Ljubelj - Vertatscha/Vrtača

Access to starting point:
From highway Ljubljana - Jesenice we go to the exit Ljubelj and follow the road ahead to the border crossing. Only few meters before the border crossing signs for Zelenica point us to the left and after few 10 meters of additional driving the road brings us on a parking lot below the ski center Zelenica.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we go on a footpath in the direction of Zelenica, Vrtača and Stol. Cart track which runs on the left side of the ski track, after approximately 15 minutes of a moderate ascent through the forest brings us to the before mentioned track by which we are then ascending. The path which offers nice views on extensive scree of Begunjščica on the left and to a ridge of Ljubeljščica on the right then in a gentle ascent brings us to the hut Vrtača. From the mountain hut, we continue straight on a marked path, which slowly turns slightly to the left and after a shorter diagonal ascent brings us into a lane of dwarf pines. Further, the path is for a short time steeply ascending and then brings us on a cart track (transport road), which we follow in a moderate ascent to the mountain hut Dom na Zelenici.
From the mountain hut Koča na Zelenici we continue right in the direction of Stol and Vrtača (left Begunjščica on the path which immediately behind the hut turns left and it ascends by children's ski lift. Somewhere on the halfway of the cableway, we come on a less noticeable crossing, where we continue right and we diagonally ascend over a ski track (straight mountain hut Koča pri izviru Završnice). Ahead we cross a short lane of a forest and the path brings us to the next ski lift which we cross in a gentle descent. On the other side of the ski track, we notice a bigger rock and there a blaze, which points us in the forest. The path ahead at first slightly descends, and then it ascends diagonally over the scree. The path soon flattens and turns a little towards the left, where we get to a smaller unmarked crossing. We continue straight on a gently sloping and marked mountain path, which only a little further brings us to the spot, where the unmarked path branches off to the right into a valley Suho ruševje (cairn).
The path ahead is ascending diagonally on the southern slopes of Vrtača. The path which partly runs through the forest, and partly over an ample scree, higher brings us to a marked crossing, where we continue right in the direction of Vrtača (straight Stol). The path ahead starts ascending steeper, at first through a lane of dwarf pines, and higher over an extensive grassy slopes. On the mentioned grassy slopes from the left almost unnoticeably joins an unmarked path from the saddle Šija, and we continue on a marked path, which is steeply ascending towards the side ridge of Vrtača. Higher, the path turns slightly to the left, crosses a steep partly rocky slopes and after few minutes of additional walking brings us on the before mentioned ridge, where the path turns sharply to the right. The path ahead starts ascending steeply on very steep and for slipping dangerous slopes. Higher, the path brings us on the main ridge of Karawanks, where it flattens. Next follows approximately 20 minutes of walking on and by the ridge, which is in parts slightly exposed, and in the entire part dangerous for slipping. This panoramic path we then follow all the way to the top of Vrtača.
Ljubelj - Zelenica 1:20, Zelenica - Vrtača 2:10.

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