Poster: A snowHead
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I have concluded that this year's budget will not stretch to allow a skiing holiday in the February 11 half term, but I am not giving up that easily.
A family member of mine owns a flat in Predeal, Romania and I am considering asking him to borrow it for a week. Predeal is about half an hour by car from Poiana Brasov and, as far as I can see, also has its own ski lifts.
Has anyone ever been there and is it worth it to go ski there? How many kilometers, snow security etc? We are all fairly new to skiing, so there is no need for any challenging runs.
Also, the resort does not seem to have a proper website. Does anyone know a link to a skimap etc?
Cheers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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That's where I used to ski when I was a child!
It's a VERY limited area but if there's a straight choice between not skiing at all and skiing there (+Poiana Brasov and Sinaia, see below), I'd take the skiing.
Poiana Brasov is more like an hour away. 20-30 minutes to get to Brasov, 10-15 to cross it and 20-30 up the road to Poiana. Some Romanians may make it in 45 minutes!
Another option is Sinaia. Half an hour or less by car (about 20 minutes by train, but then you have a stiff 15 minute walk uphill) in the opposite direction to Brasov, then two cable cars up the mountain to 2000m. There's a nice bowl there with 3-4 easy/average runs plus a snaking blue run back to 1400, both with beautiful views. There are also two VERY respectable unpisted black runs (itineraries, really) from 2000 to 1400 but I would not advise them to people new to skiing, they're steep.
If I was you and the snow was the same, I'd definitely go to Sinaia at least for a couple of days.
Weekends are crazy, the whole of Bucharest goes there.
Snow security - tough one. It's been erratic in the last years but February has a decent chance of being ok.
Have you looked at other options off the beaten path? Might be a better deal overall...but if cost is paramount and you're getting cheap flights and free accommodation (what about the car?), it may be worth it...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I went to Brasov this summer with a Romanian colleague and visited Poiana Brasov. The village has some lovely wooden chalets as mountain restaurants, and an incredible wooden church. It was very pretty - tree-lined runs above, meadows all around. However, my colleague (an intermediate skier) said that she always skis in Austria because Poiana's ski area is so small.
Don't even think about taking the train from Brasov to Sinaia at the moment. There are massive works on the line as they are doubling it from single to double track most of the way from Sinaia through Brasov towards Hungary. Trains are arriving very late into Brasov (90 mins+++) and then achieve a further hour's delay in the short journey to Sinaia.
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Esq, pretty sure davkt went there last season and so would be able to help a bit if he finds the thread or you could PM him.
horizon, super snaps
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Yeah I have skied at Predeal, there is not much skiing to be had. There is basically 1 black, 2 red (served by a 4 man chair lift) and then 2 short blue runs (served by a drag lift). I do have a piste map but am unable to add it to the snowMedia zone ??? It is fine for a few days but you will get bored pretty quickly. Probably worth a day trip to Sinaia and Poina Brasov. You can get to these pretty easilly by train/bus or a taxi shouldn't cost too much.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for all the reactions. A lot more than I expected.
I might be able to blag a car in addition to a free apartment, so that means that our only costs would be the flights, ski hire and tuition. I expect hire and tuition to be relatively cheap out there, but again, information on the web about this is hard to find. Any recommendations?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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