The doyen of mountain climbing in Bulgaria, Prof. Georgi Atanasov, known as Djidji,  has died at the age of 94.

He was the only professor of mountaineering in the world and one of the most prominent figures in Bulgarian mountain climbing. Founder and, for many years, head of the Tourism, Alpinism and Orienteering department at the National Sports Academy, Prof. Atanasov has climbed 600 peaks in this country and abroad. He has also written dozens of textbooks, scientific publications and monographs. In 1963, Georgi Atanasov and Avram Avramov were the first Bulgarians to have climbed the west face of Petit Dru in the Alps. In 1964 he traversed the famed Bezengi Wall in the Caucasus.