Anonimus - The longest and hardest multi-pitch climbing route in Vadu Crișului (Romania)

A multi-pitch route that has sparked passions and often hubris. The Owl's left eye instantly attracts everyone's attention once they reach the Crișul Repede gorge.

Brief history of the bolting process

It was hammered out in two years, between 1984 and 1986, from bottom to top with chisel and hammer, the authors being Adrian Paută, Teodor Borodan, and Marius Vecan.

There were days when you could only advance one bolt or less. For the last five meters before regrouping 4, 4 entries were required: a day of fruitless groping, a day of all kinds of measurements to design the nut and tendon (the tendon no longer exists), a day to fix the tendon, and then the giant nut, and entering the regroup.

The exit from regrouping 4 (R4) also required three days in a row, the ceiling crossing being done with some ropes fixed in several tiny hourglasses. Nowadays, it is possible to fix 15 cm long studs in friable rock, which cannot be done with a chisel.

We mention that at the exit on the face after the large overhang we found 2 old pitons, a sign that someone groped the place (probably coming from above and that's all). But that was a long time ago. In the meantime, the route has been redeveloped once and we present it as such below.

We don't know that the route was covered free climbing, but it was certainly done quite often without ladders.

The lower part, up to Poiana Suspendata, has beautiful technical free-climbing passages. Then, in the upper part, the rock is strongly overhanging and has few holds, so it is often unavoidable not to use the pitons as points of advance. Towards the end, especially in the last pitch, the route decreases in difficulty, allowing the climber to admire from above the largest wall in the area: the wall from Casa Zmeului.

The route is winding a lot, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right following the natural lines of the mountain. This is also the reason why the pitches are shorter and it is recommended to respect the regroupings.

First pitch (L1)

The route starts jointly with the Victoria route which goes obliquely to the left, additionally intersecting the Intersectat route - the original variant).

It starts up, on a dihedral barred by a ceiling. We cross under the eaves on the right, then up a face, until we reach a healthy hourglass in a niche, from where we cross over small holds a few meters to the right, where we catch a crack that takes us to a small, quite cramped threshold where we regroup.

Second pitch (L2)

Further, we cross to the left on a washed face to another hourglass. We descend 2 meters on a grassy threshold, after which we cross to the left on the edge of a ceiling until we catch a crack that climbs slightly overhanging and obliquely to the left. A clean face follows, with fine intakes, which brings us to a comfortable threshold, in a small niche.

Third pitch (L3)

We leave the regrouping on a dihedral that starts a little overhanging. At the end of the dihedral, we go out to the right on the ridge. Then we continue on the ridge and cross diagonally to the left to a tank. From here we cross the Hanging Glade to the base of the wall below the Owl's Left Eye.

At this point, the Intersectat route comes from the left (next to the wall) and goes further to the right (also next to the wall). From here, on a washed-out face, a line of old studs climbs (the Concurs route), which was a super final at a traditional local contest. But we turn 2-3 meters to the right and find a crack that goes up a threshold from which we exit to the left in a great pulpit where the great overhang begins. Here we regroup just below the overhang.

Fourth pitch (L4)

We start up a washed-out and very exposed dihedral. We catch a stone curtain with pinched holds from which we cross a few meters to the left on a washed-out face that can force you to switch from free climbing to alpine climbing.

Next, the route arcs diagonally upwards to the left towards a vertically perforated cap in full overhang. From here the route arches upwards and increasingly overhanging but to the right. We advance to the Eagle's Nest, another and larger hat drilled vertically, this time into the ceiling. Further on we find a crack with a nut the size of a helmet under which there was once a metal tendon. We are going to cross briefly to the right and we enter the hut where we regroup with our feet hanging in the void. The follower sees only the legs of the lead, the rest of the body being hidden in the cap. This regroup is kind of small for 3 people with the second follower forced to stay a bit lower in an intermediate bolt.

Fifth pitch (L5)

We leave the Eagle's Nest crossing the overhang to the left. Then we come out on an overhanging face where we start to find good holds. We continue vertically with a corridor with enough vegetation on the right and a washed and overhanging face on the left. Then, a little higher, the left face is split by a clear crack that crosses it to the left almost to the ridge. This section is called the Great Traverseu. We engage on this crack where our fingers can fit and we cross to the left 15-20 meters of the entire washed and overhanging face above the Owl's Left Eye, up to the ridge.

3-4 meters before the crest, the Great Traverse is intersected by the Victoria route, which emerges vertically on a corridor. Many regroup before the ridge and exit the couloir without completing the full route. The Anonimus route, however, passes the insurance line in Victoria another 3-4 meters to the left. It then descends 2 meters on a dihedral into a niche on the ridge completely suspended above the gorge. Here we regroup.

Sixth pitch (L6)

We cross from the ridge to the left for a few meters exiting the Great Wall and then keep an upward slant to the left. The holds appear more and more generously. The view is almost alpine, bringing a bit of a really big wall. We are going to orient ourselves up the thresholds where there are also traces of vegetation. We continue to the end of an open dihedral, facing right and where the compact wall ends. It is possible to continue without regrouping on the grassy verges into the forest but you run the risk of the rope coming very hard and spoiling your enjoyment of the last pitch. As a result, a regroup here with the exit of the second to change to lead for the last pitch is recommended.

Last pitch (L7)

We leave the wall in a small amphitheater with vegetation continuing slightly obliquely and always to the right looking for rocky thresholds. At the end, we come out at the edge of the forest at the highest rocky point in the Great Walls. At our feet, we have the whole panorama of the gorge.