Ljubelj - Celovška špica / Klagenfurter Spitze (upper path)

Access to starting point:
We drive to the border crossing Ljubelj, where before the tunnel we turn left towards Zelenica. Then we drive across a small bridge, and then we park on a large parking lot.

Path description:
At the beginning of the parking lot signpost for Stol, Vrtača and Dom na Zelenici point us on a wide cart track which starts ascending by the torrent. When a little higher the cart track turns left, we continue straight on the mountain path which continues through the forest and soon returns on a cart track. Cart track a little higher turns right and brings us out of the forest on a ski track of the former ski slope Zelenica. Next follows a short steeper ascent on a ski slope, and then the path flattens and leads us by the foot of the scree below Begunjščica.
From the marked path soon the path which runs on a transport road branches off to the right, and we continue on "road" to the nearby hut Koča Vrtača.
At the mountain hut, the road turns right, and we continue straight in the direction of the mountain path on Zelenica. A short time we continue below the former one-seater chairlift Zelenica II, and then the path starts ascending steeper on a slope, which is partly overgrown by dwarf pines. After few hairpin turns, we return on a transport road, on which we continue with a view towards the gully Šentanski plaz.
The path ahead leads us on slopes of Spodnji plot (peak, on which they made a sport climbing path), after that from the road we turn right on a footpath which cuts a longer turn. When we return on the road we are already at the upper station of the former one-seater chairlift Zelenica II, and to the mountain hut Dom na Zelenici separates us only few steps of descent.
After the mountain hut, we continue left and we ascend to half of the children's ski lift, and then on the right we notice signs for Vrtača and Stol, which point us to the right into a lane of a forest. A little further, we cross a connecting lane between children's ski lift and anchor ski lift, and then we cross also the other ski track.
Continuation of the path, we find at smaller boulder, and then we cross slopes below the ridge of Na Možeh. When the crossing ends, we get to a small indistinct valley, where the path branches off to the right in Suho rušje (by the turn off there is usually a cairn).
From the crossing ahead, we for a short time ascend through the forest and then the path brings us on slopes of Vrtača, where we in a gentle ascent cross few lanes of the scree, and occasionally also some really short lane of a forest. Further from the left the path from Dom pri izviru Završnice joins, and a little further, the path splits.
We continue on a little narrower bottom path in the direction of Stol (right Vrtača), from which we can nicely see the nearby dwarf pined Srednji vrh. At the next crossing, we continue straight in the direction of Stol (left saddle Šija, Srednji vrh, Stol-lower path...), and the path then crosses occasionally steeper grassy slopes, which are interrupted by some less steep gullies. Traversing of grassy slopes soon ends, and the path brings us to a steep groove, through which we start steeply descending on in parts rough and on some spots for slipping dangerous path. When the groove ends path passes on the scree, over which below the cliffs diagonally descends to the cirque V Kožnah. Here the path again starts ascending, and from the left joins bottom path and the path from Završnica.
We continue straight and the path further leads us past more large boulders. Next follows a little steeper ascent with nice views on surroundings and on the wall of Srednja peč on the left. And when higher the marked path flattens, it brings us to a crossing, where the path towards Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte and Svačica branches off to the right.
At the crossing, we continue approximately 100 meters in the direction of Stol, and then we leave the marked path and we go right on pathless terrain. Where exactly we leave the marked path it isn't important, we can leave it also at the crossing where the path from Završnica joined. When we leave the marked path we go towards a smaller saddle in the ridge of Orlice (between Celovška špica and Jelenčka). At first, we are ascending on rough scree over numerous rocks and boulders, and a little higher when stones become smaller we will notice a poorly beaten footpath. When we come below the wall of the peak Jelenčka the path is already well visible. Here we continue left and the path in a diagonal ascent soon brings us to the saddle on the border ridge.
On the saddle, we continue left and we ascend on the ridge. Further, we are ascending for some time on the ridge and we also get help from some cairns. The slope here is quite steep so some caution is needed. The path then brings us on a shorter grassy part where we cross a shorter lane of dwarf pines. The path then turns to the right and it ascends through a shorter gully and it brings us on a partly vegetated ridge. Here we continue left and we are for some time ascending on the mentioned ridge. The footpath is here mostly visible and we also get help from some cairns. When we get very close to steep rocky slopes below the summit, we continue right and through a narrow notch we pass on the northern side of the mountain. Here we continue left and then follows a shorter diagonal ascent on a slightly exposed slope, which is dangerous for slipping. The slope then becomes less exposed and then follows few more meters of easy climbing to the top.
Ljubelj - Koča Vrtača 40 minutes, Koča Vrtača - Dom na Zelenici 40 minutes, Dom na Zelenici - turn off from the marked path 2:25, turn off from the marked path - Celovška špica 0:35.

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