As you might have heard Earth is warming up therefore this winter season the powder snow in Brasov is a hard deal. Finding this proverbial pow is translated in watching the weather reports, speaking with local riders about the snow levels in different mountain ranges, and heading out in the mountains with mixed results.
Previous winter seasons were more generous in the precipitation department, and pow snow wasn’t such a rare sighting. Either you liked to stay close to a ski resort or enjoyed the adventure of a more remote mountain you had a wide list to choose from. But not this season, when the warm temperatures and low precipitations levels made it quite hard to find powder snow. Not impossible though! What you need is patience! Below you can read about our 3 day adventure finding the good snow in Brasov.
Best locations close to Brasov when looking for pow:
- Ciucas Mountains
- Fagaras Mountains
- Bucegi Mountains
Luckily all these 3 mountains ranges are close to Brasov and nearby villages so you should probably set your based camp somewhere around here where a wide range of accommodation is available (hotels, hostels, apartments for rent, AirBnb or Booking) and transportation is accessible by car, train or buses.
Careful though, if it’s your first visit here please plan ahead and make sure you know what you’re getting into. Many novice tourists are caught off guard in the mountains, finding themselves in dangerous situations needing help from Salvamont teams (the Romanian mountain rescue teams).
1st day of our pow quest
We’ve met our two tourists (one from Bucharest, the other from Belgium) at our shop in Piata Unirii 7, Brasov for the splitboard setup (choosing the right splitboards, technical instructions, gearing up the avalanche kit) and then we’ve head out to Ciucas Mountains. We’ve left the car in the Bratocea Pass, where we had a short brief on how to use the the avalanche equipment, safety rules and started to climb to the main ridge on the splitboards. Our guests’ hopes for pow snow were blasted but we had a sunny day with some good snow to enjoy. We’ve rode 3 different tracks with different snow quality, some valleys and some descents through the forests made our day in Ciucas Mts a success nonetheless.
Skins on 
Splitboard setup 
Quest for pow
2nd day of our pow quest
Our luck changed from bad to worse on the second day as the sunny weather changed to rain in Brasov. In the mountains the forecast announced some snowfall so we’ve braced the crappy weather in Ciucas Mountains again. Despite we considered changing the riding location we’ve stuck with Ciucas for safety reasons. For the second day tour we had some guys who we’ve first met them last summer when they came in Brasov for mountain biking tours. They were really nice and didn’t mind the bad weather and we’ve decided to keep at finding that powder snow in Brasov county.
Did we find powder snow in Brasov?
Sunday morning we had the lowest expectations. We were pretty sure we won’t find any pow snow anywhere. My girlfriend and I decided to give Bucegi Mts a try. Close to Brasov, only 50 minute drive away, we’ve found a bluebird sky with perfect conditions for a relaxing ride to recharge. After two cloudy days, seeing the sun was a welcoming surprise, and not the only one. We’ve found a valley protected by the shade and full of fresh untouched snow. Despite the staggering 7 °C outside this valley offered us what we have we been looking for, namely the perfect pow snow. We descended on this perfect snow from the valley and then through the forest which drew some big smiles on our faces. It was a 2 km riding with 500 meters elevation.
Conclusions and tips
The lesson of this 3-days quest for powder in Brasov is simple:
- Quality spots for riding can be found if you choose the right mountain and the right valley;
- The less sun the snow gets, the best is for riding;
- If you’re vising Romania, make sure to ask the locals;
- Watch the weather forecast every day, the weather can turn from sunny to snowy to rainy very quickly;
- Don’t lose hope!
Make sure to share your tips in the comment section below and tell us about your own pow quests.
