Category Archives: Guiding

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Photo (c) C. Pogacean O acuza adusa cuplului ghid-client des intalnita pe diverse forumuri romanesti de discutii este cea ca cel din urma ar „merge ca oaia pe urmele ghidului.” Ca ghidul isi asuma riscurile pentru client, client care nu este parte din procesul decizional. Ca o astfel de ascensiune este lipsita de risc, si prin implicatie de aventura, si ca un eventual accident survine din incompetenta ghidului. Nu am sa adresez relatia ghid-client in acest articol ci mai degraba as dori sa discut despre riscul in activitatile montane (escalada, alpinism, schi, expeditii) deoarece viziunea simplista din paragraful anterior denota o lipsa de intelegere a acestui subiect. In limba romana a mai scris un articol pe aceasta tema Marian Anghel insa abordarea mea va fi din alta perspectiva. Photo (c) C. Pogacean Ce este riscul? Termenul de risc este folosit in mod liberal in vorbirea curenta cu putina grija pentru…

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Cosmin Andron

Transylvania Mountain Festival Podcast · Cosmin Andron – Philosophy, Climbing & Mountain Guiding

Este din nou vara si din nou sezon in Alpi; este din nou sezon de Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Grossglockner si alte varfuri accesibile majoritatii montaniarzilor din Romania si nu numai. Din nou cabanele si traseele se umplu cu turisti independenti si cu grupuri organizate conduse de ghizi si de “ghizi”.   Un comunicat … Recent Asociatia Ghizilor Montani din Romania (AGMR) a (re)publicat un comunicat ce facea referinta la unele aspecte legale ale muncii ghidului montan in special in Alpi. In calitate de (inca) vice-presedinte al AGMR, de ghid montan UIAGM si de responsabil in cadrul UIAGM-IFMGA-IVBV cu proiectul de educatie a ghizilor montani internationali in Europa de est imi asum mesajul transmis de acest comunicat si postat recent in social media.   A fost dificil, in plan personal, sa ma intalnesc cu prieteni, amici, oameni de munte pe care ii cunosc (ghizi, instructori sau montaniarzi) care ghideaza cau conduc…

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Some discussion erupted on youtube about this video. I’d like to point out a few things here, on my website: first of all the series is aimed at the general public and it has to condense in 3 minutes practical information easy to absorb by audience with little technical knowledge. The contentious point was my saying “factor 1 falls are normal”.  Probably saying “fall factors of 1 or less” would have been better and then “fall factor 2 or more” etc  “BUT the general public operates with two concepts: Fall 1 factor and fall 2 factor. It was clearer and easier to point out the “good” one as opposed to the “bad” one by using the two already familiar concepts. The accompanying point, however, is linked and it states that when falling (in a normal sport climbing scenario for example) we are always closer to factor 1 fall than we…

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La inceputul acestui an (15-16 ianuarie 2017) am fost invitat sa tin o prezentare avand ca tema programul EEMGA – IFMGA si problematica profesiei de ghid montan in Romania. Strict pe acest subiect al ghidului montan au fost doua prezentari: a mea, in calitate de project manager al UIAGM-IFMGA-IVBV pentru acest program, si s-a referit atat la cadrul general din Romania cat si la scopul EEMGA si prezentarea Feliciei Enache, in calitate de presedinte a Asociatiei Ghizilor Montani din Romania, referitoare la cadrul general existent si specific Romaniei. Detaliile acestui forum le gasiti aici. Punctele principale ale prezentarii mele sunt aici, in PDF: Prezentare EEMGA la FTM Busteni 16-01-2017 Cosmin Andron   Un background al EEMGA in aceste doua postari din 2016: aici partea I si aici partea a II-a.

Two years ago GoalZero expanded its ambassador’s programme to the East and I was presented by Absolut Explorer with a nice selection of gear to use and abuse. Up until then I either assumed that expeditions will mean long periods of disconnect or that at best an eclectic combination of devices and solutions (not all of them compatible) will manage somehow to keep alive a phone or an e-book Reader while camped in a tent up on a mountain. Partnering up with GoalZero changed that dramatically. In 2010 it was the first time I used, on an expedition in Alaska, a solar panel with a battery. The aim was to power up a sat-phone and a PDA so I can communicate back to Romania. A fairly light setup, it was also light on offering… Car lighter connectivity and low output battery it meant that I could charge only one device at a…

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Tendon Master 7.8 half rope – a somewhat long winded rope review –     Disclaimer: I am brand ambassador for Tendon ropes. However, in relation to all equipment sponsors I had or have, I have never endorsed to guided clients, friends or in articles a product I would have not paid full retail price for.   Ropes: every climbers has an opinion on them, has favourites and good and bad stories. However, funny enough, a lot of discussion on ropes nowadays is carried on purely on specs. The other day, on a climbing forum, a beginner climber was asking a simple yet very complicated question: “I’d like to buy a rope and I have narrowed down my choice to two models from two brands. I’ll be using the rope mainly for…. What do you suggest I should choose?” The answers poured from several posters but, of course, as on…

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“Tabara 1” despre care vorbeam in postarea anterioara a fost stabilita! Primul examen de admitere organizat de Uniunea Internationala a Asociatiilor de Ghizi Montani (UIAGM – IVBV – IFMGA) pentru tarile din Europa de Est care nu au asociatii membre a avut loc la finele lunii februarie (25-28) in Romania, in Fagaras si in Cheile Turzii. Anuntata din scurt din cauza procesului de aprobare de catre diverse AG ale UIAGM sesiunea de testare a fost la un pas de a fi amanata pentru 2017 tocmai din cauza acestor etape birocratice. Din fericire board-ul UIAGM si in special Comisia Tehnica au facut lobby pentru ca aceasta prima sesiune sa aiba loc cat mai curand pentru a nu pierde un an (si a nu amana o potentiala prima promotie). Anuntul initial, de tatonare, a fost transmis la mijlocul lunii octombrie. Invitatia propriu-zisa abia in decembrie. Intre Craciun si Anul Nou aveam 8…

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Profesia de ghid montan are un romantism si o magie aparte. Asta daca nu esti ghid montan si daca nu traiesti full time din asta. Romantismul devine reumatism iar magia prea frig, prea clad, prea lung, prea greu… Dincolo de gluma libertatea de a munci in expeditii, pe munte, pe schiuri sau prin pereti costa destul de scump iar pretul este instabilitatea financiara si uzura fizica. Cu toate acestea sunt multi care isi doresc o astfel de cariera iar nivelul de competitivitate la ENSA (in Chamonix) de exemplu este unul notoriu. Este oarecum paradoxal ca o meserie care are, din punctul de vedere al modelului de business un atat de mic “return on investment”, un proces de selectie atat de riguros si competitiv si un model educational in care esecul inseamna reset total sa atraga atat de multi candidati. In Austria, in fiecare an sunt undeva in jur de 200…

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Tendon Master 8.9 – Rope review   The specs tell by themselves a story but an incomplete one by far: At 8.9mm diameter and weighting 52g/m, the Tendon Master 8.9 is rated as single rope (it can be used by itself including on bolted / sport routes), as half rope (for example on trad or alpine routes together with a half rope) and as a twin rope (together with another twin rope on water-ice climbs for example). Nevertheless I do not believe that the option of using it as a twin rope bears any practical purpose in this case as for the given scenario I’d rather carry a 6mm tag-line in my backpack. Nevertheless, what the climber not too fussed with genuine statistics or gear factoids can learn from these are a few basic points: it’s light, it’s strong, it’s stretchy. In other words that means: it’s easy to carry,…

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