Glashütten (Gasthof Almwirt) - Handalm

Access to starting point:
First we drive to Maribor, then continue on the motorway towards the Šentilj border crossing and further on the Austrian motorway towards Graz. We leave the mentioned motorway at the exit for the town of Leibnitz. After leaving the motorway, at the roundabout we continue in the direction of Leibnitz, then drive south of the village of Gralla, which is today a kind of peripheral part of Leibnitz. The route then leads us past an industrial or commercial zone, where at the roundabout by the Hofer store we continue straight (second exit) in the direction of Deutschlandsberg. We drive on the main road for some time, then after the village of Graschach we turn right towards Deutschlandsberg. At the roundabout near Deutschlandsberg we continue straight in the direction of the alpine pass Weinebene. From here the road begins to ascend more steeply. After approximately 15 kilometres we reach a junction, where the road branches off to the right towards the inn Gasthof Almwirt. We take the mentioned road and then park at the gravel parking lot about 100 metres before the permanently closed inn.

Route description:
From the parking lot we walk to the former inn Almwirt, after which the asphalt ends. The road leads us past a cross into the forest, where it turns into a cart track and forks.
We continue on the left, steep path (right is the longer, gentle path), which begins to ascend through the forest and among blueberry bushes. Higher up there are several junctions, where we follow the markings, then we join the gentler path.
Here we go left, and on the section where the path levels out completely, we choose a slightly right cart track, which begins to ascend again. Further on there are several crossings of a forest road, where we faithfully follow the markings. From the junction where we join the path from the settlement Osterwitz, we continue left towards the pass Weinebene. Higher up the forest becomes increasingly sparse, and we ascend across a pasture. When the path levels out in the upper part of the pasture, we reach the area of wind turbines. Here we bypass Glashüttenkogel on the left side, and later also the less prominent peak Moserkogel. The marked path always stays somewhat to the left of the road or approaches it completely for a short time. With beautiful views we then begin to ascend again and reach the cross Handhohkreuz, where we go left (right Osterwitz).
From here we cross the slopes for a short time, then begin to descend transversely towards the pass Weinebene, and when we reach the forest we turn right uphill in the direction of Handalm - Hebalm.
This is followed by an ascent through the forest, which we soon leave, then on a grassy slope we return to the area of wind turbines. Here the path turns left and levels out, we go a little further right and ascend off-path to the indistinct peak Handalm.

Point of interest along the way: The path leads us past the natural landmark Felsofen (Rock cliff), where an information board explains the formation of the local flat gneiss. It was formed from clay and sandy sediments deep in the Earth's crust under high pressure, and today it is quarried in the area of Stainza for the well-known decorative slabs (Stainzer Platten).

Along the route: Glashüttenkogel (1762m), Moserkogel (1747m)

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