Herculane Climbing Open 2005 in Rumänien

Hello fellow climbers from everywhere!
If
you don’t have anything planned for this spring than you might
consider to join the Romanian climbers at the 4th edition of “Herculane
Climbing Open”. This event is more than a regular contest, it is more
like a meeting with a lot of climbing involved.

Where is Herculane?
Herculane is situated in the Cerna Valley in the South-West of Romania,
near the Danube and the Yugoslavian border, and is an old Roman Spa
with hot springs. The whole Cerna Valley is filled with limestone and
offers a huge playground for climbers. There is lots of room for new
routes, since only 15 % of the whole Valley is bolted untill now. There
is a train-station in Herculane , and all trains stop in Herculane,
even international ones. It is 170 km away from Timisoara , where you
have an international airport. For further information , if you want to
make the tripp sent us an e-mail or give us a call.

Why should I come there?
Well, the whole Cerna Valley is a very beautyfull place with forests,
pine trees, two lakes and lots of rocks to climb on. Another good
reason are the Romanian climbers who gather here every spring to climb
and party. If that isn’t enough for you than you can not turn
down the hot springs.And did I tell you about the beautyfull girls in
Romania ?

What’s with this contest?
Herculane Climbing Open started in 2002. The first edition was an
onsight contest an it was our first :o) but it turned out pretty good
as a matter a fact. For the 2003 edition we put up a new set of rules.
The contest kept its rules ever since and now the contest is an “after
work” competition. Down to the core, we bolt a number of new routes and
you guys get 2 days to redpoint them.The range of difficulties will
allow all climbers to join the competition. The number of tries will
not be accounted. Each route has a number of points that will be
divided to the number of climbers that redpoint that route. The one
with the highest number of points after 2 days will be the winner and
will get the bigger prices. There will be two categories, male and
female, age doesn’t count. We will put quickdraws on the routes ,
everything else, rope,harness,shoes,chalk , belayer ;o) and whatever
you might need is your responsibility.There is no isolation so you will
not get bored.

With every year the interest for this competition grew, and so the last
edition of the contest gathered over 50 climbers competeing, and even
more watching the event and supporting the competitors.The audience was
from all over the country.


When is the event ?
As usual the competition is held in the Herculane Spa area starting
from April 29th until the 1st of May 2005. In Romania in this period
the orthodox easter are celebrated and you can experience some local
traditions and very good meals ;o)

What if I don’t want to compete?
There are enough routes in the area to keep you busy for the whole
week. So don’t worry, just come!There are also caving
opportunities in the area , and you can also go trekking on various
paths in the Cerna Mountains!

What is Romania like?
Well, people are friendly, and there are generally no social issues or
dangers.You might look out for pickpockets if you come by train but
usually you don’t have any problem. The prices here are much
lower than in other european countries, just to have a clue , you can
buy a Beck’s beer in a pub at a price of 0.7-1 Euro. I always
look at beer prices in foreign countries to get the general picture :o)

Accomodation …
There are two camping sites in the area.One of them will be our
headquarter and like in previous years most of the climbers will gather
there (the camping will be open only to climbers ).There is also
another one, 4 km up the valley , near a small WaterPark. Prices are
lower than 5 euro/ tent. There are also Pensions in HErculane and a lot
of Hotels with various prices from 10 to 35 euro/night. You can also
camp in other places, free of charge , but not quite everywhere. We
will direct you to the best spots in the area . For more information on
the Herculane area visit www.romaniaclimb.com.(There is also a topo for
some of the climbing areas on this site)

What is essential?
Everybody HAS TO be in a good mood and have fun climbing with the others.

About us …
We are the Alternative Climbing Club from the city of Timisoara and we
represent one of the main organizations that develop the Herculane
area. For this event we have the support of the Climbers in Atlanta,
Nevada(now) and Canada, who have helped us with this event from its 1st
edition untill now, and hopefully will continue to do so also in the
future. Thanks guys!

Contact
Simu Andrei (simu.andrei@timteh.com)
Danila Gelu (gdanila@yahoo.comSiehe auch:
www.hco2005.go.ro

QuelleText: Andrei Simu aka Mardale