Turrach - Eisenhut

Access to the starting point:
a) Via Border crossing Ljubelj, drive into Austria, then follow the road to Klagenfurt / Klagenfurt. In Klagenfurt, go straight on at all junctions, but when the main road turns sharp right, leave it just a little further and continue left towards Dhovše near Klagenfurt / Lendorf and Trg am Carinth / Feldkirchen in Kärnten. When you reach the motorway junction, turn left towards Trg na Koroškem and when you reach the point, follow the signs for the Turracher Höhe Alpine pass. After about 90 km from Border crossing Ljubelj, you reach the pass, from which you start descending towards Predlitz, and we only go as far as the beginning of Turrach, where the route described above starts near the road sign marking the beginning of the settlement. Park in a suitable place nearby.

b) Drive through the Karavanke tunnel into Austria, then follow the motorway to the motorway junction, from where you continue to Spittal an der Drau and continue on the A10 motorway. Leave the A10 quickly and take the exit for Ossiacher See, take the third exit at the nearby roundabout (if there was no roundabout, you would have gone left) and continue along Millstätter Strasse. Follow this road to Radenthein, where you turn right towards Bad Kleinkirchheim. Continue through the above-mentioned town for a few kilometres and turn left at Patergassen towards the Alpine pass and the Turracher Höhe ski resort. Once you reach the pass, you descend a few kilometres to Turrach, where the route described above begins near the signpost marking the start of the village. Park in a suitable place nearby.

Path description:
From the starting point, take the side road towards the top of Eisenhut, where you pass a few houses at first, before crossing a stream and the settlement of Turrach ends. The way forward is along a winding dirt road, passing a pleasant bench, and after this and a nearby cottage, continue walking along a forest road closed to public traffic by a gate and a road sign. A little further on, a path joins us from the right over a wooden bridge, which branches off from the main road at a slightly higher level and leads to the bottom station of the nearby cable car.

Continue along the road, from which another path branches off to the right a little further on, towards the lower station of the nearby chairlift, and a few minutes higher up, leave the wider macadam road and continue slightly left on the road, which is already overgrown with grass. After a few steps from this road, turn left onto the overgrown cart track, which is marked by a yellow mountain signpost. The ascent follows a path overgrown with tall grass, in between crossing the older cart track and higher up an even worse road, and then the path passes into the forest, where it becomes more distinct. There are a few minutes of cross-climbing, where the path leads past a mighty spruce tree, and then past a toilet to reach the hunting hut Geißeckhütte.
At the hut, step out onto the road and go straight ahead at the nearby crossroads. There is an easy descent for a few minutes, and after crossing a stream, continue slightly left along the upper road. The road then climbs steeply, taking in the increasingly beautiful views, and after crossing the next stream, leave the road and continue left onto a waymarked path that turns right a few 10 paces higher and climbs steeply into the lane of the forest. There is a climb through the forest for a few minutes, then you cross a pasture fence and just ahead you join the path from the Turracher Höhe pass.
Continue straight ahead on the increasingly faint cart track, soon bearing slightly left (continuing on the cart track Lattersteig, Lattersteighöhe and Bretthöhe), and then start climbing up a small valley with a small spring flowing through it. Then climb the western grassy slopes, following a barely visible path up to the Rapitzsattel saddle, where there is a marked crossroads.
From the saddle, continue left towards the Eisenhut and Wintertalernock peaks (Flattnitz on the right, Lattersteighöhe on the right), and the path along the ridge, or slightly to the left of it, splits.
Slightly to the right, the path leads to Wintertalernock and Eisenhut via the summit of Straßburger Spitz, and we continue slightly to the left towards Eisenhut.
There is a cross-climb over a grassy slope, then a short scree slope, over which the path is a little less well trodden in early summer. After crossing two more streams, we continue along the wire fence for a while, with views stretching as far as High Tauern, and with every step backwards, a better view of the Julian Mountains opens up. The fence soon ends, and a fine view opens up in front of us towards the summit head of Eisenhut. After a few more minutes, as we climb up to a small saddle, the path leading over the top of the Strassburger Spitz joins from the right.
Continue straight ahead, passing a watering point, and then start climbing steeply towards the highest peak of the Krkonoše Alps. A good 20-minute climb along the edge of the southern ridge takes you to the 2441-metre summit.
Turrach - Geißeckhütte 1:30, Geißeckhütte - Rapitzsattel 1:40, Rapitzsattel - Eisenhut 1:20.
Description and pictures refer to 2019 (June).

On the way: Geißeckhütte (1664m), Rapitzsattel (2088m)

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