Parkplatz Innerfragant - Weißseehaus

Access to starting point:
From the Karawanks Tunnel, we follow the highway towards Salzburg to the highway junction where we turn left towards Spittal. From Spittal we drive towards Lienz. A little after the highway ends, at the settlement Möllbrücke, we turn right towards the settlement Mallnitz and the Alpine road Großglockner. We follow this road to the settlement Kleindorf (a little after the settlement Flattach) where signs „Mölltaler Gletscher“ direct us right onto the ascending road towards the bottom station of the cable car. We follow this road all the way to the large parking lots at the bottom station of the cable car.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the asphalt road which is closed to traffic. After a short ascent on the road, signposts direct us right onto the footpath „Richard Helfer Weg“. On the footpath we also avoid the tunnels on the road through which walking is forbidden.
From the junction, we start to ascend somewhat more steeply through the forest on a relatively poorly trodden path. Higher up, we join the road for a short time and then turn right again onto the footpath, which is marked with Knafelc blazes. The path mostly ascends through the forest and crosses a few shorter clearings. Later, the path takes us to somewhat steeper slopes from which we occasionally get a view of the waterfalls of the Astrombach stream on the other side of the steep valley. On a short traverse where the slope is very steep, a rope also helps us. The path here is not overly demanding, but caution is needed as bushes and high grass may prevent us from noticing that the slope beside the narrow path is very steep. The path then turns left from the steep slopes and begins to ascend somewhat more steeply. Along such a path through the forest, we soon reach the mountain road.
We continue right along the road, which descends gently and leads us to a marked junction near the Wurtenspeicher lake. We turn left onto the cart track and after a short ascent reach the lake. There are also benches and a table near the lake.
The cart track that runs along the lake soon ends, and we turn left onto the footpath. The path then mostly gently ascends across the slope above the lake towards the north, crossing a few smaller streams in the process. Later, the path turns slightly left and ascends in zigzags for a short time. This is followed by a traverse of somewhat steeper slopes, where we bypass a smaller landslide. Some caution is required here. Later, the increasingly scenic path becomes less steep and proceeds northwards. We still need to watch where we step as there are quite a few deep holes beside the path. The path then descends slightly and brings us near the Mernigsee lake.
Here the path turns slightly right, crosses a stream, and then begins to ascend the slope above the lake. We walk north again and soon traverse the slope below the chairlift that leads to the Weißseehaus hut. The path then turns left, followed by a short ascent on the slope to the left of the ski slope. Later, the path runs across the ski slope and brings us to a mountain road where there is a junction.
To the right slightly downhill it is just a few dozen meters to the intermediate cable car station (Mittelstation); straight ahead across the ski slope, the footpath leads to the Duisburger Hütte hut; we turn left onto the road to the Weißseehaus hut, which we can already see ahead. From the junction, we ascend along a scenic asphalt road alongside which livestock grazes in summer months. Along this scenic road, we soon reach the Weißseehaus hut.
We descend along the ascent path or return to the intermediate cable car station from where we descend to the valley by cable car.

On the way: Wurtenspeicher (1695m), Mernigsee (2040m), Mittelstation (Mölltaler Gletscher) (2234m)

Trip can be extended to: Goldbergtauernkopf (2 h) , Herzog Ernst Spitze (2 h 20 min) , Alteck (3 h) , Schareck (3 h 20 min)