Turracher Höhe - Eisenhut

Access to starting point:
A) Over the border crossing Ljubelj we drive to Austria, and then we follow the road towards Celovec / Klagenfurt. In Celovec at all crossroads, we continue straight, and when the main road turns firmly to the right, only a little further we leave it and we continue left in the direction towards settlements Dhovše pri Celovcu / Lendorf and Trg na Koroškem / Feldkirchen in Kärnten. When we get to a highway junction, we go left in the direction of the settlement Trg na Koroškem, and when we get to the mentioned settlement we further follow the signs for Alpine mountain pass Turracher Höhe. After approximately 90 km from the border crossing Ljubelj we get to the mentioned mountain pass, from which we descend to the parking lot number 1 where we park.
B) Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we drive on the highway to a highway junction, from there we go towards Spittal an der Drau and we continue driving on the highway A10. Highway A10 we quickly leave and we go to the exit for lake Ossiacher See, and in the nearby roundabout, we choose the third exit (if it wouldn't be a roundabout, we would go left) and further we drive on Millstätter Strasse. On the mentioned road, we drive to the settlement Radenče / Radenthein, where we turn right in the direction of the settlement Bad Kleinkirchheim. Further, we drive through the mentioned settlement, few kilometers ahead, and in the settlement Patergassen we turn left in the direction of the alpine mountain pass and ski slope Turracher Höhe. When we get to the mentioned mountain pass follows a shorter descent to the parking lot number 1, where we park. From the border crossing to the starting point, there is approximately 78 km.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we at first carefully cross the main road, and then we walk to Hotel Hochschober, after which we continue on the macadam road in the direction of the lake Schwarzsee, peak Eisenhut and other peaks. At first from the path, a nice view opens up on lake Turrachsee, and then we gradually go away from the lake. We soon get to tourist settlement Meizeit Hüttendorf, where the last view opens up on lake Turrachsee and where the path splits.
A path branches off to the right towards the lake Grünsee, and we continue straight towards the peaks Eisenhut and Schoberrigel and lake Schwarzsee, and at the next crossroad, we go slightly left towards the summit Eisenhut (slightly right Schoberrigel and Eisenhut over the mentioned peak).
Next follows a shorter ascent on the macadam road and we get to a former hotel, which is situated by the southwestern part of the lake Schwarzsee, and in a gentle descent, we descend to the north coast of the lake.
From the lake, we continue on a marked road which we still follow in the direction of the summit Eisenhut. On the road which mostly leads with nice views, only occasionally through a shorter lane of a forest, we are mostly lightly descending, and after the crossing of a little bigger stream, the road turns towards the north, where we already get to the lower part of the mountain pasture Gesgeralm. Only few 10 strides ahead, after the crossing of a grazing fence we leave the road and we continue right, diagonally over a steeper slope. After a short ascent, we quickly get to a smaller cottage, and on a little muddy and for some time an overgrown path we ascend to the upper part of the mountain pasture, where on the right side stands another cottage.
Still before the cottage, from the crossroad we continue on a slightly left road which starts ascending diagonally. After few minutes of walking on a bad road we leave it and we continue right in the direction of a marked path. The marked path leads us past a source with an older trough, and then at the marked crossing on Engeleriegel, where there is also an inscription box with an inscription book and a stamp, we cross the road which we recently left.
We continue straight towards the summit Eisenhut (right Gruft and Schoberriegel) and we are short time ascending, and then the path passes on the other side of a side ridge, where it flattens, and on a marked part we cross the wire fence. Next follows a light diagonal descent on a little hard to follow footpath. When we reach the nearby forest, the footpath becomes more distinct, and the descent continues. Lower, the forest gets thinner, and the path crosses few streams, and on some spots, the footpath again vanishes, and we carefully follow the blazes. In a moderate descent, then in few minutes we reach two cottages on the mountain pasture Gillendorferalm.
From the cottages, we walk to mountain signposts and we continue in the direction of saddle Rapitzsattel and the peak Eisenhut. At first, we walk on a gently sloping grassy path, which on the other side of the mountain pasture passes into the forest. Through the forest, we are gently to moderately ascending, and a little further we cross few streams, after which we step on a cart track, and there we continue diagonally towards the left. A little further, we cross another stream and then we ascend to the next pasture, where there is a feed site for animals, and we bypass it on the right side and we are still ascending diagonally. The path ahead leads us also through the last dense lane of a forest, after that with increasingly beautiful views we ascend to the spot, where from the left the path from the village Turrach joins.
We continue right on a worse cart track, and from there we soon go slightly left (further on a cart track Lattersteig, Lattersteighöhe and Bretthöhe) and further we start ascending through a small valley, through which runs a well. Next follows an ascent on the western grassy slopes, on which on a barely visible footpath we ascend to a saddle Rapitzsattel, where there is a marked crossing.
From the saddle, we continue left towards the peaks Eisenhut and Wintertalernock (straight Flattnitz, right Lattersteighöhe), and the path that runs on a ridge, or a little left from it, splits.
Slightly to the right leads the path on Wintertalernock and Eisenhut over the peak Straßburger Spitz, and we continue slightly left towards Eisenhut.
Next follows a diagonal ascent through a panoramic grassy slope, and then we cross shorter scree, on which in the beginning of the summer, the path is still poorly beaten. Next follows crossing of two more streams, and then we for some time continue by a wire fence, and views are opening up, which reach to High Tauern, and when we look back with every step a nicer view opens up on Julian Alps. The fence soon ends, and in front of us a nice view opens up towards the upper slope of Eisenhut. When after few additional minutes we ascend on a smaller saddle, from the right joins the path which leads over the peak Straßburger Spitz.
We continue straight, where we go past a watering-place, and then we start ascending steeper towards the highest peak of Gurktal Alps. Next follows good 20 minutes of ascent by the edge of the south ridge and we reach 2441 meters high peak.
Turracher Höhe - Schwarzsee 0:25, Schwarzsee - Gesgeralm 0:50, Gesgeralm - Gillendorferalm 1:00, Gillendorferalm - Rapitzsattel 1:40, Rapitzsattel - Eisenhut 1:20.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in the year 2019 (June).

On the way: Hotel Hochschober (1763m), Meizeit Hüttendorf (1785m), Schwarzsee (pri Turracher Höhe) (1841m), Gesgeralm (1813m), Engeleriegel (1920m), Gillendorferalm (1750m), Rapitzsattel (2088m)