Ridovc / Ridovcsäge - Koschutnikturm (Košutnikov turn) (by Mrzli potok and over Cjajnik)

Access to starting point:
From highway Ljubljana - Jesenice we go to the exit Ljubelj (Tržič), and then we continue driving in the direction of Celovec / Klagenfurt. After Ljubelj tunnel the road starts descending, and we follow it to the crossroad, where slightly right and downwards road towards the settlement Borovlje / Ferlach branches off. The road which is still descending quickly brings us to the mentioned settlement, where we soon cross the railway track. Only a little after the track we join the other road which we follow to the right, and we are driving there in the direction of the settlement Sele / Zell - Pfarre. Higher, the road leads us through a shorter scenic gorge, and then we soon get to the sharp left turn at homestead Ridovc, where we notice yellow hiking signposts and a bus stop. We park somewhere nearby on an appropriate place by the road.

Path description:
From the bus stop Ridovc we continue on the asphalt road (right on a macadam road 15 minutes longer path through the valley of Huda jama), which after few meters we leave and we continue right towards the nearby residential house, which we bypass on the left side. Behind the house, the road changes into a cart track, on which we are then for some time ascending by the stream Mrzli potok. Higher, we join the forest teaching trail and we follow it to the right, where we at first cross the stream and then after a short ascent, we leave it, because blazes lead left on a relatively steep footpath. For some time we are ascending relatively steeply, and then the path and the slope flatten out. Next follows a short walk on a cart track, and then we cross the road which leads from the settlement Sele towards the mountain hut Koča pod Košuto.
Next follows few minutes of a steep ascent, and then we return on the road, and there we come out of the forest to Mrzli log.
From here we can continue right on a marked path which continues on the bottom of a small valley, or on a parallel macadam road. Wherever we continue we will after approximately 15 minutes of additional walking come to the mountain hut Koča pod Košuto and few steps ahead to a parking lot.
From the parking lot, we go towards the southeast following the signs Lärchenturm / Cjajnik, Koschutnikturm / Košutnikov turn. At the beginning of the path, we will also notice a large board with picture of Košuta and drawn paths on Cjajnik and Košutnikov turn. After that, the path for some time runs through the forest towards the east and it brings us to a crossing where we go right following the signs Cjajnik. We soon come out of the forest to scree which we then in ascent cross towards the west (in the direction towards Cjajnik). At the crossing of the scree we follow red white blazes, big yellow blazes on rocks should not confuse us, because they lead on the scree upwards towards the gully, which leads towards the notch Cjajnikova škrbina.
At the entrance into a climbing part of the path, we must equip ourselves with a helmet and self-belay set, highly recommended is also the use of climbing gloves. The path already at the beginning steeply ascends and then crosses a steep wall to the right. The path is all the time well-secured with a steel cable, occasionally we also get help from some stemples, but much less than someone might expect. There aren't many footholds and a lot of work at the ascent, we have to do with hands. After that, the path for quite some time runs slightly to the right and quite few times almost vertically ascends. Later, the path turns to the left and it ascends on a little easier slightly vegetated slope. For a short time also the peak of Cjajnik shows up, and then we again enter the wall. We again very steeply ascend and also the exposure is becoming greater. Steepness further rarely decreases and then the path turns slightly to the right and it brings us to a crossing below the upper tower. We can choose between two paths, which lead to the summit, and no matter which we will choose follows a very demanding climbing. The left path is marked with difficulty level D, and right with difficulty level C.
Austrians grade difficulty of climbing paths with grades from A to E in doing so A is the easiest and E the most difficult.
Right the easier path at first bypasses the peak on the right side, and then to the summit ascends from the western side. And left path from the crossing ascends vertically towards the summit. Climbing here is very demanding because in the rock there aren't many holds. We get help from only few stemples and vertical steel cable.
The path on Cjajnik is extremely demanding and it is appropriate only for most skilled mountaineers with enough strength in arms and with mandatory self belaying. The path belongs among most difficult in Karawanks and it is harder than most of Italian extremely demanding paths in Julian Alps.
We can descend on the ascent route (in the upper part on the path C difficulty level). The second option is that we descend towards the south to the notch Cjajnikova škrbina from where we continue to the main ridge of Košuta and we descend on the Slovenian side or on climbing path on Košutnikov turn to the starting point. The path from the notch Cjajnikova škrbina through the eastern gully is closed because of falling stones.
From the top, we then descend on a little easier but still extremely demanding path of grade C. First, we have to from the northern tower with the help of steel cables step over a narrow notch and then we start descending on almost vertical wall. We will soon get to a crossing of paths in the western wall of Cjajnik. We go left towards the notch Cjajnikova škrbina (Lärchenscharte), right leads the path towards the mountain hut Koča pod Košuto. From the crossing, we then cross slightly towards the south, and the steepness doesn't decrease all the way to the notch Cjajnikova škrbina. When we step on solid ground in the notch we can relax a little because the hardest is behind us. On the notch, we will also notice old blazes, which from the notch lead on the eastern gully into a valley. This path isn't appropriate for a descent because it is closed due to great crumbliness.
From the notch, we then continue on a footpath which at first leads towards the southwest, and then starts ascending steeply on steep grass towards Užnik. Next follows slightly crumbly ascent through a narrow gully and we soon reach the main ridge of Košuta.
On the ridge, we go left and we continue on the south side of the ridge. The path at first runs on relatively steep grassy slopes, later when we come again on the ridge the path becomes exposed a little and there are also some steel cables for help. From the left side then joins also the climbing path on Košutnikov turn from the Austrian side (ÖTK Steig Neu), and few meters later from the right side joins also western path from the mountain pasture Spodnja Dolga njiva. We continue on the south side of the ridge and on the path which becomes a little steeper we soon reach the panoramic peak.
The described path is extremely demanding, especially ascent on Cjajnik and descent into notch Cjajnikova škrbina. This part of the path is appropriate only for most skilled mountaineers with enough strength in arms and with mandatory self belaying. The path on Cjajnik is among most difficult in Karawanks and it is even harder than most of Italian extremely demanding paths in Julian Alps.
We can descend on climbing path on Košutnikov turn (ÖTK Steig Neu).

On the way: Mrzli log (1185m), Koschutahaus (1280m), Cjajnik / Lärchenturm (1965m), Užnik (2079m)