The mountains can touch you better than a hand can
We thought about it on many other climbs. It is an impressive 500-meter wall located in the heart of Pirin, a beautiful mountain massif filled with steep and sharp peaks around your head. Every time I go there, I enjoy the deep woods that you need to pass to come to the Vihren hut, from where you start the way to bivak “Kazana”, located at 2445 Masl.
I remember the first time I saw the north face of the summit of Vihren. It was 2017, winter time, and we were climbing the “Djamdjiev” ridge that goes to the summit from its northeast side. On that ridge, there are some spots that are magical. They are like a portal to another world from where you can see different possibilities, different ways of reaching the goal, different routes. This “another world” was the north face of Vihren. I asked myself, back then, if I would be prepared and mature enough to try to climb this face, at least in summer. I was partly informed about some routes that are classics, such as “Narodna Armija”, but I didn’t have the understanding to spot the route and see the conditions. However, I was impressed, and I told myself that one day, I would try to climb something on this magnificent rock wall.
Fast forward to now, I see myself ready and mature to face such a climb. After some great climbs we did with Radovan, we decided that it was logical for us to try Vihren NF, but we were thinking about the route since there are many routes on the wall. Information about the Vihren NF, such as routes, approach, route difficulties and other similar things, is not on a satisfactory level. We did not find much valuable information, but we were lucky enough to have some friends present on that wall, even in winter, so they gave us all the details we needed in order to be sure that we were on the route.
After you reach the bivak of “Kazana”, which is a small and lovely wooden house equipped with only two beds and one small window, you can see nothing but the impressive and beautiful rock face in front of you. When we arrived, unfortunately, we saw only clouds, and we felt cold, but we were happy that we arrived on time before the fog closed the movement for almost every creature for that day.
“Dear sun, in what will be your happiness if the ones you shine for, are not here?” I asked the sun during its rising above the line where I and the sun were the same. Activities like this usually start very early, so you have the whole day in front of you, but we were not the first in the rock; the goats were there way before us. The route we chose was “Skalestiot Zleb”, graded around VI+ and almost nine pitches long. When you sit below the face, the route is so natural and obvious that it is very hard to get lost.
After we entered the route, our flow was very productive, and we were moving pretty solid and on time. The route itself does not contain a lot of protection gear and requires you to put your own. We triggered tons of falling stones along the way, but I knew that this rock face was not so stable and that the rock is very loose, so climbers need to be very careful when moving, belying or abseiling. While climbing, we saw many people passing by in the valley. The normal routes that go to the neighbour peaks pass below the rock face, but no one approaches the face. We were the only ones that day, the only ones curious enough to overcome themselves and enjoy the real mountain environment.
After 2.5 hours of climbing, we reached the sixth pitch. It was my turn to lead, and I was more than prepared but also motivated and, as I said, curious. It was a short pitch, around 35 meters to the next anchor, so I saw the picture we had on paper and started moving. I clip the first quickdraw at the anchor as a first point of protection. After 4 meters, I suddenly fall down. A huge rock plate slipped below my feet where I was staying, and in one second, I found myself in the hands of my belayer. Luckily, we were not hurt so much as in that situation it is possible to be. I got a huge punch below my knee, which resulted in instant swelling. Radovan was also injured because of the rockfall, and he got wounds across his body. In the first minute, I was aware and okay until I saw that my leg was hurt and I could not move. The decision was quickly made; we started our descent down by doing six abseils to the base of the rock face.
This experience was very powerful and gave us a huge lecture on how to be more careful and systematic in your movement in the mountains. Routes and rock faces that are less climbed are usually dangerous from rockfalls, so more focus needs to be applied. However, I am personally grateful for this experience, and I take a lot from it. Exploration continues.
