Trate / Johannsenruhe - Vertatscha/Vrtača

Access to starting point:
A) Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, then continue on the motorway towards Beljak, which we leave at the first exit. From the point where we leave the motorway, we follow the signs for the village of Šentjakob v Rožu / Sankt Jakob im Rosental. When we arrive in the mentioned village, we drive on the main road past Podgorje / Maria Elend and the settlement Sveče / Suetschach to the village Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental, where before the Billa and Penny stores we turn right in the direction of the Rute / Bärental valley. About 100 m after we leave the main road, we continue left, then on a somewhat narrower and ascending road we drive to a large parking lot (the parking lot is located near a meadow named Trate / Johannsenruhe). From the Penny store to the starting point there is approximately 9 km of narrower asphalt road, macadam only in the last part. From the entrance to the Karawanks Tunnel to the starting point there is approximately 38 km.
B) Through the Ljubelj border crossing we drive into Austria, where on the main road towards Celovec / Klagenfurt am Wörtersee we drive to the second roundabout, from which we continue the drive in the direction of the Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental exit (the main road towards Celovec we leave before crossing the Drava River). In the mentioned village immediately after the Billa and Penny stores we turn left onto the road in the direction of the Rute / Bärental valley. About 100 m after we leave the main road we continue left again, then on a somewhat narrower and ascending road we drive to a large parking lot (the parking lot is located near a meadow named Trate / Johannsenruhe). From the Penny store to the starting point there is approximately 9 km of narrower asphalt road, macadam only in the last part. From the entrance to the Ljubelj Tunnel to the starting point there is approximately 32 km.
C) From Dravograd or Slovenj Gradec we drive to Ravne na Koroškem, then continue driving in the direction of the Holmec border crossing. When we enter Austria we first drive towards Pliberk / Bleiburg, then follow the signs for Globasnica / Globasnitz and further Železni Kapli / Bad Eisenkappel, Borovlje / Ferlach. After Borovlje at the roundabout we join the road through the Ljubelj border crossing. Here at the first roundabout we continue in the direction of Celovec / Klagenfurt, at the second in the direction of Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental. In the mentioned village immediately after the Billa and Penny stores we turn left onto the road in the direction of the Rute / Bärental valley. About 100 m after we leave the main road we continue left again, then on a somewhat narrower and ascending road we drive to a large parking lot (the parking lot is located near a meadow named Trate / Johannsenruhe). From the Penny store to the starting point there is approximately 9 km of narrower asphalt road, macadam only in the last part. From the Holmec border crossing to the starting point there is approximately 71 km.

Path description:
At the beginning of the parking lot, between the road closed with a barrier and the parking lot, we notice the beginning of the marked path that leads towards Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte, Stol, Svačica, Ovčji vrh / Geissberg and other destinations. The marked path is joined a little further by an unmarked path that leads from the upper part of the parking lot, and we join the macadam road a few steps further that leads towards the already mentioned mountain hut. The road then leads us across the bed of a torrent and shortly afterwards brings us out of the forest onto the meadow (Trate / Johannsenruhe), which is only a few minutes from the starting point. From the meadow a beautiful view opens up, and the road then returns into a belt of forest. When the forest temporarily thins, an unmarked "shortcut" continues straight in a gentle left bend. We continue on the road, where a yellow mountain sign also directs us. Just a minute further the "main" road turns right, the "side" one continues straight. From the mentioned junction we continue on the footpath that runs between both roads and further ascends with the road that leads towards Celovška koča. For some time we ascend transversely across occasionally steeper slopes, then return to the wider macadam road. Further on, the marked path crosses the road several more times, then at a larger rock or boulder with memorial plaques splits into two parts.
To the right leads the climbing path to Stol, we continue straight in the direction of Celovška koča. The path further crosses the road several more times, higher it brings us from the occasionally sparse forest to the pasture slopes of Mačenska planina / Matschacher Alm (the huts on the mountain pasture are a few minutes to the left from the marked path). From there follows a gentle ascent and the path or road takes us to Celovška koča in a few minutes.
At the hut we turn right in the direction of Prešernova koča na Stolu. The path ahead first crosses grassy slopes, then gently descends to an indistinct saddle. The path ahead then begins to ascend steeply over scree to a somewhat vegetated part of the path. A little further, a steel cable helps us when crossing a steeper slope, but this part of the path causes us no difficulties when dry. Further we ascend again over scree all the way to the state border.
From the Belščica saddle, from where the path to Svačica branches to the left, we continue straight and follow the path in the direction of Vrtača, Prešernova koča and Zelenica. For a few minutes we cross grassy slopes, then arrive at the place where the inscription on the rock for Vrtača directs us left (straight down Stol). This is followed by a few minutes of relatively easy walking, then we arrive at a short but steep grassy slope across which we descend diagonally. When the descent ends we arrive at extensive scree fields, across which we begin to ascend in a semicircle. Further, the less trodden path, exposed to falling rocks in several places, ascends more steeply higher up several times, then turns a little more to the right and brings us to the southwest shoulder of Vrtača, where we join the better trodden path from Ljubelj and Završnica.
Here we continue left and begin to ascend steeply across very steep and slippery slopes. Higher the path brings us to the main Karawanks ridge, where it flattens. This is followed by approximately 20 minutes of walking along and beside the ridge, which is somewhat exposed in places and slippery throughout the section. We follow this panoramic path all the way to the summit of Vrtača.
Starting point - Celovška koča 1:30, Celovška koča - Vrtača 2:30.

On the way: Klagenfurter Hutte/Celovška koča (1664m), Sedlo Belščica (1840m)