Precautions

When you are ready to go and you’ve planned your way up, it’s best to inform the mountain patrol of your intentions and your route as well as your expected time of arrival at your end destination. That way, if something goes wrong and the mountain patrol mounts a rescue operation, they will know approximately where to look for you and not roam about the mountains blind. If your fellow climber gets injured, you may improvise a stretcher by getting two wooden sticks or poles, two inches thick and around two metres in length.

Take two jackets, place them facing each other at the collar, then slide the wooden poles through the sleeves. Securing them with para-cord it will serve as a sound stretcher. Don’t ever leave your mate unless you are certain you can return inside five hours. Mountain Rescue Patrol emergency hotline numbers are 1470 – for Mtel, Vivatel and 02 963 2000 – BTC and all other operators. International EU emergency call: 112

On the move
Starting off at 7am from Borovets, the climb will take you through a thick forest, along the ski slopes leading all the way to the top gondola station at Yastrebets. The tree line is covered predominantly with coniferous species such as European Black Pine, Scots Pine, Macedonian Pine, Spruce, Bulgarian Fir and reaches an approximate altitude of about 2000m. Up to 2400m is the sub-alpine line, dominated by Mountain Pine and Juniper whose size decrease as the altitude rises. The alpine line is situated above 2400m, covered with grass, moss, lichen and windswept grassland and rocks. The climb to Yastrebets will require about three-and-a-half hours tabbing.

To avoid degenerating into fatigue, establish a system of resting for 10 minutes after every 50 minutes of climbing, even if you are not tired at the beginning. Climbing straight for four hours will drain your energy a lot faster. Once at the top station, the towering summit of Musala is directly to your front and left, below it a large valley with an expansive lake, called Ledeno Ezero (Icy Lake) situated just under the mountain. To reach it, follow the path from the lift station that will take you across the four Markudjik ski slopes, an easy, almost horizontal hike of one hour and 45 minutes. If you have reached the lake and the lodge by 12.30pm, having started at 7am in the morning, then you are doing just fine.

From the lake, the path will twist up and rightwards with the slope increasing significantly.

You must negotiate (carefully) an extensive stone-river and scattered boulders. Following the winter marking, upwards, you will reach the col of the mountain, where winds are likely to increase substantially. Once there, over a towering valley, a beautiful blue lake will greet you with its cold waters and rugged peaks around it. Keep traversing along its left bank; the path will remain steep and rugged, reaching Zaslon Everest, or the Everest Shelter, the last outpost of civilisation before the final attack of the summit, 90 minutes away.

Once you pass Everest Shelter, you will start climbing the shoulder of the summit, the ridge, which is steep and covered with boulders. If this ridge proves a little too much for you, the path is secured with a steel cable traversing the winter marking poles along the trail. Continue until, eventually, you see the silhouette of the weather observatory and the nuclear (yes, nuclear research observatory) on top of the summit.

Words cannot describe the view from the highest mountain in the Balkans, but if you catch serene weather and good visibility, you could be forgiven if your jaw drops to the ground. Some say, you can see the Aegean Sea from there and Greece. Personally, I never saw it due to clouds and obstructed visibility. In extreme situations, horrendous winds, rain and fog, and no chance of a safe descent, the man running the observatory could offer you assistance by letting you sleep inside the common area of the station on the floor.

But it’s best to avoid climbing in extreme weather. Rain and wind are not insurmountable; one can easily get down carefully, but never attempt to do so in thick fog. Fog is only temporary, so seek shelter beside or under a boulder, dig in, cover yourself up, eat something, make a hot brew and sit it out. Alternatively, you face the possibility of walking blind, getting lost, or even worse, walking off a cliff.