Vihren
Other nameВихрен
Elevation2914 m
Prominence1783 m
ListingUltra
LocationBlagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria
RangePirin Mountains
Coordinates41°46′04″N 23°24′03″E
Easiest routeHike/scramble from Vihren refuge

Vihren (Bulgarian: Вихрен ˈvixrɛn) is the highest peak of Bulgaria's Pirin Mountains. Reaching 2,914 metres (9,560 ft), it is Bulgaria's second and the Balkans' third highest, after Musala and Mount Olympus.[1] Although Vihren is deprived of lakes and streams due to the karst topography, a number of Pirin's lakes are located around the peak, as is Europe's southernmost glacial mass, the Snezhnika glacieret.[2] Until 1942 Vihren was known as Eltepe (peak of storms); it was also called Buren (stormy) and Malnienosets (lightning-bringer).[3] The UNESCO World Heritage Site Pirin National Park was originally known as the Vihren National Park.[4] Vihren is included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria under No. 2.[5]

Geography

Vihren is situated in the northern subdivision of Pirin on the mountain's main ridge between the summits of Kutelo (2,908 m) to the north-west and Hvoynati Vrah (2,635 m) to the south-east.[3] It is connected with these two peaks via the saddles of Premkata (2,610 m) to the north and Kabata (2,535 m) to the south.[3] The summit is located between the valleys of the rivers Vlahina reka of the Struma drainage to the west and Banderitsa of the Mesta drainage to the east.[1]

Seen from the town of Bansko, situated at the foothills of Pirin to the north-east of Vihren, the peak looks like a truncated pyramid, and from the south — like а tetrahedral pyramid.[3] The summit is built up marbles[3] and has a karst topography which determines the lack of streams and lakes around Vihren. The closest lakes are the Vlahini Lakes to the south-west.[3] To the north are situated the deep and waterless cirques Golemiya Kazan and Malkiya Kazan, known as the Kazanite (the cauldrons).[3] Below the 450 m-high walls of Vihren facing Golemiya Kazan there is a small glacier called Snezhnika, which is Europe's southernmost glacial mass.[2][6] Its size in summer is 80x90 m.[7]

The average annual minimal temperature varies between –25° and –21°С, while the maximal temperatures are between 15° and 23°С. The mean annual precipitation is 1150 mm; the snow cover reaches depth of 3 m.[5] There is a meteorological station at 1,950 m.[5]

Wildlife

The wildlife is alpine. The flora of Vihren's slopes consists of herbaceous plants and lichens.[5] Vihren is home to a number of habitats, including alpine and sub-alpine open calcareous grasslands that at inclination of 30–45° at altitude over 2,500 m on the marble bedrock forms phytocenosis dominated by Sesleria korabensis,[8] and alpine and sub-alpine closed calcareous grasslands on very rocky bedrock.[9] With less abundance is the relict plant Carex rupestris; some plant communities have an abundance of Carex kitaibeliana and Sesleria coerulans.[8] There are also Alyssum cuneifolium, Bellardiochloa variegata, Bromus lacmonicus, Cerastium lanatum, Koeleria eriostachya, Onobrychis pindicola, Scutellaria alpina, Sesleria coerulans, etc.[9] Rare or endemic herbaceous plants that grow on the slopes of Vihren are edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum),[10] Pirin poppy (Papaver degenii),[11] Oxytropis urumovii,[12] Alyssum pirinicum,[13] Timmia norvegica,[14] Thymus perinicus,[15] etc.

The fauna includes various bird species, small mammals and abundant populations of chamois.[5]

Tourism

Vihren is among the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria under No. 2 and stamps to verify the visit can be found in the Museum of Nikola Vaptsarov in Bansko and in Vihren refuge.[5] The summit is part of the initiative of the Bulgarian Tourist Union "Conqueror of the Top Ten Mountain Peaks" to promote mountaineering.[16]

Vihren was first climbed in winter on 9 January 1925 by T.Atanasov, D.Stoykov, V.Baynov and N.Bozhinov.[3] The classical route to climb the peak is from the Vihren refuge (1,950 m) to the south via the Kabata saddle; this route takes three to four hours in summer and is steep, reaching denivelation of almost 1,000 m in а short time.[5] Other routes include those from the Banderitsa refuge (1,810 m) or across the knife-edge crest Koncheto from the north. From the Kazanite cirques in the north there is a 400 m-high steep wall which has several tracks from alpine climbing.[3] This wall was first climbed in 1934 by the German alpinists W.Mosel and F.Auer; in winter it was first ascended in 1949 by Al.Belkovski and Vl.Lobodin.[17]

From the top there is a view to almost the whole of northern Pirin, as well as to the mountain ranges of Rila, Rhodope, Maleshevo, Ograzhden, Belasica and Slavyanka.[18]

Honour

Vihren Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Vihren.

See also

References

  1. ^ Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, p. 112
  2. ^ Grunewald 2010, p. 129
  3. ^ Dushkov 1972, p. 42
  4. ^ "History". Official Site of Pirin National Park. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Vihren Peak". Official Site of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  6. ^ Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, p. 230
  7. ^ Dushkov 1972, p. 80
  8. ^ "Alpine and Sub-alpine Open Calcareous Grasslands". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume III. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Alpine and Sub-alpine Closed Calcareous Grasslands". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume III. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Leontopodium alpinum". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume I. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Papaver degenii". Orbel Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Oxytropis urumovii". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume I. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Alyssum pirinicum". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume I. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Timmia norvegica". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume I. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Thymus perinicus". Red Book of Bulgaria, Volume I. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Top Ten Peaks". Official Site of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  17. ^ Dushkov 1972, pp. 42–43
  18. ^ Dushkov 1972, p. 43

References

  • Мичев (Michev), Николай (Nikolay); Михайлов (Mihaylov), Цветко (Tsvetko); Вапцаров (Vaptsarov), Иван (Ivan); Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev), Светлин (Svetlin) (1980). Географски речник на България [Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura)
  • Душков (Dushkov), Добри (Dobri) (1972). Пирин. Туристически речник [Pirin. Tourist Dictionary] (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura)
  • Grunewald, Karsten & Jörg Scheithauer (2010). "Europe’s southernmost glaciers: response and adaptation to climate change". Journal of Glaciology. 56: 129–142. International Glaciological Society. ISSN 0022-1430. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.