Ljubelj - Celovška špica / Klagenfurter Spitze (upper path)

Access to the starting point:
Drive to Border crossing Ljubelj, where you turn left before the tunnel towards Zelenica. Drive over a small bridge, then park in a large parking lot.

Path description:
At the beginning of the parking lot, the mountain signs for Hochstuhl, Vertatscha and Dom na Zelenici direct us to the wide cart track, which begins to climb along the torrent. When the cart track turns left a little higher up, we continue straight on along the mountain path, which continues through the forest and soon returns to cart track. Cart track turns right a little higher up and leads us out of the forest onto the ski slope of the former Zelenica ski resort. There is a short, steeper climb up the ski slope, and then the trail flattens out and leads us along the foothills of the scree below Begunjščica.
The marked trail soon branches off to the right along a service road, and we continue along the "road" to the nearby Hut Vertatscha.
At the hut, the road turns right and we continue straight ahead in the direction of the mountain trail to Zelenica. We continue for a short time under the former single-seater Zelenica II, and then the path begins to climb steeply up the slope, which is partly overgrown by dwarf pines. After a few switchbacks, we return to the service road, which we continue along, overlooking the Šentanski avalanche.
The path ahead takes you along the slopes of the Lower Plot (the summit of which was covered by a sport climbing route a few years ago), then off the road turn right onto a footpath that cuts around a long bend. Once back on the road, we are at the top station of the former Zelenica II single-seater, and it is only a few steps downhill to the Zelenica Home.
After the mountain lodge, continue left and climb halfway up the children's ski lift, then notice the signs for Vertatscha and Hochstuhl on the right, which direct you right into the lane of a forest. A little further on, cross the connecting lane between the children's ski lift and the anchor, then cross the second ski slope.
Continue along the trail to a small boulder and then cross the slopes below the Na Možeh ridge. When the crossing ends, you reach an unmarked valley where the path to Suho dwarf pines branches off to the right (usually there is a cairn at the branch).
From the crossroads onwards, we climb briefly through the forest, and then the path leads us to the slopes of Vertatscha, where we cross some scree on a slight ascent, and occasionally a really short lane of forest. Further on, the path from Dom pri izviru Završnice joins us from the left, and a little further on the path splits.
Continue along the slightly narrower lower path towards Stol (Vertatscha on the right), from which you can see the nearby dwarf pines vegetated Srednji vrh. At the next crossroads continue straight on towards Stol (left Šija saddle, Srednji vrh, Stol-bottom path. . . ), the path then crosses occasionally steeper grassy slopes interrupted by some less steep ravines. The crossing of the grassy slopes soon ends, and the path leads us to a steep gully, through which we begin to descend steeply on a path that is broken in places and in a few places dangerous for slipping. When the chute ends, the path passes onto a scree slope, over which it descends crosswise under the cliffs to cirque in Kožne. Here the path starts to climb again, and the lower path and the path from Završnice join us from the left.
Continuing straight ahead, the path continues past several large boulders. A slightly steeper climb follows, with beautiful views of the surroundings and the Srednja peč wall on the left. When the marked path is higher, it leads us to a crossroads where the path to Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte and Svačićica branches off to the right.
At the crossroads continue for about 100 metres towards Stol, then leave the marked path and turn right onto the trackless path. Where exactly we leave the marked trail is not important, we could also leave it at the crossroads itself where the trail from Završnice joins us. When you leave the marked path, head towards a small saddle in the Orlice ridge (between Celovška špica and Jelenčko). At first, climb on rough scree over numerous rocks and boulders, but a little higher up, when the rocks become finer, you will notice a less well-trodden path. When you reach the base of the summit of Jelenček, the path is already clearly visible. Here we continue to the left and the path soon leads us in a cross-climb to the saddle on the border ridge.
At the saddle, continue left and climb up to the ridge. We continue to climb the ridge for some time and we are helped by some cairns. The slope here is quite steep so some caution is needed. The path then leads us to a short grassy section where we cross a short dwarf pines. The path then turns to the right and climbs up a short ravine and leads us to a partially vegetated ridge. Continue left here and climb the ridge for some time. The path is mostly visible here, and there are a few cairns to help us. When you are fully approaching the steep rocky slopes below the summit, continue right and cross a narrow notch to the north side of the mountain. Here continue left and there is a short traverse up a slightly exposed slope which is dangerous for slipping. The slope then becomes less exposed and there are a few metres of easier climbing to the summit.

Ljubelj - Koča Vertatscha 40 minutes, Koča Vrtača - Dom na Zelenici 40 minutes, Dom na Zelenici - off the marked trail 2:25, off the marked trail - Celovška špica 0:35.

On the way: Koča Vrtača (1288m), Dom na Zelenici (1536m)

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