site.btaBad Mountain Hiking Conditions on Saturday, High Avalanche Danger

Hiking conditions in the mountains are bad on Saturday, according to the Mountain Rescue Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross. It is snowing everywhere in the mountains in Western Bulgaria. 

The new snow cover in the Pirin Mountains is between 15 and 20 centimetres. That is, there is a high avalanche danger, low clouds, and fog, the Rescue Service said. The conditions are the same in the Balkan Mountains. 

Because of the avalanche danger, rescuers advise mountaingoers to stick to the forest area. Temperatures are not very low between minus 4C and 0C in the higher parts, but the weather is not favourable.

The ski facilities are currently working, the season is opening in many places - Borovets, Kartala, Malyovitsa.

On Friday, a snowboarder was reported dead after falling into an avalanche field between the Bansko ski area and the Vihren hut. There were no other incidents during the past day.

A yellow code for intense snow and rain has been declared for Saturday in 22 country regions. These are Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Lovech, Kyustendil, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Razgrad, Ruse, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia city, Sofia region, Targovishte, Shumen, the warning is for snowfall.