Turrach - Wintertalernock

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 left is the direct route to Eisenhut, and we continue slightly to the right towards Wintertalernock. We then climb up a grassy slope with views from Triglav to High Tauern, where we cross a wire fence, and then, with views from Triglav to High Tauern, we climb to Straßburger Spitz, where there is a wooden cross with a signing box.
From the top, go right (slightly left Eisenhut) and start descending a slightly narrower ridge past the chapel of St Bernard. The descent ends at the saddle between the Straßburger Spitz and Wintertalernock peaks, with only a few minutes of moderate climbing on an increasingly wider ridge to the summit.
Turrach - Geißeckhütte 1:30, Geißeckhütte - Rapitzsattel 1:40, Rapitzsattel - Straßburger Spitz 0:50, Straßburger Spitz - Wintertalernock 0:15.
Description and figures refer to the situation in 2019 (June).

On the way: Geißeckhütte (1664m), Rapitzsattel (2088m), Straßburger Spitz (2404m)

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