Cherni Vrah, or Black Peak in Bulgarian, at a height of 2,290 metres above sea level, is the highest peak in Vitosha Mountain. With an average annual wind speed of 9.3 m/sec, it is also the second windiest peak in Bulgaria! The climb to the summit in winter conditions takes between 2 and 4 hours, depending on the starting point, while the descent takes between 1 and 3 hours. After sunset, headlamps and crampons are essential due to icing. February evening temperatures typically range from -10°C to -18°C, but with the wind, it can feel like -20°C or lower. That’s a brief overview of Vitosha Mountain, located near Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

Over the course of three months – December, January, and February – I climbed it about 20 times, hoping to capture a more memorable moment. However, the sun never broke through the clouds, leaving me with only the walk to the top. By mid-February, the auxiliary annex to the summit hut had frozen over, and this was just the second in a series of sunsets during which the sun appeared at all. Yet, this day made sense of all the other fruitless climbs to the summit! The clouds turned pink, the horizon became red, and the “sugar house” was imprinted in my mind.