Climbing La Om Peak in Romania

During my recent trip to Romania, I have decided to climb the La Om Peak. There is very little information available in English for this climb, so I wanted to share my experience, and the mistakes I made, so you can prepare better.

Why La Om, and why me?

La Om is not the highest peak in Romania. At 2,238m, it is 307m shy of Moldoveanu peak, which is the highest peak in Romania and sits at 2,545m. And indeed, Moldoveanu was my first choice. However, from the information I could gather, summiting Moldoveanu takes about 17 hours out-and-back, and so you either push really hard, or do an overnight stop. The overnight stop is usually done at Cabana Podragu which is located at 2,136m. But I booked my accommodations before I decided on which peak to climb, and I had no plans to bring a big hiking backpack, sleeping bag and mat, and cooking equipment, so Moldoveanu was not for me this time.

Another popular peak is Omu. Located in the Bucegi Mountains, Omu is 2,505m. But Omu is very accessible. There is a Cabana named Omu close to the peak, and the nearby city of Busteni has a cable car that brings you to about 2,100m, making Omu peak very touristic. I, however, wanted something more secluded. So, La Om it is. Moreover, the descriptions of La Om caught my curiosity: an exposed limestone ridge, shaped like a saw and regarded as one of the most beautiful sites of the entire Carpathian Mountains.

I have some experience with climbing peaks in the past. The first peak I ever did was Batur Volcano in Bali, which sits at 1,717m. In New Zealand, I climbed mount Robert which sits at a shy 1,421m. And relatively recently, I climbed Volcano Acatenango in Guatemala, which according to my Apple Watch was at 3,612m. Before that, I climbed Pacaya in Guatemala, reaching to about 2,200m. So I’m not entirely new to climbing mountains, but I was not prepared for what was to come…

The Plan

The initial plan was simple. I was staying in Brasov, and I’m a sucker for hotel breakfasts, so I intended to wake up at 6:45, arrive at hotel breakfast by 7:00, and by 8:00 be ready to leave to Cabana Plaiul Foii which is the trailhead. The drive takes about 50 minutes, so I planned to start my hike at around 9:00-9:10. I had two days reserved for the hike, in case of bad weather: Friday the 5th of September, and Saturday the 6th. Both days had great weather, so I did the hike on Friday.

I was planning to do a loop from Cabana Plaiul Foii, which goes to Refugiul Șpirlea, up to Vf. La Om. Then I’d go on the exposed ridge towards Refugiul Ascuțit, and descend towards Refugiul Sperantelor and back to the Cabana. A moderate 15km track that according to OsmAnd would take about 10 hours. It was way too optimistic in both the distance and the time.

The actual hike

Cabana Plaiul Foii to La Zaplaz

The first part of the hike was very enjoyable. It starts in an open field, and follows the river into the forest. Piatra Craiului National Park, like the rest of Romania, is a home of brown bears, so it’s important to have a bear spray. For the entire hike up to La Zaplaz — I was alone on the track. Hiking alone in bear territory is not recommended, but it is what it is. Make sure to make some noise (speak out loud, clap your hands) to let the bears know that you are there, avoid eating while hiking, and make sure your food does not smell.

I started my hike at 9:20, and by 10:45 I was at Spirla Shelter. The signs said it will take between 2 and 2 and half hours to get to Spirla, so I was moving faster. Good start.

At Spirla I did my first 15-minute break, had some food and rest, and moved on. From Spirla it takes between 3-3.5 hours until you reach the peak. There is a short section of about 20–30 minutes of forest, after which you reach the exposed limestone mountain which looks like it’s 90 degrees, and you have no idea how you are going to climb it.

La Zaplaz and La Lanțuri

After leaving the forest, you will enter the technical part of the track. For the next 2 to 3 hours, you will scramble, walk on scree, and use secured cables to reach the peak.

I was not prepared for this. This was nothing like my previous hikes. In my previous hikes, I would mainly gain elevation by walking up; here I had to scramble, often with cables for assistance. I never used cables for assistance before, and I did not have a helmet or gloves. I tried to research before to make sure there are no cables involved, but failed to find any credible information. It’s a bit ironic because this part of the track is called La Lanțuri which literally translates as “At the Chains” from Romanian.

My focus was sharp, I was moving very carefully, slowly gaining elevation as I was approaching the peak. I met two people who were going down, and closer to the top I met another solo hiker who was also going down. Every section I conquered, I looked back down to appreciate the beauty of this mountain.

The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. I was climbing from the west side of the ridge, meaning I was mostly in the shade. About 40–50 minutes before reaching the peak, the sun was in zenith, and I stared to feel the heat.

And then, after about 3 hours and 30 minutes of climbing, I have reached Șaua Grindului — a shelter at the ridge about 15 minutes from the peak. From there I saw La Om peak. A quick 15 minutes hike, and I was at the peak at 14:59.

Vf. La Om

At the peak, I took a well deserved 30 minutes break. I ate my cheat meal of a Milka chocolate bar, together with some tortillas, cascaval cheese and pastrami. A glance at my phone revealed that I was at about 8km in distance. With the sunset at 19:57, I had about 5 hours to get down in order to avoid walking in the darkness in the forest. After some rest, pictures, and chat with other hikers — at 15:30 I started to move again towards my next point: Ascuțit.

The signs said it will take between 2 and 2.5 hours, but I assumed it will be faster — in the end, it’s mostly flat walk on the ridge. It turned out to be anything but flat. You traverse the ridge up and down all the time, on a narrow path and in some places you have a foot length of space. I knew about this part, and it’s indeed mentally challenging, especially if you have fear of heights, which I don’t, so I was moving at a good pace (or so I thought). As I was walking for about an hour and a half, I have reached a point where I saw the markings of the trail, but had no idea where to go next. My strength was fading out, and I started to lose my focus.

I have opened my map to check on my progress, assuming I’m almost at Ascuțit, but I was barely half way. And then I sat and decided to reassess my situation. The time was about 17:00. I had at least one and a half hours until Ascuțit. And who knows what’s afterward? Is the way down as challenging as the way up? Although based on the topography, the ridge looked less wide than the one I did during the climb. This could mean a steeper slope with potentially harder scrambling and cables. Nevertheless, I had a choice to make: push forward into an unknown path, risking getting stuck in the darkness; or go back the way I came. Sure, I could get caught by the darkness, but at least I know the way, I walked it a few hours ago.

I have decided to trust my gut feeling and turn back.

It took me 50 minutes to get back to La Om. As I was approaching the peak, I saw a person there. I was never so happy to see a stranger in my life, hoping that maybe they are like me, going down, and so we could go together.

When I reached the peak, I spoke with the guy, and he told me he plans to stay with his two friends, who are still behind, in Ascuțit shelter for the night. Realizing that I will have to go down by myself, I wished them luck and went on. As I reached the beginning of the way down, I saw a sign: “Spirla 4h”, “Cabana Plaiul Foii 5-6h”.

I didn’t have 6 hours, let alone 4. I had to be at the forest before dawn. There is no way I could descend with a headlamp. Being in a forest with bears and headlamp could be manageable, but if I get stuck on the edge when the sun is down…

There is cell reception at the peak, and so I sent my wife — who knew my entire route and the time estimates (as well as how to contact rescue services) — that I’m preparing to go down, and it should take me about 3 hours, so 4 with a buffer. I made sure the message was delivered, and at 18:10 — with an hour and a half of sunlight left — I started to make my way down.

The way down

I guess at that point my body was running on adrenaline. I took 3 liters of water with me, but at that moment I had less than a liter left, so I tried to conserve as much as I could. The way down was relatively smooth. I was using a technique where I would sit on my butt, make sure my hands are firm, find a contact point with one of my legs, and put the other one down. In some places I was doing a little slide on the scree while sitting. Not sure if this is the “proper” way to descend, but it worked for me.

I made one mistake when going down, where I could not safely reach a point of contact with my feet, so I had to do a little jump, maybe half a meter. At the moment I didn’t feel any pain, but as of publishing this I still have a slight pain in a muscle around my knee. Hopefully it will go away.

I saw a chamois. It was standing there, looking at me. So beautiful. My phone was running out of battery, so I put it in my backpack connected to a power bank, and I didn’t take a picture.

I also met a family (I believe) of 3 on their way up. They didn’t speak good English. We wished good luck to each other, and they were the last humans I would see for the next 2 and a half hours as I descend into darkness.

I don’t remember the exact time the sunlight went out, but I had my headlamp prepared about 40 minutes before sunset. As I was in the mountains, going down into a valley and a dense forest, I wasn’t hoping for twilight. When the sun went down, everything went dark. Luckily, by that time I was off the edge and the scree, making my entrance into the forest.

By that point I ran out of water. As I no longer needed my hands for support, I took out my bear spray, removed the safety pin, and held it my hand for the rest of the hike.

I had a mental model of the path in my head. I knew that by the time I reach Spirla, there would be about an hour left. After Spirla, you walk along the river. I also remembered that there would be a shallow and narrow river crossing about 10 minutes before you exist the dense forest, and so these were my marks. I tried not to look at my phone too much, as the bright screen would blind me in complete darkness. My only mission was to move from one trail marker to the next.

At 20:21 I reached Spirla in complete darkness. I was considering to do a quick snack break, as I had an apple which could provide the needed water, but I decided to move on. There was a cell reception zone around Spirla, so I wrote another messages to my wife: “one hour to go, let’s take one and half”.

After Spirla the road was mostly flat, and I was moving fast, like really fast. My average speed was around 5km/h, which considering I was going in a forest, in complete darkness (aside for the light from my headlamp), is not bad at all. As I was moving, I was making a noise every 15 seconds to let any bears know that I’m there. Every odd noise, every shadow cast by my headlamp — would make my heart race more and more.

And then, at around 21:05 I have exited the forest, and at 21:23 I was by my car near Cabana Plaiul Foii. I had another bottle of water in my car which I drank until empty. After an hour of driving, I arrived back at my hotel in Brasov.

This concludes the entire hike which lasted for 12 hours and 3 minutes. Below you can find the GPX for my hike. Keep in mind that elevation gain/loss is inaccurate, and in reality, should be close to 1,700m.

Aftermath and tips

As I said I have experience climbing peaks and gaining a lot of elevation. This hike was difficult physically, but not challenging. I think it was way more challenging psychologically and mentally. Knowing that at some places, if I misstep I could fall down, demanded a lot of mental energy and moving slowly and carefully.

Every place I read recommended taking at least 3L of water, and I did, but I ran out of it. Maybe because the weather was really sunny. In case you plan to do this ascend, I recommend taking 4L of water.

I also had all the layers in terms of clothing, but didn’t really need them. A fully charged powerbank and a good headlamp are a must. I would also take helmet and gloves for the scrambling part.

I believe it was stupid to rush the way down and navigate the forest during darkness, but I had no other option. The decision to turn back was correct, there is something in the brain which allows you to navigate easier, and be less stressed, when you already know the path. Ideally, I would spend the night at Șaua Grindului near the peak, or worst case scenario at Spirla, but I did not have a sleeping mat and bag, and had no water. I planned to go up and down the same day.

Doing it solo is also more dangerous, so I would recommend doing it with another person, and definitely leave your plans with someone else. There is cell reception at the peak, and at some places on the route, but most of the route has no cell reception. I did it on Friday, and as I mentioned, there wasn’t that many people. I saw 3 people when I was going up, about 5 people at the peak, and 3 more on my way down. Maybe on weekends there is more traffic.

Lastly, I would start early. It’s better to stay at Cabana Plaiul Foii (or any other Cabana nearby), instead of driving from Brasov. The sun rises at around 7AM, so you get almost 13 hours of sunlight (at least in early September), and it’s better to use it in case of emergency like running out of strength or stamina. Needless to say that you should not attempt to ascend in bad weather. With rain, the scramble will be slippery, and with fog, you will put yourself in danger on the ridge as it is very narrow. Monitor weather, and allow for alternative days. I had 2 days planned for the hike, Friday and Saturday, but Friday turned out to be very sunny, so I used Saturday to relax.

Closing notes

This was definitely one of the hardest things mentally and psychologically that I ever did. I did some stupid mistakes like climbing without proper gear and navigating a bear territory in complete darkness, but I was careful when climbing up and down, and had a headlamp and bear spray on my way in the forest.

I’m kind of happy that there weren’t that many people, as I had the opportunity to enjoy solitude while climbing this magnificent mountain. Being there by myself allowed me to reflect on a lot of things that are currently happening in my life.

After coming back, I was reading some more about La Om, and from the information I could gather, La Om ascent from La Lanțuri is considered one of the hardest peaks in Romania. And so now I have an achievement and an experience that allowed me to push my limits and better understand and trust myself. I also learned a lot about the way we, humans, operate in stressful environment. It’s important to trust your gut, despite the fact that you might feel like you want to push it. I’m a bit upset that I wasn’t able to finish the full loop, but at the same time I was confident in my decision to turn back the way I came. I struggled recently with understanding the difference between fear and gut feeling, and at the moment when I took out my phone and realized I might not make it, I strongly felt my gut telling me to go back.

Overall, I think it was one of the unique hikes / climbs I ever did. If you decide to do it, just make sure to have enough water, enough time, and proper gear.