🏔️ Muntele Mare in Winter – When Snow Is Rarer Than Phone Signal on the Plateau

🌄 Muntele Mare in Winter – Ice, Speedflying and the Least Snow in Years

If you ask me, Muntele Mare (the "Big Mountain") in winter should be a white realm buried in snow, with wind that freezes your soul and fairytale landscapes. Except on 1 February 2025, reality was a little different – less snow, lots of ice and a hike that turned into a mix of figure skating and unexpected warmth.

🚗 The Start – Parking at Buscat and a 20 lei Fee for Nothing

This time, I drove to a private car park at Buscat, where I was surprised not to find many people. Only the most dedicated skiers, the kind of people who show up at the slope whether there's snow or just a patch of white on a grassy hill.

📌 Parking fee? 20 lei (Romanian currency).

📌 What did I get in return? A place to leave my car and the satisfaction of having contributed to the local economy.

If you're not going skiing, honestly, it's not worth paying for parking. If you arrive early, you're better off leaving your car at the far end of the resort, in a field where you pay nothing.

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

If you can't be bothered to read it all, here's the drone video – to see what the mountain looks like in winter without sinking up to your knees.

📍The Route – Stats and Moderate Suffering

📌 Date: 1 February 2025

📌 Start time: 10:11 AM

📌 Total distance: 19.04 km

📌 Actual walking time: 4 hours and 10 minutes

📌 Total time including breaks, filming and photos: 5 hours and 08 minutes

📌 Elevation gain: 498 m

📌 Calories burned: 1,994 kcal

📌 Steps taken: 25,590

📌 Temperature at start: 1°C

If you want to see exactly where we struggled, have a look on Strava:

❄️ When "Snow" Is Mostly an Optical Illusion

I've been hiking this trail in winter for four years and I've never seen so little snow. Instead of a pristine white path, I climbed on ice mixed with something that was probably called snow, but looked more like the remains of a failed winter dream.

📌 Gear? You need microspikes, not just boots, otherwise you risk getting down faster than you'd like.

🐕 The Military Dogs – From 12 to 1 Bodyguard

When I got to the top, next to the military unit, I expected to be greeted, like every year, by the 12 guard dogs. Only this year just one came.

📌 Either the others got promoted, or they took a winter holiday.

It was cute – it escorted me for about 1 km, then got bored and left to do things more important than walking me around.

🎥 Speedflying on the Plateau and Drone vs. Wind

On the plateau, the snow wasn't much, but that didn't stop a few people from showing up with skis and paragliders for speedflying. Unfortunately, the conditions weren't great, and if you wanted to scrape your skis on rocks, this was the perfect place.

📌 I shot a few frames with the drone, but the wind had other plans, so I didn't linger long.

Meanwhile, I sank up to my shins in snow, because the temperature was above zero and every step came with a surprise.

🎒 The Gear – What I Carried

📦 In the backpack:

✅ Drone – to film the mountain, but also as an excuse for breaks.

✅ 2 L of water – in a thermos, but weight is a factor.

✅ Fleece, headlamp, protein bars, first-aid kit – because you never know what might happen.

✅ Gaiters, microspikes, survival blanket, bear spray, taser – just in case. None of them was needed.

✅ Ski goggles and sunglasses – because the snow glares enough to blind you.

👕 On me:

✅ Waterproof trousers, winter boots – to avoid turning into a snowman.

✅ Base layer, softshell, beanie, buff – layer upon layer, the perfect combination.

🍽️ End of the Hike – Grandma's Cooking vs. Any Restaurant

After a hike in which I burned 1,994 calories, it was clear that I had to recover somehow. And where better to eat than at grandma's?

📌 Menu: Roasted salmon with potatoes and mujdei (Romanian garlic sauce). Finger-licking good.

I'm not saying restaurants aren't good, but when you have food like grandma makes, no fancy menu impresses you anymore.

🏁 Conclusion – Muntele Mare Without Snow? Kind of Sad…

📌 Is the hike worth doing? Yes, but only if you have the right gear for ice.

📌 Is it worth paying for parking? No, if you arrive early and park for free.

📌 Is it worth climbing just for the snow? No. If you want a real winter hike, better pick another mountain.

🔥 Will I go back? Sure. But I hope that next time winter does its job and brings more snow!

💡 Want to Climb Muntele Mare in Winter Too? Quick Tips:

✅ Bring microspikes! Ice is everywhere.

✅ Don't count on lots of snow. Better to lower your expectations.

✅ If you want to park for free, go to the far end of the resort.

✅ If you're lucky, the military unit's dog might escort you.

Have you been up Muntele Mare in winter? Tell me in the comments how you found it! 🚀