Chronicle of a Winter Story

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec said: “Autumn is Winter Spring” …

After a couple of days of intense frost, it was specially coming from Siberia to hate winter, and sunny days appeared, spreading some of the heat to the frozen ground.
The snow of an immaculate white, provocative shine which prompted me to propose for a couple of days in the mountains together with my soul friends. It is obvious that I thought of the wonderful landscapes that will get rid of daily stress, and why not a bit of mountain fun that would have been beneficial to my lost soul.
I did not think about what was going to happen. Obviously we gathered about seven people, 3 girls and 4 boys, determined to have fun, mountain games, and inevitable snowballing battles. I was the usual band (team) tied to an indestructible friendship that had been sedentary for years and years.

We got into the train station of the North Train Station, a personal train that was moving hard and hard, stopping in all the rails, but with a special quality … we could go with the “Nose”, meaning no tickets. I had the hope that the “Nose” would be benevolent as always with the students, because our budget was just for a journey away and not back.
Of course we did not have a plan, where to go, where to sleep or where to eat, anyway it does not matter because we were prepared from home with some food, canned, onion, cheese, and smoked bacon brought by a colleague’s mother who lived in the country. That’s what we always do when escaping either to the sea or the mountain.
Well, the hottest thing was vodka from the backpack, because at that time it was not very much on the market, and it was a lot of effort from our group girls who managed to do it, I do not know how to trick the sellers in the shops. They were taking it discreetly out of the stack, without observing the other buyers. It is easy to understand that I was before ’89.

He said, we said that we will go down to Predeal, and there we will decide at which cottage we will go.
The train moved, and after an appreciable distance, I grew green and asked, “Brothers, did you take the cards?” They all looked a little strange to me, to the girl I did, and they said, “What you seem to have, I took 2 packs of 52 books, and I do not think they will get for a lecture total and profound of them, unless you want to read the jokers!”
I burst into a provocative laugh and I quiet in a moment. Now, do not imagine that I was going to read, honestly I was going to play canasta and that only in the evening at coffee and vodka because the day had other more funny plans. They all laughed at me, but if they were not the beasts I do not know what I would have done.
I was looking at the window of the train compartment to the adorable landscape that unfolded in front of the sequential eyes as an adventure film, everything white and enchanting.
Finally, after two hours and a while, I got to Predeal. The train station was very agitated because we were not the only ones eager for mountain adventures. We came out of the station and outside we gathered that at a brief glance to decide what to do. Someone says shy, “Do not you think we’d better go to a pub, eat a stomach soup, drink a beer, and decide where to take it?” Good idea, the proposal was beneficial knowing that I left home in the morning without eating anything. However, we were not willing to waste a lot of time but on the contrary to do everything fast to enjoy as much fun as possible and why not get the best weather for winter and winter in general is like a capricious woman what changes their feelings in what makes you wonder.

At the table stand at the table is the idea to go to Malaiesti Chalet, because we knew the route very well, it was not too far from Predeal so we would not have walked too much on foot, and it was located in a beautiful area at the altitude of approx. 1700 meters, the road up there is great and not too heavy. Everyone agreed, even though I knew from the beginning that it was not equipped with light, but the installation had a diesel generator, which was most likely to start the cabin lighting.
After I ate, I walked down the road from Three Trees Cabins, knowing that at some point we would take the left not too far, through the forest to Malaiesti, on a path through the fir trees. We admire with great pleasure the forest covered by a thick bed of snow. Walking was quite easy given the fact that he was accompanied by shouts and jokes of joy while listening to the echo generated by the forest. The leader of the group was chosen because I knew the road, the weather was beautiful and we had nothing to fear … but just not have the unpleasant surprise to meet with some hungry bear in the forest.

The landscape was marvelous to a winter story with fairies and elves, snow on the branches of the fir trees as a Christmas tree, the sky of intense blue sky without clouds.
I was walking in the Indian way on the trail, warning friends in time not to deviate from the set route as nature traps hidden under the snow, ruin our day. The path I was walking was marked by the steps, because the first cottage we were to meet up to Malaiesti was a military hunting lodge of the mountain hunters, and to which we were not the usual mortals. It was considered military unit. From there, there was much more to go than a clock and something, the trail this time being a little more dangerous but not too many traps.
At one point a soldier appeared who asked us, “Brothers where are you going?” to which I told him that at Malaiesti! “Be still very careful at the bridge at the abyss because it is covered by an ice bridge!” “Do not worry, I replied, we are equipped with mountain and we will not have problems!” In fact, he wanted some cigarettes from us for asking: “Do you have a cigarette to give me?” “Yes, take a whole pack of Carpathians!”… “Thanks a lot to me with great joy in the soul! He would share with his colleagues” … “However, you worry, and hurry to get to the cottage because I received a message by station announce the storm!”

From the military cottage, the trail was no longer so wandering, but it was visible, which we were comfortable with, but we had to go with great care. We’ve come to the abyss. The bridge that crossed it was 45 degrees, it was anchored in the rock with metallic steel cables, but it was covered with an enough ice percolation if you did not watch the crossing, as the soldier from the military cottage had told us. We decided to cross, girl, and boys to help us in case of danger. It was not necessary because our support points were the metal anchor that helped us a lot. From here I still had a natural trap, this being a refuge in the rock, along the path that narrowed in front of him. The refuge was used by all tourists in case of danger or emergency situations in case of snow avalanches, in summer being used to eat a sandwich in a natural setting.

We approached the cottage, the scenery was wonderful, the snow shone, the trees shone. In a little meadow, I saw the cottage, and what impressed me most was that the smoke coming out on the chimney had an unusual, exotic dance, which told me that “Uncle” Pandele; the host was at the kitchen and prepared the food in eventual visit to tourists or madmen lost like us. On the right side was the Bucsoiu mountain, which, although covered by snow, was more accessible to us, the head of the Man in front of us, with a head in a cloud of gorgeous white clouds, and on the left a dense forest of horned scent smells like we were approaching the cottage. Absolute and gorgeous story. “But where were the fairies and the elves?” Well, the fairies were our girls, and the elves were the four town tricks. I knew “Uncle” Pandele a long time ago. When I went into the cottage I ran straight to the kitchen, to “Uncle” Pandele.

“”Uncle” Pandele, do you get us a day, too, in your cottage?” was the first question I asked him, he replied, “Do more guys, but what wind will bring me to this big snow?”… “Lust for fun, the pleasure of seeing the scenery and why not the bean food you make in your boiler! … uffff and how to say is great! …” Also says Uncle Pandele, the generator of the current does not work, so I cannot make the light in the cottage and cannot warm up only a room!”…” Very good “Uncle” Pandele, we do not want anything else!,” I answered cheerfully!” We will put candles and the candles and everything will be perfect, romantic as in your best days! “…” Have you been drinking? ““Uncle” Pandele asks,” I have something here but are too expensive for your pocket! ” … “It is possible, of course, that we have brought, and for you a bottle!”… “Thank you more guys, and now go and arrange the table because the beans are almost ready!” answers us…

And because the party was about to start, we all went out for a snowball fight to warm our souls and get the atmosphere as cool as possible, the mountain air was clean, the beautiful landscape, and the joy in all. What more could we like?
Then later we arranged the table and started with obvious vodka, which we blended with smoked bacon, cheese, red onion and “uncle” Pandele brought us a few slices of salami and assorted pickles, followed by beans with sausages and smoked. The pickles were made even by “uncle” Pandele, the vegetables being brought to him by Predeal with the backpack in his back and a mournful runt he had in the stable. Of course, I also gave her a dry fan of being able to participate in our party.
In the evening he left over the cottage, the mist of the night to appear with his “ghosts”, disturbed only by the wild animals’ screaming or the untrained song of the night birds. The appearance of the Moon after the peak Man made the landscape even more beautiful, the snow cloak shining in silver under its radiant rays. The landscape was a dream, the stars in the sky moving undisturbed, trained in their movement only the snowstorms, dancing in front of their eyes in thousands and thousands of lights.

Later on a few canasta games and vodka glasses, daytime tiredness demanded tribute. The hot air outside also. We went to sleep and the next day to choose the return route. We had several variants, but it seemed much more accessible to us by the escalation of the Bucsoiu peak that was easier, going from the top to Rasnov, with a distance of about 21 km.
We used some fir woods to make it easier to escalate, because we did not have skiing equipment, and were tied together with a cordon for special cases not to lose our colleague or colleague along the way.
“Uncle” Pandele warned us to be very careful about the ice bridges that were on the plate not to slip. But the great adventure would start without thinking about it, the mistake was that on the plateau we decided that we no longer needed the rope and loosened it.
God Great, pure misfortune, Sandu a colleague, inadvertently slipped on ice and stopped in a rock corner with his feet. Good Lord, he’s got his feet, and if he hit his head there, it would have stayed. The legs had a double fracture at each leg, so it was virtually impossible for us to transport it to the hospital in Brasov. And it was a long way to go. What to do?

We decided that one of us would go down to “uncle” Pandele to announce the Rescue, and in the meantime we would immobilize his feet in one way or another with what we had. The refuge was about 3 km from the cottage in the forest in a refuge specially built for emergencies. So they could move quickly to us especially because they were much more trained for this purpose than we did. Until the return of our colleague, we searched for fir branches to make a provisional bed (stretcher) with the rope we had, and from the cups we had, I immobilized both legs.
The colleague came with four guys from Rescue. They evaluated the situation and asked us what had happened. I told them in a few words they understood. I mean, at that time, we did not have mobile phones like now, so there was no way we could tell anyone. Finally, it was decided that the boys from Rescue took Sandu to Brasov in the urgent situation at the hospital and we six remained to continue our journey to Rasnov and from there by train to the house to announce through what we have gone through.

I do not want to say what was in my soul then! How did I feel when I saw Sandu with double fracture on both legs, and from what dangerous situation I passed. And yet God helped us and guided us further!
The road to Rasnov was not very difficult, but it was not lacking in other traps of nature, which is why I avoided it successfully.
And now, I remember this story, which I would have liked to be with a happy ending, as it had begun, a beautiful winter story … I meditated on the story, I cannot turn back the destiny, but just to pray to God, even if he does not care about anyone and no one will help him.
So it ended a beautiful and sad winter story…

Victor Hugo said, “I have winter on my head, but in my soul I have the eternal spring.”

November / 18/2017