.3 oz), S/M.
Having a light backpack is a priority for everyone, but make some room for the safety stuff, including a minimalist first aid kit, and when not shore about the details of the activity you're getting into please refer to local mountain rescue info center or hire a certified mountainguide.


Welcome!

Welcome to MountainPro Guiding Agency's blog! It was about the time, people were asking for this, but at the end of the day our wish is to provide fresh info about the alpine field and to all mountain related activities.
On the other hand, if you're interested in exploring Romania's mountains, (worldwide destinations also available due to our international team) this is the perfect place to get support from a proffesional mountainguide. We provide a full range of services regarding mountain related activities, from trekking and climbing to mountaineering and team building events, or to skiing and snowboarding teaching and guiding. Our aim is to provide proffesional service at high standard into a SAFE environment. Enjoy your adventure with mountainpro!

MountainPro International Team

This a new concept that crossed our mind a while ago. It's about guides we know and trust, people we've been working with and that became our close friends. If you are looking for a new adventure somewhere close to their location they'll be happy to design your future escape into the nature.

MountainPro Team is: guide Ciprian Moruzan (RO), guide Sebastian Sfabu (RO), guide Marc Schertenleib (CH), guide Gustavo Arenas (CL), guide Jesper Berth (DK), guide Rudiger Steinke (DE), guide Paul Andrews (US), and guide Steinthor Nielsson (IS).