Costila climbing area

Costila Peak is situated in Bucegi Mountains, in the south of Romania. With an altitude of 2490m, it is the 4th highest peak in Bucegi and one of the most atractive to climbers, as it is guarded by rock walls.



The peak is easily recognisable from Prahova Valley and the cities that reside in it, due to the radio-TV relay placed on top of it.

It is here that you will find the highest rock climbing wall in Romania, with 400 m of vertical climbing terrain: The Wall of the White Valley (Peretele Vaii Albe).

Key features:

Rock type: conglomerate
Climbing disciplines: multipitch
In place protections: mostly old pegs, some routes with new bolts.
Easiest access: from Busteni city
Accomodation: Costila bivuac (it is called a refuge in Romanian, but you will find bivuac conditions - if compared to Alps standards)
Trek to the Costila bivuac: 1-2h (depends on your fitness level and luggage)
Water source: 15-20 min from Costila bivuac (the spring is not rich in water, especially in dry seasons, so you might have to go even further from the hut for water)

Where can you climb in Costila Area:

There are 4 main rock walls that guard Costila refuge:

1. Vulturilor Wall (the eagal's wall) [E orientation]
2. Costila Wall (S orientation)
3. Galbenele Wall (N orientation)
4. White Valley Wall (S orientation)

Approach to Costila bivuac/refuge (not a marked trail)

Get to Busteni city and walk on Costila street up to the Alpine House (Caminul Alpin). Follow the trail marked with a red triangle, through the forrest, pass the wooden cross and where the red triangles goes right on a clear forrest road, you have to turn left.

You will follow a faded out trail, always keeping the ridge and having a valley (where you can hear water) on the left (it seems that somebody marked a part of the route with green phosphorescent dots on the trees). You will go mostly upward, not taking any drastic direction change. When you reach a clearing in the woods (where big boulders lie) turn a little right and then continue up through steeper terrain (nevertheless easy, through the forrest) until you find a water spring with a small bench next to it.

Right after the spring, you will reach a point that looks like this:

Pass the clearing and start traversing right. You will pass 2 small rock couloirs and reach a deep valley (Costila Valley). On the right shoulder (as you come) rests Costila refuge, so you will also have to pass the valley as wll.

Water sources: 
On trail that led you from Busteni city to Bivuac refuge, before you found the clearing from the picture above this paragraph, you met a water spring with a small bench next to it. This spring usually dries out during summer (and it is not very reliable in the rest of the year).

There is another spring further down the trail you followed, but as it is hard to explain it to somebody that doesn't know the area, I recommend you bring lots of water from Busteni (or learn which are the juicy plants that you can eat in the Carpathian Mountains :P)

Weather:
You can check the weather in the region here:

• Weather Underground
• Meteoblue
• Mountain Forecast