One of the few places suitable for rock climbing in Moldova is Cobani. The village is in the north of the country, in Glodeni District. On its edge there are toltres about 12 meters high – Stînca Mare.
По-русски: Скалолазание в Кобани · În română: Escaladă în Cobani.
Getting there
The easiest way is to go by car from Chișinău or Bălți.
The village has water wells and shops. You can pitch a tent right below or above the rocks.
Climate
You can climb in any dry season when it is above freezing. The crag gets sun from 13:00 until evening, so it is hot in summer and late spring. It is often windy.
History and Route Development
Since the 1980s, hikers and mountaineers from Bălți have trained here, as well as in Butești. In 2006 the Mountaineering Club of Moldova held the Moldovan Rock Climbing Championship here.
I visited in autumn 2017 and was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the rock. In June 2018, a group of climbers from Chișinău and I bolted several sport routes here.
The routes are equipped with glue-in bolts. The anchors are just two bolts with no chain, but you can lower off them directly. We plan to add chains later.
Climbing routes
Warning! Rocks can fall from above. Be sure to wear a helmet, belay from a safe place, be careful. Especially after rain and away from the routes.
The sport climbing and bouldering sectors are listed below. The boulders circled with white dots have potential for new problems.
Bolted sport routes are marked in red; a triangle marks the anchor. Dashed white lines are top-rope-only routes. Blue lines are boulder problems.
Sadovyj (Garden)
The first sector on the left.
| № | Name | Sector | Type | Difficulty | Length | Quickdraws | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rassvet (Dawn) | Sadovyj | lead | 6b | 10m | 5 | 2018 | |
| 2 | Cracker | Sadovyj | lead | 5b+ | 10m | 5 | 2021 | Bolted by ProRock Moldova in 2021 |
| 3 | Covid-19 | Sadovyj | lead | 5a+ | 10m | 8 | 2018 | 5c if you don't use left corner |
| 4 | Nojabr' (November) | Sadovyj | lead | 5b+ | 10m | 5 | 2018 |
Ptichij (Birds)
| № | Name | Sector | Type | Difficulty | Length | Quickdraws | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Al'ternativa (Alternative) | Ptichij | lead | 5c | 12m | ? | 2018 | |
| 6 | Kto tam? (Who's there?) | Ptichij | lead | 6a | 12m | 5 | 2018 | |
| 7 | Satisfaction | Ptichij | lead | 6a+ | 12m | 6 | 2018 | |
| 8 | Olimp |
Ptichij | lead | 6b+ | 16m | - | 2020 | |
| 9 | Highway (Left) | Ptichij | lead | 5c | 16m | - | 2020 | |
| 10 | Highway (Right) | Ptichij | lead | 6a+ | 16m | - | 2020 | |
| 11 | Păcală | Ptichij | top rope | 6a | 13m | ? | 2020 | First bolt is 4 meter high, use stick to clip. Common bolts with route #11 |
| 12 | Tîndală | Ptichij | top rope | 6a+ | 13m | 6 | 2020 | First bolt is 4 meter high, use stick to clip. Common bolts with route #10 |
To set up a top rope on routes 6-10, walk around to the top of the rocks.
Routes 6-8 can be climbed from the same top rope. Build a natural anchor: thread slings through the holes in the rock and sling the big boulder.
For routes 9-10, extend the anchor about 15 meters from a tree and tie it into the old anchor.
Hobot (Trunk)
Bouldering sector
| № | Name | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Batman | 6b |
| 14 | Noname | 6b |
| 15 | Hobot (Trunk) | 5b |
Credits
The routes were bolted by:
- Karen Grigorean
- Valentina Cozireva
- Nikolay Cozirev
- Danil Zarubin
- Daria Shanina
- Denis Statkevich
- Marina Mikitenko
- Valentyn Kotelnikov
- Mihail Scerbatiuc
- A new 5b route was bolted by ProRock Moldova in 2021 in Sadovyj (Garden)
If you have any comments, suggestions or additional information, please contact me on instagram.
Change Log
17.08.2020 – Added five new sport routes in the Ptichij sector.
21.09.2025 – Added information about a new 5b route in Sadovyj (Garden).