Bansko ski touring 5-day trip, Pirin Mountains

The Hvoinati peak (2635m) lies between Vihren, the highest peak in Pirin, and Muratov peak. We start from Bunderishka poliana (1650 m) and in 40 min. we reach Vihren hut (1950m). The route continues through the wide river valley, in southeast direction, until the end of the flat part, and then it curves west towards Muratovo lake. With its 2230m, it lays in the foot of Muratov peak. From the lake it takes us 1 hour to reach Hvoinati Peak. The ascent is shorter but steeper, gaining another 400 m of denivelation. According to the snow conditions, we have two different options for a ski descent: between Hvoinati and Vihren peak down to Vihren hut, and the other is in direction down to Muratovo lake and then Vihren hut. After a short rest in the hut we ski all the way down to Bansko.

Tcherna Mogila (2682m) is situated above the top station of an old lift which has been  out of order for many years. We ascend in western direction through the old spruce forest along the old piste parallel to the lift. It takes us between 3,5 and 4 hours to reach the top of Tcherna Mogila. The altitude we have to gain is 1000 m from our starting point – Bunderishka poliana (1650m). According to the snow conditions we have two different lines of descent: the north side through a wide couloir and then through the forest until Bansko, and the east side through the line of ascent. Both of them end at the bottom station of the gondola in Bansko.

Disilitza peak (2700m) is situated in another part of the Pirin mountains, above Dobrinishte village, which is 4 km away from Bansko. Our starting point is the top station of the chairlift (2240m). We need 2 hours to reach the top of Disilitza Peak (2700 m) and 500m to climb up. The gently descent leads us to the bottom station of the chairlift. In case of lack of snow in the lower parts we might need to skin up 30 min. back to the ski area and ski down the resorts pistes.

Our starting point is again the top station of the Dobrinishte chair lift. We cross the Bezbog lake and head towards Bezbog peak. We traverse before the peak and in an hour we reach Polejan Peak (2851 m). The total time of skinning up is about 2 to 2,5 hours.

We descend between several other peaks and down to Damianitza valley and hut. We follow the river down and ski down to Bansko village.

Vihren peak (2914m) is the highest peak in the Pirin range  and it has always been a dream descent for many skiers. Our starting point is Bunderishka poliana (1650m) and in a less than an hour we reach Vihren hut. Our route up continues in direction to Muratovo lake and Hvoinati peak. After following the ridge and another hour of climbing up, we reach the top of the Vihren Peak. We need about 4 hours of skinning up in total and gaining more than 1000m of denivelation. The ski descent is all the way down to Bansko village.