Nepal became a well known touristic and mountaineering destination because of Everest and other high, famous mountains around it. It is probably the only country in the world with an economy relying so much on comercial mountaineering expeditions and trekking tours. While most of the tourists concentrate around Everest and Annapurna regions, the rest of Nepal Himalaya still offers a lot of potential for adventures, discovery and alpine challenges. In my search for something "interesting", for technical peaks, unknown mountain faces or new lines I felt attracted by the Rolwaling valley, East of Khumbu. This quite remote valley, is not famous for expeditions or high peaks, but in a small circle of climbers it became known for a few alpine ascents and modern style exploratory expeditions. So, I searched deep enough, gathered information from American, Slovenian and Spanish climbers that visited the area before, I found an interesting 6000 m peak, an unclimbed North face (I hope) and set up for quite a big challenge. This project started with a lot of unknown however, slowly, the puzzle started to solve and hopefully by the end of this trip I'll manage to have the full picture of a nice alpine [...]

Wherever I plan to climb next, on a mountain in a remote place, at high altitude, or at the end of the world, I still spend most of my time climbing on the "old continent", in the Alps. These mountains are actually the birthplace of all alpine disciplines, of both my passion and my profession. Most of the pages in the history of alpinism were written here, through first ascents, heroic feats, and development of climbing styles. Climbing an iconic, classic or beautiful route doesn't only mean climbing the mountain but also discovering a part of the climbing culture, of the local ethics, of the level and climbing styles... it greatly enriches your experience. Alps' Classic and Famous is a project that actually continues some of the climbs I have done in the past (see below), a search and discovery for other challenges. Choosing them will not be based on the actual difficulty of the climb but more on its aesthetics, style and fame. The project will probably not find it's end soon, and I hope it will represent a nice collection of routes, that will grow year by year. To start with, here are a few ascents that [...]

Patagonia is at the end of the world and there, nature has shaped some of the most spectacular and difficult mountains to climb. The granite towers, icey chimneys, glaciated valleys and one of the most cruel weather systems on earth require combined mountain climbing skills and great technical abilities from any mountain climber. Patagonia is a place where new styes of climbing were invented and where climbers have shown for decades that imposssible is actualy possible. This project that has just started -  "Patagonia, Climbing at the end of the world" is powered by Garmin Cluj. Follow my blog, Facebook and Instagram accounts for the trip updates. Photo sorce: Wikimedia Commons. This graphic is a derivative work from "Cerro Torre" by Alex Proimos, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. PROJECT PARTNER GEAR PARTNER

Any passionate mountain climber or alpinist develops their passion in a certain way. Every activity, climb or expedition adds to one's personal experience in the outdoors and contributes to opening new perspectives on what one is capable of climbing next. By setting a distant goal, we allow ourselves time to set an ideal path to that aim and to focus on every intermediate objectives on the way. Climbing in Yosemite, then moving South to Patagonia and then to the distant Himalayas, is more than a mountain project for me, it's a path towards one of my personal goals: to be able to climb hard technical climbs in some of the most beautiful, challenging and remote places on earth. For this I have set 3 main stages, each of them representing personal challenges and personal performances, activities supposed to test myself and push me out of my comfort zone. Yosemite Valley in the United States is probably one of the most known rock climbing destinations on earth, and has some of the biggest compact rock walls on the planet. Climbing the big wall routes on El Capitan or Half Dome is tough and doing it in good style it's a mastery of the big wall climbing techniques... a perfect step [...]

“Aventuri Alpine 2015” este un circuit de activități montane care se vor desfășura în 4 zone alpine din Europa si in Africa. In cadrul celor 4 etape din circuit mi-am propus sa realizez ascensiuni si escalade cat mai variate, de un grad tehnic ridicat incercand sa pastrez si un caracter inedit, original. De la catararea unor spectaculoase cascade de gheata la ascensiune celor mai mari pereti nordici din Alpi, la escalada sportiva in cele mai dezvoltate faleze din Europa de Est si incheind cu o expeditie in Muntii Atlas din nordul Africii in incercarea de a parcurge cel mai dificil traseu de escalada pe care l-am incercat pana in prezent, proiectul are ca scop promovarea acestor sporturi alpine si pune accent pe depasirea propriilor limite si pe spiritul de aventura. Etape: 1. Ascensiunea cascadei Mordor - Bad Gastein, Austria 2. Peretele Nordic al Grande Jorasse si Peretele Nordic al Eiger-ului 3. Ciurcuitul de escalada din Europa de Est 4. Expeditie Muntii Atlas - Taghia, Maroc / proiect realizat cu sprijinul  Casei de Investiții Alianța

Climb Again in Taghia, Morocco 2014 Team: Cosmin Andron, Mihnea Prundeanu, Claudiu Miu, Hargur Jaggi, Nora Dorian / Organiser: Alpine Style Expeditions for Climb Again Sponsors: Hope and Homes for Children Romania, ASSOC Association / Equipment: Climbing Shop, Tendon, Goal Zero Climb Again is a bet that we made with anyone who didn't believe that people with special needs can do amazing things despite their condition. Claudiu Miu is ready to prove it again - with Hargurvarinder Singh Jaggi, an Indian climber who was born with a congenital abnormality in the left arm and hand. The former balkan and national champion is going on a climbing expedition in Morocco and the team will carry the Climb Again message and the optimism that this could be the story of anyone. BEYOND LIMITS is a story about two disabled young men trying to prove there is no limit when it comes to fulfilling a dream they believe in. Claudiu (RO) and Jaggi (IN) met for the first time in a place they had never been before and tried to reach a summit together. Their expedition to Morocco is a way of drawing international attention towards the cause they both believe in: improving the [...]

Mount Denali, Alaska, USA I always thought that Alaska is one of those objectives that you have to have on your list of "must see places" especially if you are a mountaineer, geographer, traveller or if you simply love wild nature. In May, this year, I have been able to accomplish this dream by joining a team of climbers from Alpine Style Expeditions for an expedition to climb Mount Denali. This massive North American mountain is very popular among many climbers and especialy for those interested in the "7 summits" project. But my goal was not to tick this summit from a list but to discover the place, to have a first contact with the High Alaskan Range and to see how my body adapts to climbing in cold conditions in such a wild and distant place. The feeling of being in these mountains and among such a vast area of wilderness is to be really tiny and helpless against mother nature's will. During our climb we came across some really unstable weather, with precipitation and high winds high on the mountain, almost every day. We were unable to find the perfect day for the summit bid during our short stay [...]

Climbathon 2013, Bara Shigri Glacier, Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India Team: Mihnea Prundeanu (instructor), Cosmin Andron (instructor), Vasile Dumitrica (student) During July 20 and August 10 2013 we took part in the "Climbathon 2013" an event organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. Apart from our Romanian team, Dr. Paul Schweizer from Scotland/USA and three foreign students, all the other participants were from India. The event took place on the Bara Shigri area and aimed to facilitate the exchange of information between Indian mountaineers and Western mountaineers and also to focus on alpine style ascents of several peaks in the area. It was July and the town was no longer the place where i wanted to spend my time. My legs were hurting from walking too much on the hot asphalt and my mind was busy for too long to find ways of financing my two big expedition projects at the same time. I needed to escape, to cool down my mind and to let my body enjoy some mountain climbing. And then, Cosmin Andron let me know that we were invited to participate as instructors to "Climbathon 2013" [...]

Cordillera Blanca, Peru 2012Objective: alpine ascents on Alpamayo (5947m), Huandoy Norte (6395m) and Chakrarahu (6108m) Team: Mihnea Prundeanu, Claudiu Chiorean, Alexandru Prigoana, Alexandru Sava Cordillera Blanca mountain peaks have always attracted me. These mountains, very similar to the Himalayas but at a smaller scale, are offering very nice, technical and steep ascents. The easier access to the mountains and almost no bureaucracy to get permits like in the Himalayas allowed us to focus more on the style of climbing and less on the logistics and how to get to base camps. We have chosen a few technical routes to climb as our main objectives and even if we could not accomplish them all, we have ascended some pretty spectacular peaks and had really valuable experiences. More details about this expedition can be found below, in Romanian, in the words I have thought them back in 2012. Un nou pas spre culmi inalte... Putem spune despre Clubul Alpin Roman ca ne-a deschis o fereastra catre lumea muntelui, spre ramurile sale. Am cunoscut aceasta pasiune, am cunoscut frumusetile si provocarile sale si am ales sa continuam calea cunoasterii urcand cat "mai sus". Astazi, datorita evolutiei tehnologiei, accesul in zone [...]

Elbrus, Caucasus, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russian Federation | "Babes-Bolyai" University Scientific Expedition  Objective: Studying the impact of global warming upon mountain glaciers in the Caucasus region Team: Iulian Holobaca, Olimpiu Pop, Mihnea Prundeanu, Lucian Catargiu, Mihai Joimir, Daniel Bontea. I was still studying for my masters degree when this expedition took place. Professor Iulian Holobaca from the Geography Faculty in Cluj Napoca started a project where both teachers and students were collaborating. He was familiar with my mountaneering experience and to be honest I was really waiting for him to invite me to join the team. I was really happy to be part of a project were I my passion and my studies could meet. In inima Caucazului Central se ridica frumosul dom al celui mai inalt munte din Europa, Muntele Elbrus. Este un vulcan batran acoperit de un strat gros de gheata, dar care inca mai prezinta semne de activitate. In vecinatatea sa exista izvoare termale si periodic se pot simti emanatii de gaze vulcanice. Calatorind in jurul sau gasesti la tot pasul blocuri vulcanice imense, coloane de bazalt sau lava solidificata, semne ale puternicelor eruptii din trecut. Pentru ca Elbrus este considerat oficial cel mai inalt varf din Europa si este inclus pe lista "celor 7 varfuri", exercita [...]