Foundation Conservation Carpathia supports Asociația Montană Carpați (AMC) and Salvamont Argeș in the restoration of mountain refuges in the Făgăraș Mountains. The first refuge built through this partnership is in Șaua Scării. Through this partnership, Conservation Carpathia aims to support the reconstruction of at least one shelter per year by covering the costs of air transport for the construction of shelters and parts of mountain refuges.
The new Scara shelter will be built on the site of the old shelter, in Șaua Scării, at an altitude of 2,146 m, close to Negoiu Peak (2,535 m) and Custurii Sărății (one of the most exposed and difficult sections of the Făgăraș Mountains) and will be open to hikers in August 2023. It will have a surface area of 36 m2, divided into two areas – a hallway and a common room with a dining and sleeping area – and will accommodate between 15 and 18 people. Work on the Scara shelter began in the summer of 2021 with the clearing of the platform of the disused shelter and the preparation of the foundation for the site of the new shelter. The project is the result of collaboration between a team of architects, engineers, mountaineers, NGOs, public and private institutions. The old Scara shelter was destroyed in 2018, most likely by extreme weather events.
“The support of Foundation Conservation Carpathia makes us very happy,” says Marius Coviltir, President of the Asociația Montană Carpați “and helps us to look forward to improving other parts of the impressive Făgăraș Ridge. We’ll then look to other places where the mountain shelter infrastructure has suffered or is non-existent and is needed. We believe that the safety of people in a complex, imposing natural area – with difficult passages – such as these mountains, has its place as part of the wider conservation mission of Foundation Conservation Carpathia. People who feel safe in the mountains will return and appreciate what they see around them more, will want to contribute to their protection and, why not, perhaps become ambassadors for the area.”
“We are protecting what we love so much, the wild nature of the Făgăraș Mountains, but we want people to come to the mountains to reconnect with nature through safe hiking, say Christoph and Barbara Promberger, Executive Directors of the Conservation Carpathia Foundation. “Together with the Asociația Montană Carpați and the Salvamont Argeș, we are in the process of restoring the refuges in the Făgăraș Mountains, and we support them with their air transport. Together we want to build at least one shelter per year and thus contribute to the development of the infrastructure of the future Făgăraș Mountains National Park.”
The Făgăraș Mountains are among the most spectacular and difficult mountains in the Romanian Carpathians. The Făgăraș ridge is 95 km long and has 7 peaks over 2,500 m. The mountain refuges provide shelter for hikers in case of bad weather, accidents and also for overnight shelter. In the Făgăraș Mountains there are more than 10 shelters, many of which are not operational due to wear and tear or vandalism.
About Foundation Conservation Carpathia
Foundation Conservation Carpathia is the largest nature conservation project in Europe helping to restore natural ecosystems in the Carpathian Mountains for the benefit of biodiversity and local communities. Since 2009, the Romanian Foundation has saved over 27,000 hectares of forests and alpine meadows in the south-eastern Southern Carpathians from deforestation, acquired them for conservation purposes, planted over 4 million seedlings across 1,991 hectares affected by deforestation, and created a 78,000-hectare no-hunting and trophy hunting zone. The Foundation contributes to the well-being of the communities surrounding the protected forests through social, educational and green business development projects, and its long-term vision is the creation of the Făgăraș Mountains National Park.
