Musala Horseshoe

Peaks: Musala (2925m), Malka Musala (2902m), Irechek (2852m)
Area: Rila, Bulgaria
The highest peak between the Alps and the Caucasus, Musala made an obvious target for a mountain interlude following a short research trip to Macedonia and Kosovo. I travelled up in one long day from Skopje via Sofia and Samokov and stayed the night in Borovets, a rather depressing out-of-season ski resort. I may well have been the only guest in the entire resort, so got up early with no breakfast options and no cable car running. This added a very significant extra 1000m climb to the day! Some cursory research revealed that Musala could be combined with two more peaks to create a rather attractive horseshoe along narrow ridges with an Alpine flavour. So the extra 1000m vertical interval was doubly unfortunate (Borovets is at 1300m, Musala almost 3000m). Still, I got to work in the cold crisp air of early morning and adopted a sustainable jog through the thick forest of Bulgarian fir and Macedonian pine. The trees were statuesque and attractive but the slog was inevitably rather boring as it essentially followed a ski route up a narrow valley (it may have been the route taken by the World Mountain Running championships last year - let's hope they choose something more interesting when the worlds come to Betws next year!). I finally emerged below the top ski lift after an hour of running: then a tortuous twisting mile of small paths through dwarf pine forest before finally gaining a beautiful Alpine meadow with the peaks rising into the blue sky above. A memorable moment, with frost crystals on the grass and the sun just peaking over the shoulder of the impressive Irechek and Musala beyond. My weather luck was in, and a tricky river crossing led to the Musala hut complex (80 mins from Borovets) and fabulous views over the lake to the peaks beyond. I had the place to myself, a real privilege on such a popular peak, and was thoroughly enjoying myself after missing out on an Alpine trip this year. After walking round the lake by the hut, a broad gully then gains height quickly to gain a series of little cwms decorated by beautiful lakes reminiscent of the Pyrenees or Maritime Alps (the Musalenska Ezera lakes). The path weaves through a series of little ridges and moraines to gain a steeper scree slope and more desolate terrain as it makes its way up to Ledeneto Ezero ('Ice Lake'), a dramatic feature in a hollowed out cwm. It was very icy on this section, as the sun still hadn't got up, with the rocks rather treacherous (and the hideous 'Everest hut' near the lake completely deserted). The ridge leading to Musala was in the sunshine, though, and gave a great ascent. I saw three people, the first I'd seen all day, to my mild annoyance, near the hut - but soon gained the broad ridge leading up more icy rocks to the summit (50m from the Musala Hut). Again, it felt like a privilege to be on my own up here (the highest person in Europe between the Alps and Caucasus!) as it is such a popular mountain. It was cold but superbly clear, with views over Rila and more hazily across to Vitosha in the north and Pirin in the south. After a quick snack I continued along the obvious ridge (the Trionite ridge) leading to Malka Musala. This becomes much narrower almost immediately, and the path remarkably narrow and ill-defined. I was amazed, given the popularity of the main peak. A superb scrambly ridge, with some ancient rusting cables, led just right of the crest via a weaving little path - mildly exposed in places - down to a pronounced narrow col. From here, a short chimney gave access to more scrambling up the crest - all really enjoyable - to easier terrain leading to the top of Malka Musala. Great views back to the main peak. Next up was the fine peak of Irechek, which dominates the view from the Musala Hut. This was again surprisingly sporting in tone, with a steep descent and quite intricate route-finding down to another deep col. Then a rocky ridge which led to an impressive final summit tower. Felt a bit like Beinn Eighe. From Irechek, the terrain flattens out and becomes very reminiscent of the Carneddau: big ridges connecting big green hills. I ran down to a broader ridge below a subsidiary peak and then traversed icy north-facing rocks below the Sfinska (the Sphinx) to pick up a small path dropping off Deno. This became hard to follow by the lake, and some marshy bog-trotting continued the Carneddau theme! After a bite to eat outside the deserted hut, I ran flat out back down to Borovets to check out of my hotel before midday.