🏔️ Vârful Parângul Mare in Winter – Snow, Crampons and a Bum-Slide Down the Ski Slopes

🐶 Snow, Headlamps and a Schnauzer More Mountain-Savvy Than Us

Winter hikes are like good friends: tough, unpredictable, but they make you feel alive. On 25 January 2025, we tested our limits on Vârful Parâng (vârf = peak). What looked like a long but decent trail quickly turned into a marathon of sinking into snow, crawling on all fours and heading back down on our bums on the ski slopes.

If I found this trail "chill" in autumn, winter is a different story. Crampons are a must! Not microspikes, not improvisations, but serious crampons. The alternative is to come in the mood for suffering. 😅

🎥 Video – It's Easier to Watch Than to Read

If you can't be bothered to read it all, here's the drone video – this is what the mountain looks like when you're not the one struggling up it.

📍 The Route – Where, When and How Much Did I Suffer?

📌 Date: 25 January 2025

📌 Start time: 9:50 AM

📌 Total distance: 19.22 km

📌 Actual walking time: 6 hours and 23 minutes

📌 Total time including breaks, filming and photos: 10 hours and 10 minutes

📌 Elevation gain: 1,191 m

📌 Calories burned: 4,224 kcal

📌 Steps taken: 32,498

If you like numbers and want to see exactly where I suffered, have a look on Strava:

🚙 Accommodation and the Start of the Mountain Adventure

It was a long weekend, and we couldn't find any accommodation closer to Parâng. Everything was booked out, so we slept in Hațeg at Vila Belvedere. Clean, warm, a good bed, parking, and a restaurant where you can have a few beers, since you've just arrived from the road. By morning it wasn't so warm anymore, but we'll let that slide. It's exactly what you need before a mountain hike. In the morning, after a drive to Parâng Resort, we woke up straight into the typical weekend buzz: packed slopes, running chairlifts and enough people for three ski seasons combined.

📌 Temperature on the car dashboard at the start: -5°C

📌 Weather: Clear, sunny and way too warm for what we expected.

❄️ When the Trail Becomes an Endless Gym

If in autumn the trail was long but bearable, in winter it was torture with breaks to admire the scenery. Why? Because every 10 metres you sink into the snow. If you're lucky, only up to your knees. If not… below the belt. 😅

📌 Crampons are a must! Not "microspikes", not compromise options – serious crampons, otherwise you'll get acquainted with uncontrolled slides. We only had microspikes 😁

We also had a special companion: an ultra-experienced miniature schnauzer on mountains, who handled it better than us. He ran, frolicked and probably judged us for every wrong step.

We wrecked ourselves physically on the climb, but at least the descent was… spectacular.

🎿 The Descent – How to Feel Like a Kid Again on the Slopes

On the ski slopes of Parâng, after hours and hours of dragging ourselves uphill, we figured it was time to have a little fun. We slid down on our bums! If you've never done it, you have to try it – top speed, zero control and guaranteed laughs.

After the "controlled slide" all the way down, we stopped to eat something, then headed home, tired but happy that we'd finished this crazy hike.

🎒 The Gear – What We Carried and What We Used

📦 In the backpack:

✅ Drone – for filming and for break-taking reasons.

✅ 2.5 L of water – essential, hydration is the key to survival.

✅ Fleece, headlamp, protein bars, first-aid kit – all useful.

✅ Gaiters, crampons (not microspikes!), survival blanket – mandatory.

✅ Bear spray + taser – for peace of mind.

✅ Ski goggles & sunglasses – sun on snow is killer.

👕 On me:

✅ Waterproof trousers, winter boots – without them it was game over.

✅ Base layer, softshell, beanie, buff – proper layering = comfort.

📌 Headlamp – ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! We spent two hours in the dark, and without a headlamp we couldn't see a thing. If you hike in winter, don't leave without one!

☀️ The Weather – Warm, Beautiful, but the Snow Killed Us

📌 At the start: -5°C

📌 On the trail: Strong sun, a spring-like feeling

📌 Wind: Almost non-existent

If you've ever wondered how it can be warm at -5°C, here's the answer: winter sun + constant climbing = sauna on the mountain.

🍽️ Where Did We Eat After the Hike?

Once we got back to the cars, all we needed was food. We stopped at Bella Pub Pizzerie, where we had Pizza Quattro Stagioni. All nice and good, but at some point a friend ordered a Pizza Bacon Pollo… except there was no Pollo. 🤔 Instead of simply telling us that the chicken had taken a day off, someone went off on an expedition to procure some. We appreciate the effort, but we'd have preferred to know from the start, since maybe we wanted something else.

Otherwise, nothing to complain about – good pizza, okay atmosphere. Next time, maybe the chicken will be more predictable. 😆

📌 The food? Good.

📌 The prices? Decent.

📌 Worth coming back? If you're starving, any place is a feast.

After eating, we headed home, tired but happy that we'd done this awesome hike.

🏁 Conclusion – It's Hard, but Worth It!

If you ask me, the trail was incredible, but also very hard in winter. We pushed hard, but the view from the top was worth every step.

Would I go back up Parâng in winter? Yes, but with more mental preparation. 😅 Without crampons? Never.

💡 Want to Climb Parâng in Winter Too? Here's What You Need to Know:

✅ Crampons are a must! Without them, you'll regret it.

✅ Bring headlamps! If night catches you, they're lifesavers.

✅ Don't underestimate the trail. Summer is a different story, but in winter… it's long and hard.

✅ If you have a 4x4, use it. You can save some good kilometres.