Brandlucken - Plankogel

Access to starting point:
Highway A2 Graz - Vienna / Wien we leave at the exit for Gleisdorf West, and then we follow the signs for Hartberg and Weiz, and later only Weiz. Through Weiz, we follow the signs for Passail. For the gorge Weizklamm, we turn right from the main road towards Sommeralm and surrounding settlements (straight for Passail). The road gradually starts ascending significantly, and we follow the signs for Sommeralm. Higher, the road towards Sommeralm turns sharply to the left, but here we continue straight into the settlement Brandlucken, where we then park. Some parking lots in the settlement, including larger ones, are private. It is best to park at the first macadam parking lot on the right side.

Path description:
From the settlement Brandlucken, past the chapel or past the hotel Naturhotel Bauernhofer, we ascend a forested ridge situated northeast of the settlement, then go left and follow the signs for Sommeralm and Teichalm. A little further, we get very close to the asphalt road leading towards Sommeralm, but we continue slightly to the right of the road for a short time, and at the chapel, we reach a small crossroad, then continue along the road following the signs for Sommeralm. We quickly leave the main road and continue left of the main road on a side road leading towards a nearby hamlet, but we soon turn right onto a footpath and ascend to an asphalt road, which we only cross this time. Now we ascend slightly above the road, and soon we get very close to the road again, then a cart track branches off slightly to the right from the road, along which we continue the ascent. Next follows a short ascent along the edge of a panoramic meadow, then, after the wooden cottage, the path turns left and stops ascending. A little further, we return to the asphalt road, along which we continue for a few minutes, then go slightly left and follow the path that runs parallel to the road and slightly below it. Next follows a longer, gentle diagonal ascent, initially through a strip of forest, then across a larger panoramic meadow. Higher up, we cross the asphalt road for the last time and, by the parking lot, walk to the cottage Stoakoglhütte.
We bypass the cottage Stoakoglhütte on the left side and continue slightly to the right in the direction of Sommeralm and Plankogel. The path ahead leads us along a grassy cart track, which brings us to a crossroads on a small saddle in about five minutes.
We continue along the slightly right path toward Plankogel (slightly left toward Sommeralm) and begin ascending more steeply beside a wire fence. The increasingly scenic path levels out higher up and quickly leads us to the cross on a panoramic summit.
The starting point - Stoakoglhütte 1:30, Stoakoglhütte - Plankogel 0:30.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in November 2023 and May 2025.

On the way: Stoakoglhütte (1372m)