Ogris - Vertatscha/Vrtača

Access to the starting point:
We drive to the Ljubelj border crossing and on to the Austrian side. Shortly after, when you see a small church on the left side of the road, the road to the village of Žabnica / Bodental branches off to the left. At the crossroads after Slovenji Plajberk / Windisch Bleiberg turn left towards Žabnica / Bodental. In Žabnica / Bodental you will reach the mountain signs for Klagenfurter Hütte on the left and right. Turn right and follow the road until the next crossroads where you turn left. Follow this road to a small parking area where the unmarked trail from the Podnar / Bodenbauer Inn joins (no further driving).

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue past the lock along the road, which offers us some views in the initial part. The road then goes into the forest and leads to a crossroads where you turn left at cart track. Follow Cart track slightly upwards to a crossroads of two cart tracks. Bear slightly right on a marked track, which then turns into a footpath that climbs steeply. After a short climb, the path leads to a ridge where it turns left and continues first along and then along the ridge. The path then moves on to steep slopes which we cross without any major climbs. Next we cross a shorter partly overgrown scree slope, after which the path starts to climb again and soon leads us to the grazing fence mountain pasture Vgriz which is reached in a few minutes of further walking. At mountain pasture, where the shepherd's hut is situated, a beautiful view opens up.
The way forward begins to descend and after a short descent leads us to a small well behind which, in a few steps, we arrive at a crossroads. Continue straight on (left down Podnar) and the path leads us out of the forest between dwarf pines. Crossing the scree then descending gently downwards with the help of a rope. From here on the path is exposed to falling rocks. Further on, the well-protected path starts to climb up a steep rocky slope. At the top of this easier climbing section, you will come to a sign-in box where you can sign in. The difficulty of the route disappears after this and in a cross-climb you reach the Vrata saddle. The way forward begins to descend and leads us in a few minutes to a crossroads where we continue straight on (right Ovčji vrh) and in a few minutes of gentle descent we reach the Celovška hut.
At the hut, turn left in the direction of the Prešernova hut on Stolu. The way forward initially crosses grassy slopes and then descends gently to an undistinguished saddle. The way ahead begins to climb steeply on scree to a slightly overgrown part of the path. A little further on, a steel cable helps us to cross a steeper slope, but this part of the path does not cause us any problems on land. Next, we climb up the scree again all the way to the border. From the Belščica saddle, where the path to Svačica branches off to the left, continue straight ahead and continue in the direction of Vrtača, Prešernova hut and Zelenice. Cross the grassy slopes for a few minutes, then reach the point where the inscription on the rock behind Vrtača points to the left (straight down Stol). A few minutes of relatively easy walking follows, then you reach a short but steep grassy slope, across which you descend. When the descent ends, you reach extensive scree over which you start to climb in a semicircle. The path, which is less well trodden and exposed to falling rocks in several places, climbs steeply a few times higher up, then turns slightly more to the right and leads us to the south-western shoulder of Vrtača, where we join the better trodden path from Ljubelj and Završnice.
Here we continue to the left and start climbing steeply up very steep and slip-prone slopes. Higher up, the path leads us to the main ridge Karawanks, where it lays down. This is followed by about 20 minutes of walking on and along the ridge, which is slightly exposed in places and dangerous for slipping throughout. Follow this scenic route all the way to the top of Vrtača.

On the way: Ogrisalm/Vgrizeva planina (1569m), Vrata (1714m), Klagenfurter Hutte/Celovška koča (1664m), Sedlo Belščica (1840m)

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