Ciortea

Ciortea (Romanian Muntele Ciortea, German Hohe Scharte, Hungarian Csortea) is a mountain in the western Făgăraș with three close summits, the highest of which, Ciortea West (Ciortea 1), reaches 2,427 m. It stands on the main ridge, on the border of Sibiu and Vâlcea counties. According to Munții Noștri, the Ciortea–Boia group is the last cluster of summits above 2,400 m in the west of the Făgăraș: here the ridge stays above that height for about 400 m.

Below the mountain's north face lies the glacial Lake Avrig, and long spurs run north towards the Olt valley. Ciortea is the first of three groups of high summits in the western Făgăraș, each with “its own” lake and hut: Ciortea–Boia with Lake Avrig and the Bârcaciu hut, then further east Negoiu–Lespezi–Călțun and Vânătarea lui Buteanu–Capra above Lake Bâlea.

How to get there / routes

The usual approach is from the north, from the town of Avrig. According to Munții Noștri, 14 km of road (10 km paved, then a good forest road) lead to the Poiana Neamțului guesthouse (706 m); its first building went up in 1906 for the border guards who watched the then Austro-Hungarian–Romanian border on the Făgăraș ridge. From there a path climbs 844 m to the Bârcaciu hut, then onto the broad Scărișoara ridge with small nival niches and tarns reflecting Negoiu and the Tunsului ridge, and traverses below Scara peak to the Curmătura de Vest a Gârbovei saddle (2,149 m) on the main ridge.

From the saddle a red cross leads up – first along a grassy crest, then over a short, steep rocky step below the top; according to Romanian Wikipedia the path was waymarked by volunteers of the Ecouri Verzi association in August 2013. It ends on Ciortea East, marked by a cairn. The whole route from Poiana Neamțului is, according to Munții Noștri, 24.8 km with about 1,960 m of ascent and 8:45–10:30 hours of walking. You can return along the main ridge (red stripe), which crosses the steep north face of Ciortea on a partly exposed path down to Lake Avrig, and from there to the Bârcaciu hut.

What you see from the summit

According to Munții Noștri, from Ciortea East you see Lake Avrig in its cirque and the main ridge with Scara, Ciortea West and Vârtopu Roșu, and further away the eastern Făgăraș. The authors of an autumn route description also list Negoiu, Lespezi, Cozia, Buila-Vânturarița, Parâng, Retezat and Cindrel in the panorama.

Nature and history

The heights of Ciortea's three summits differ between sources. According to Munții Noștri, the western summit is marked 2,427 m on all maps, although it carries only a cairn; on the eastern one a plaque also says 2,427 m, but maps give it 2,419 m, and the middle summit, which has no settled name, is about 2,425 m. Neighbouring Boia is given 2,431 m on some maps and only 2,426 m on others.

Lake Avrig lies at about 2,011 m; according to Romanian Wikipedia it covers 1.47 ha, is up to 4.5 m deep and about 180 m long. The Avrig river flows out of it. The lake is a favourite overnight spot for those walking the ridge from Suru to Negoiu, and there is a spring. A separate blue-dot path leads to it from the Bârcaciu hut – about 3 hours and 800 m of ascent past two glacial cirque steps.

Safety, season and rules

The Făgăraș ridge is the Natura 2000 site “Munții Făgăraș” (ROSCI0122), not a national park; follow its regulations and keep to marked paths. The traverse of Ciortea's north face is partly exposed and difficult in bad weather. In winter Munții Noștri lists the summit path as inaccessible without special equipment; snow hides the waymarks, and below the Bârcaciu hut you can see avalanche damage – follow the bulletin at meteoromania.ro. In summer beware of thunderstorms on the open ridge.

Bears are common in the Făgăraș: stay on marked paths, call out, do not keep food in your tent by the lake, and do not run from dogs near sheepfolds. In an emergency call the national dispatch 0SALVAMONT – 0725 826 668 or 112; advice is on the Salvamont România website.

Photos: Hardsr, Public domain; Hardsr, Public domain; Hardsr, Public domain; Krzysztof Dudzik-Górnicki (User:ToSter), CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.