Sporthotel Maltatal - Großer Hafner

Access to the starting point:
From the motorway Villach-Salzburg take the Gmünd exit and follow the road towards the Malta Valley (Maltatal). After a few kilometres, the well-marked road leads to the village of Malta, and just a little further on to the toll both. The steep and sometimes narrow road, with tunnels and traffic lights, leads to a large parking lot next to an artificial lake (the dam at the end of the lake is 165m high). During the drive, you can observe numerous waterfalls, which, due to the lack of parking spaces, can only be seen from your car.

Path description:
From the parking lot by the dam, follow the road to the signposts at the crossroads. Turn right towards the upper parking lot (direction Kattowitzer Hütte). At the upper parking lot, the signs then direct you left onto a dirt road, which you then follow uphill. After a few bends, the road ends and we continue on the footpath, which crosses the slopes to the south-east in gentle dips and rises. We also cross a couple of streams on the way and after about an hour's walk from the starting point, the path turns slightly to the left across a meadow and crosses a stream. Here, for the first time, the path begins to climb slightly steeper and soon leads to a crossroads. Turn right towards Kattowitzer Hütte. Just after the signposts, there is a slightly steeper climb, and we have a few ropes to help us, but they are not strictly necessary. The trail leads to an undistinguished saddle and on the right you will see the summit of Gamsleitenkopf (2346m), which is only a few minutes' walk from the trail. From the saddle, it is then a gentle downhill crossing to the Kattowitzer Hütte.

At the hut, continue left up towards Großer Hafner. The path climbs over grassy slopes and past small streams to a crossroads with signposts. Bear left towards Großer Hafner. The path to the right leads to the Lanischscharte and on past the Lanischsee lakes. The path from the crossroads then becomes steeper and steeper and leads to the main ridge of the mountain from where you can see northwards. After only a few metres of walking along the ridge, we reach the signposts again. We continue straight on along the ridge, and the path leads past the Wastlkarkees glacier on the left and then towards the Rotgüldensee lakes. The trail then becomes a bit more challenging, and there are also some ropes to help us, which can be used for self-support. The challenging part of the trail is relatively short, the trail on this part takes us along the northern slightly exposed side of the ridge over some smooth rock slabs and then the trail becomes progressively less challenging and leads to a wide ridge. Here you will notice a peculiarity of this mountain, namely the many upright rocks. Most of the rocks on the mountain are narrow and elongated in shape, and the mountaineers who pass by then place them upright. It's just a short climb along a wide ridge to the top.

On the way: Kattowitzer Hütte (2321m)

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