Erschbaum - Große Kinigat / Monte Cavallino (western way)

Access to starting point:
From Kranjska Gora over the Korensko sedlo pass to Austria, where at the first major intersection we continue left towards Podklošter / Arnoldstein and Trbiž / Tarvisio. At the end of the settlement Podklošter, signs for Šmohor / Hermagor direct us right onto a regional road, along which, past the mentioned settlement, we drive to the end of the Gailtal valley, or more precisely to the settlement Kötschach-Mauthen, where we turn right towards the settlement Oberdrauburg. The route ahead leads us over the Alpine pass Gailbergsattel (982 m), after which we descend into the mentioned settlement. After crossing the bridge over the 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. A few kilometers before Sillian, in the settlement Tassenbach, we turn left towards the settlement Kartitsch into the Upper Gailtal / Tiroler Gailtal. We continue through the settlement Kartitsch and then in the settlement Erschbaum we turn right downhill onto a narrow road, which after a short descent crosses a wooden bridge and brings us to an intersection of forest roads. In front of the intersection near the sawmill there is also a parking lot where we park.

Path description:
From the starting point, we continue along the road and at the intersection continue left following the signs »Erschbaumertal, Zum Klettersteig Gr. Kinigat«. The road is officially closed to traffic (traffic prohibited in both directions – forest road), but the vast majority continues driving and thus saves a good hour of walking.
The road is initially relatively flat and runs through the forest towards the east. At intersections, we follow the signs for Erschbaumertal and Große Kinigat. The road later turns right towards the south and runs mostly along the stream upwards. Higher up, the forest becomes sparser and a view opens up towards the peaks Kleine and Große Kinigat.
At the end of the Erschbaumertal valley, where there is also a small parking lot, the road ends and we continue slightly left onto a footpath. The path here begins to ascend somewhat more steeply through larch forest and brings us to a junction at Tascharrhütte.
We continue right towards the Obstansersee Hütte hut; to the left lead the via ferrata and eastern path to Große Kinigat. Our path then leads through a short stretch of forest and crosses a stream. In continuation, the path runs along the left side of the valley towards the west and ascends below the slopes of the Kleine Kinigat peak. The path then brings us to grassy slopes on the eastern side of the Rosskopf peak and begins to ascend somewhat more steeply. To the left, quite unnoticeably, an unmarked and rather poorly trodden path branches off towards the ridge between the Kleine Kinigat and Pfannspitze peaks. We continue along the marked path, which brings us to the Rosskopftörl saddle.
From the saddle, where there is a fine view of the surrounding peaks, we descend to the west side towards the lake and the Obstansersee Hütte hut. The path here descends less than 200 meters and brings us to a junction just before the hut.
Straight ahead it is only a few minutes' walk to the hut and lake, but at the junction we continue left following the signs »Pfannspitze, Große Kinigat«. From the junction, the path begins to ascend again towards the south and brings us to a junction on the border ridge.
At the junction, where a view opens towards the Dolomites, we continue left and an ascent follows along the panoramic ridge to the Pfannspitze summit.
From the summit, we continue along the ridge and begin to descend slightly. The path here runs mostly along the grassy border ridge towards the east. Later there follows a short traverse across a somewhat steeper rocky slope, after which the path soon brings us below the slopes of Kleine Kinigat. Here the path turns to the Italian side and mostly in descent crosses somewhat steeper slopes below the Kleine Kinigat summit. This path then brings us to a saddle on the eastern side of the peak, where there is also a junction.
At the junction, we continue left following the signs »Große Kinigat« and the path soon becomes more demanding. The path ascends a fairly steep slope, aided by steel cables. Considerable caution is required on the ascent as there is quite a lot of scree on the path. The ascent is fairly demanding, but most people manage it without self-belaying.
Further on, the path becomes less steep and brings us to the Austrian side of the border ridge. Here the path crosses scree fields and we soon spot the Große Kinigat summit. At the signposts, where the via ferrata joins from the left, we continue straight and begin to ascend somewhat more steeply again. A little below the summit, the eastern path also joins from the right and only a short ascent remains to the panoramic summit.

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