Dear Friends / Family/ Colleagues
I am pleased to confirm that during the month of August myself and the team successfully completed a further 9 of the 56 Peaks over two wonderful weekends.
Following a few failed attempts earlier in the year, it was great to bag our first peaks of 2023 during the middle of August
- Friday – Our target for the weekend was the ‘Македония‘ hut in the Rila Mountains. A small but impressive hut that served some fantastic food! One issue for me and Grigor were the low ceilings that did not help sleeping on the top bunk, sore heads resulted!
- Saturday – An early start was needed as the first few hours towards our peaks involved some very steep climbing with regular stops for rest. Whilst there was little sun, the weather gods were to be good to us this weekend with no rain. Our plan was to bag at least 5 peaks this weekend but as with all such trips to the mountains we have to learn to adapt. Some logistical challenges resulted in us adapting our approach and we decided to cut the weekend trip short to just the one day of climbing on the Saturday…..
- 3 peaks done and The Bulgarian 56 Peaks Challenge had finally reached double figures!!!
This weekend was the longest and most successful weekend so far. We had a further 2 new people join us on the challenge and the weather was truly wonderous as we enjoyed both challenging technical climbing punctuated by some amazing views!
- Friday evening – Following a 30 minute offroad drive beyond the Rila Monastery, we trekked a further 90 minutes to get to our overnight stay in Рибни Езера
- Saturday – We were up early, and with a stomach full of French toast we set off at 8:00am for our long 10 hour trek, travelling from a height of 2,000M to beyond 2,700M and 4 peaks including a gorgeous dog (peak 14). Punctuated by some thunder and lightening towards the end of the day, a very rewarding evening was spent amongst fellow climbers in the hut (they had multiple bottles of Rakia!) as the clear sky opened up to some impressive night sky views
- Sunday – We were joined by a 7th climber and set off at 9:00am for another 10 hour day, which included more technical routes involving dropping our gear and scrambling on our hands and knees to get to the summits. Some impressive views and two more peaks.
- A very rewarding weekend, some great company and chats and 16 of the 56 peaks now complete!!!
- Onto the next 56 peaks weekend in Mid October (see below)
56 PEAKS CHALLENGE MERCHANDISE
Last year we tried to gauge interest in selling the Blue branded shirts (see peak 13th photo above) but due to limited interest we could not make this viable due to minimum order levels.
But in recent months interest has again grown as interest in the challenge grows – so for those who have not yet registered please use the simple Microsoft Form to complete if you wish to order one of the blue tops we have been wearing through the challenge so far.
Please click on this link and answer the 4 simple questions – All income in excess of the cost of ordering the shorts will go towards the fundraising for the charity.
NEXT PEAK WEEKEND
Martin and I continue to explore 1 day opportunities should our diaries allow to give those with limited time the option to join us in the Mountains.
The next date for our visit to the mountains is the weekend of Evening Friday 13th October through to Sunday 15th October. We have not yet agreed on the peak/s to complete yet but if you are interested in joining us, the following details will be important:
- Be prepared to head to the hills Friday evening
- We will likely walk to a hut through the early evening dark so please be comfortable with head torch use
- We aim to spend 2 nights in huts
- If you are interested in joining me and the team please: Whatsapp / Viber me on +359 882 900 882
- Note: To date I have 10 people who have registered an interest earlier in the year, and I will be contacting you in late September to confirm if they are still available
As always we reserve the right to decline your request to join (if numbers grow too much) given we have to follow strict safety guidelines around climbing in large groups in the Bulgarian National Parks.
DONATIONS // AWARENESS
A reminder of the Important website links are given below:
- Charity Page Providing updates on the Challenge including the next peaks and date/s
- The page where you can donate
