The time had come to do a winter ascent of Mount Spanopolski Chukar (2576 m). Last winter we only reached the Spano Pole shelter—we were a bit too lazy to continue upward, and not everyone in the group had snowshoes.
Video from the Hike:
This time we clearly stated that we would reach the summit. Everyone brought snowshoes, and early on Sunday morning we got into the cars and headed toward the Mozgovitsa River spillways. We left at 7 a.m., while the other part of the group—who planned to go only as far as the shelter—had arranged to start around 9.
A little after 9 we parked at the widening near the Mozgovitsa spillways, and around 9:30 we set off up the trail toward Spano Pole shelter. The temperature was about -5°C, but the forecast promised sunny weather with a light southwest wind and rising temperatures.
As we left the forest and entered the more open parts of the Pirin, the sun began to shine on us. The surroundings were incredibly beautiful—it is hard to describe the feeling of everything around you covered in snow, the trees heavy with it, and the sunlight lifting the group’s mood even higher.
The bright sunshine also created perfect conditions for even more stunning photographs. We captured some great shots on our phones. Between photos and conversation, two hours passed almost unnoticed until we reached Spano Pole shelter.
At the shelter we took a short break, had a quick bite, put on our snowshoes, and continued upward along an already made track toward the small Spano Pole. Here our group of six split into three pairs, leaving the shelter at roughly ten-minute intervals.
Veso and I were the first pair and followed the trail across the small Spano Pole until we reached a point where the people who had made it had apparently turned back—roughly halfway to the summit. From there we improvised, but the route ahead was generally clear. We climbed up to the ridge and from there headed directly toward the top.
It is worth mentioning that the line we used to reach the summit is definitely not suitable for winter ascent; with more snow it could be dangerous. In our case the snow cover was relatively thin—sometimes firm, sometimes we sank 20–30 cm despite wearing snowshoes.
It took us exactly two hours to climb from Spano Pole shelter to the summit of Spanopolski Chukar. The other four arrived about 20–25 minutes after us. The weather was perfect for a winter hike—beautiful, warming sunshine, almost no wind, just an occasional brief gust.
We ended up staying on the summit for nearly an hour, enjoying the good weather and the magnificent views, which were plentiful. Vihren stood out clearly, and in front of it, like a dwarf before a giant, nestled Muratov Peak. In the other direction, close to us, were Banderishki and Bashliyski Chukar. In the background we could clearly see Yalovarnika, Zuba, and Kuklite, as well as part of the Strazhite ridge. Opposite us stood Sinanitsa and Gergiitsa.
On the summit we ate, took some photos, shared a few jokes, and soon it was time to head down. This time we decided to descend entirely along the ridge, but in the final section we turned back toward the small Spano Pole because it wasn’t very convenient to go down the ridge with snowshoes, and the snow was not hard enough for crampons.
The descent to the shelter took about an hour and 15–20 minutes. We went inside to warm up, ordered some glasses of wine, and a few even had rakia. Before we knew it, it was around 5 p.m. and sunset was approaching. We started down toward the cars, and the sunset caught us right at a large meadow where the road and the shortcut trail diverge.
The light from the setting sun made for wonderful photos. But waiting for sunset at nearly 2000 meters has its drawbacks—we had to descend to the cars using headlamps. Fortunately, the weather was mild and we didn’t get cold during the winter evening in Pirin.
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