Vihren | |
---|---|
Вихрен | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,914 m (9,560 ft) [1] |
Prominence | 1,783 m (5,850 ft) [1] |
Listing | Ultra |
Coordinates | 41°46′04″N 23°24′03″E / 41.76778°N 23.40083°E [1] |
Geography | |
Location | Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria |
Parent range | Pirin Mountains |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Hike/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. [2] 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. [3] Until 1942 Vihren was known as Eltepe (peak of storms); it was also called Buren (stormy) and Malnienosets (lightning-bringer). [4] The UNESCO World Heritage Site Pirin National Park was originally known as the Vihren National Park. [5] Vihren is included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria under No. 2. [6]
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. [4] 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. [4] 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. [2]
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. [4] The summit is built up marbles [4] 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. [4] To the north are situated the deep and waterless cirques Golemiya Kazan and Malkiya Kazan, known as the Kazanite (the cauldrons). [4] 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. [3] [7] Its size in summer is 80x90 m. [8]
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. [6] There is a meteorological station at 1,950 m. [6]
The wildlife is alpine. The flora of Vihren's slopes consists of herbaceous plants and lichens. [6] 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, [9] and alpine and sub-alpine closed calcareous grasslands on very rocky bedrock. [10] With less abundance is the relict plant Carex rupestris; some plant communities have an abundance of Carex kitaibeliana and Sesleria coerulans. [9] There are also Alyssum cuneifolium, Bellardiochloa variegata, Bromus lacmonicus, Cerastium lanatum, Koeleria eriostachya, Onobrychis pindicola, Scutellaria alpina, Sesleria coerulans, etc. [10] Rare or endemic herbaceous plants that grow on the slopes of Vihren are edelweiss ( Leontopodium alpinum), [11] Pirin poppy ( Papaver degenii), [12] Oxytropis urumovii, [13] Alyssum pirinicum, [14] Timmia norvegica, [15] Thymus perinicus, [16] etc.
The fauna includes various bird species, small mammals and abundant populations of chamois. [6]
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. [6] The summit is part of the initiative of the Bulgarian Tourist Union "Conqueror of the Top Ten Mountain Peaks" to promote mountaineering. [17]
Vihren was first climbed in winter on 9 January 1925 by T.Atanasov, D.Stoykov, V.Baynov and N.Bozhinov. [4] 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. [6] 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. [4] 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. [18]
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. [19]
Vihren Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Vihren.
Vihren | |
---|---|
Вихрен | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,914 m (9,560 ft) [1] |
Prominence | 1,783 m (5,850 ft) [1] |
Listing | Ultra |
Coordinates | 41°46′04″N 23°24′03″E / 41.76778°N 23.40083°E [1] |
Geography | |
Location | Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria |
Parent range | Pirin Mountains |
Climbing | |
Easiest route | Hike/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. [2] 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. [3] Until 1942 Vihren was known as Eltepe (peak of storms); it was also called Buren (stormy) and Malnienosets (lightning-bringer). [4] The UNESCO World Heritage Site Pirin National Park was originally known as the Vihren National Park. [5] Vihren is included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria under No. 2. [6]
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. [4] 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. [4] 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. [2]
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. [4] The summit is built up marbles [4] 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. [4] To the north are situated the deep and waterless cirques Golemiya Kazan and Malkiya Kazan, known as the Kazanite (the cauldrons). [4] 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. [3] [7] Its size in summer is 80x90 m. [8]
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. [6] There is a meteorological station at 1,950 m. [6]
The wildlife is alpine. The flora of Vihren's slopes consists of herbaceous plants and lichens. [6] 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, [9] and alpine and sub-alpine closed calcareous grasslands on very rocky bedrock. [10] With less abundance is the relict plant Carex rupestris; some plant communities have an abundance of Carex kitaibeliana and Sesleria coerulans. [9] There are also Alyssum cuneifolium, Bellardiochloa variegata, Bromus lacmonicus, Cerastium lanatum, Koeleria eriostachya, Onobrychis pindicola, Scutellaria alpina, Sesleria coerulans, etc. [10] Rare or endemic herbaceous plants that grow on the slopes of Vihren are edelweiss ( Leontopodium alpinum), [11] Pirin poppy ( Papaver degenii), [12] Oxytropis urumovii, [13] Alyssum pirinicum, [14] Timmia norvegica, [15] Thymus perinicus, [16] etc.
The fauna includes various bird species, small mammals and abundant populations of chamois. [6]
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. [6] The summit is part of the initiative of the Bulgarian Tourist Union "Conqueror of the Top Ten Mountain Peaks" to promote mountaineering. [17]
Vihren was first climbed in winter on 9 January 1925 by T.Atanasov, D.Stoykov, V.Baynov and N.Bozhinov. [4] 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. [6] 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. [4] 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. [18]
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. [19]
Vihren Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Vihren.