In the fresh, cold mountain air, two Romanians go international and elevate diplomacy to new meanings

Two friends start climbing the world’s peaks, higher and higher. During the process, they discover the mountains inside them. “I am 30,” replies Tiberiu Pintilie after thinking for a bit. “Damn it, I almost forgot my age.” “Do you still feel young?” “Youth is subjective. Everything is subjective. In the Tian Shan Mountains, we climbed with a 79-year old Russian man who had escalated 7000m peaks one hundred times. He was a pensioner and a guide for tourists. Just like somebody would guide the tourists in Sinaia, only that he was doing it at 7000m,” says Tiberiu - who also goes by the short Tibi. “We could not keep pace with him. He had such a great spirit,” adds 28-year old Adrian Fako. The two men are the creators of Adventure Diplomacy, a project that wants to combine networking with mountain climbing. Tiberiu and Adrian recently organized a workshop in the Kazbegi region in Georgia, where 12 young leaders from the Black Sea region met and tried to hike mountains and create links. The mountains are a big test for human relationships, the two friends say. “Up on the mountain, in harsh conditions, you are who you truly are.” The Turquoise Goddess changes lives Adrian Fako (pictured below) has inherited his adaptability from his mother. She has worked all her life in two companies that closed. She found herself in a difficult situation: she was a jobless woman in her 50s. But her son brought her down to earth. “At 50 you are not retired yet. You have a laptop and starting tomorrow, you’ll learn how to use Google Docs.” She is now working at the Impact Hub in Bucharest, a working place for startups, as an accountant for Adrian’s digital agency.