Upper station of mountain railway - Grosses Reisseck

Access to starting point:
From Slovenia at first we drive to Beljak / Villach, further to Spittal and then towards Lienz. Already few kilometers before the settlement Möllbrucke we turn right on the road towards Grossglockner and Mallnitz. We soon reach the bottom lake of hydropower plant Reisseck, which on the left and immediately into settlement Kolbnitz (Unterkolbnitz), where green signs point us to the right towards Reisseck Bergbahnen. We then drive few more turns through the mentioned settlement and we get to a parking lot at the bottom station of a mountain railway, which takes us to the starting point.

Path description:
At the upper station of a mountain railway at first we follow a narrow road and already after few meters, we notice the first yellow signposts, which pointing to the right towards Hohe Leier and Hochkedl, and mountain hut Reisseckhütte, which we see right below a concrete dam. If we don't want to go to the hut (10 min), we continue on a narrow road, where we come to the signpost with signs which point us left on a walking path and Reisseck. Here joins also the path from the mountain hut. We further follow the blazes on a partly rocky wide broad ridge, scattered with numerous stone cairns and left below we notice an upper artificial lake, closer to which the path then descends a little. Above the coast of the lake, we cross a slope and we get to a steepness below the saddle Riekentörl. Here the path is in turns ascending over smaller rocky jumps, and if we are on the path, when in mountains there is also some snow we cross also numerous smaller streams and right below the saddle some snow fields (if they are smaller we can bypass them without problems). When we get to a saddle towards the east a view opens up on a wide valley with numerous lakes and chain of mountains above them, and a first look on our destination, which is visible on the north over a slope in front of it. Here signpost with a white sign points us to the right. Already after few meters, we need to pay attention to white caption on the stone (Reisseck) and blazes, which lead the path to the left over a rocky slope, because better beaten is direct ascending unmarked footpath which goes on Radleck (2802). We all the time walk western below the ridge between Radleck and Reisseck, and the path well routed over large stones, which are in some parts placed into a stairs for easier walking. Here we can run into steep snow fields as well, which we have to cross and we have to be careful that we don't slip or that a foot fall in some hole among rocks. After a little more than one hour of walking from the starting point, we reach a narrow saddle Kalte Herberg-Scharte, over which towards the east steeply below we notice a cirque with a lake and depending on a time of the year, also a large snow field above it. From there on the saddle joins visibly less beaten path from the valley Malta past the mountain hut Zottachutte. Now we ascend to the upper pyramid of Reisseck. We all the time walk over rock bands at the beginning also a little closer to a smaller precipice above the before mentioned snow field, to which we don't get close to, if we don't step a little from the path. It is quite steep here, so we move forward slower as on previous part of the path. Because we walk over rocks, which are more or less stable while walking we are carefully stepping, so that the stones don't move away, and that we don't trigger them towards mountaineers behind us, because the ascent runs more or less straight upwards. After a little less than an hour, we reach the peak with a cross. Here on a metal box with an inscription book surprises us a caption, Grosses Reisseck 2985 meters. (on the maps and signs is written 2965m).

On the way: Reisseckhutte (2287m), Riekentörl (2560m), Kalte Herberg-Scharte (2712m)