Erschbaum - Große Kinigat / Monte Cavallino (western way)

Access to starting point:
From Kranjska Gora over mountain pass Korensko sedlo to Austria, where at the first larger crossroad, we continue left towards Podklošter / Arnoldstein and Trbiž / Tarvisio. By the end of the settlement Podklošter signs for Šmohor / Hermagor point us to the right on a regional road, on which past the mentioned settlement we drive to the end of the valley Gailtal, or more precisely to the settlement Kötschach-Mauthen, where we turn right towards the settlement Oberdrauburg. The path ahead leads us over an Alpine mountain pass Gailbergsattel (982 meters), after which we descend into the mentioned settlement. After we cross the bridge through river Drau, we continue left towards the settlement Lienz. In the main roundabout in Lienz we continue "left" in the direction of the settlement Sillian and Italy. Few kilometers before Sillian in the settlement Tassenbach we turn left in the direction of the settlement Kartitsch into a valley Tiroler Gailtal. We continue through the settlement Kartitsch and then in the settlement Erschbaum we turn right downwards on a narrow road which after a short descent crosses a wooden bridge and it brings us to a crossroad of forest roads. In front of the crossroad near the sawmill is also a parking lot where we park.

Path description:
From the starting point, we continue on the road and at the crossroad, we continue left following the signs »Erschbaumertal, Zum Klettersteig Gr. Kinigat«. The road is officially closed for traffic (prohibited traffic in both directions – forest road), but a big majority continues to drive and saves a good hour of walking.
The road at first is not that steep and runs through the forest towards the east. At the crossroads, we follow the signs for Erschbaumertal and Große Kinigat. The road later turns to the right towards the south and runs mostly by the stream upwards. Higher the forest becomes thinner and a view starts to open up towards the peaks Kleine and Große Kinigat.
At the end of the valley Erschbaumertal where there is also a smaller parking lot the road ends and we continue slightly left on a footpath. The path here starts ascending a little steeper through larch forest and it brings us to a crossing at Tascharrhütte.
We continue right towards the mountain hut Obstansersee Hütte, left leads the climbing and east path on Große Kinigat. Our path then leads us through a short lane of a forest and crosses a stream. Further, the path runs on the left side of the valley towards the west and is ascending below the slopes of the peak Kleine Kinigat. The path then brings us on grassy slopes on the eastern side of the peak Rosskopf and starts ascending a little steeper. Left then quite unnoticeably unmarked and quite poorly beaten path branches off towards the ridge between the peaks Kleine Kinigat and Pfannspitze. We still continue on a marked path, which brings us on a saddle Rosskopftörl.
From the saddle where there is a nice view towards the surrounding peaks, we descend on the west side towards the lake and mountain hut Obstansersee Hütte. The path here descends a little less than 200 meters and it brings us to a crossing a little before the mountain hut.
Straight there is only few minutes of walking to the hut and lake, and at the crossing, we continue left following the signs »Pfannspitze, Große Kinigat«. From the crossing, the path again starts ascending towards the south and it brings us to a crossing on the border ridge.
At the crossing where a view opens up towards Dolomites we continue left and then follows an ascent on a panoramic ridge to the top of Pfannspitze.
From the top, we continue on the ridge and start descending a little. The path here runs on mostly grassy border ridge towards the east. Later follows a short crossing on a little steeper rocky slope, and then the path soon brings us below the slopes of Kleine Kinigat. Here the path turns on the Italian side and mostly in descent crosses little steeper slopes below the summit Kleine Kinigat. Such a path then brings us on a saddle on the eastern side of the peak where there is also a crossing.
At the crossing, we continue left following the signs »Große Kinigat« and the path soon becomes demanding. The path ascends on a quite steep slope, and we also get help from steel cables. At the ascent quite some caution is needed because on the path, there is also quite a lot of gravel. The ascent is otherwise quite demanding, but a majority don't need self belaying.
Further, the path becomes less steep and brings us on the Austrian side of the border ridge. Here the path crosses scree and we soon notice the peak Große Kinigat. At the signposts where from the left joins the climbing path, we continue straight and we again start ascending a little steeper. A little below the summit from the right joins also the east path and only a short ascent follows to the scenic summit.

On the way: Tscharrhütte (1935m), Rosskopftörl (2493m), Pfannspitze / Cima Vanscuro (2678m)