Gößgraben - Schneewinkelspitze (Detmolder Grat)

Access to starting point:
From the Karawanks Tunnel, we follow the highway towards Salzburg to exit Gmünd. Further, we then follow the signs for valley Maltatal. The road, that runs through the mentioned valley we follow to the settlement Koschach. When on the right we notice the waterfall Fallbach (highest waterfall in Koroška) we will soon come to a crossroad where we go left over a bridge, which crosses a river Malta. Only a little after this we again turn left on a narrower road steep upwards into a valley Gossgraben (signs for mountain hut Gießener Hütte). We follow the road all the way to a large parking lot below dam Goskarspeicher. The last few kilometers of the road are opened only in the summer months when the mountain hut Gießener Hütte is open (from the beginning of July to the end of September).

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the asphalt road which is closed for traffic. After few minutes of the ascent, we come to a crossroad where we continue right on a macadam road where a sign with the caption »Gießener Hütte« points us to. Left is only a short ascent to the lake Gößkarspeicher.
At the crossing, we also enter into national park High Tauern (Nationalpark Hohe Tauern). The road is all the time ascending and increasingly beautiful views start to open up towards the mountain group Reißeck. At the ascent we also few times cross a grazing fence, because by the road in the summer months also livestock is grazing. Further, we can all the time walk on the road or we go on marked shortcuts. Forest is becoming thinner and in the last part of the path towards the mountain hut, we walk by rocky terrain. Here also a nice view opens up towards the summit Hochalmspitze and on numerous streams, which run down the slope. We still continue on the road and we soon come to the hut Gießener Hütte.

From the mountain hut, we continue on a footpath which immediately above the mountain hut brings us to a crossing. Left leads the path towards the notch Mallnitzer Scharte and mountain hut Arthur von Schmid Haus, and we continue slightly right following the signs »Hochalmspitze«. A little after that easy path on the nearby peak Winterleitenkopf branches off to the right.
The path further mostly runs on rocky plates, which are at first nicely arranged so that ascent doesn't cause problems. Here we enter into the main area of national park High Tauern and after a short ascent, we come to another crossing.
To the right leads the path on the eastern ridge on Hochalmspitze, and we continue left on the path 519 named Schwarzenburger Weg. From the crossing, the path for some time crosses slopes towards the west and in doing so it crosses few streams. Later it turns a little to the right and starts ascending slightly steeper. The path which runs mostly on rocky plates then brings us to a marked crossing. Here the path to Hochalmspitze branches off to the right, and we continue left towards Schneewinkelspitze and Säuleck. The path passes into an area full of rocky blocks. At first, we follow a small valley between larger rocks, then we cross shorter smooth rocks, where we carefully follow the blazes. The path leads us below a short smooth wall and turns to the right. The path steeply ascends towards the saddle, which is situated east of the peak Schneewinkelspitze. While walking, we must be careful that the rock does not give way beneath our feet or that we step into a hole between rocky blocks. After approximately 1.5 hours of walking on rocky terrain, we reach the mentioned saddle. Here we arrive at the path Detmolder Grat. From the right, the path from Hochalmspitze or the notch Lassacher Winklscharte joins us. We continue left. The crossing is not marked. The path initially stays close to the ridge, then veers to the left side, leading us over a short steep climb, before returning to the ridge. Soon the path becomes somewhat steeper and avoids all difficulties by shifting to the left side. After the steep section, we reach the secondary peak. We continue along the ridge, walking on rocky blocks the entire time. In 45 minutes from the saddle, we reach a panoramic peak where a cairn stands.
The description and pictures from 41 onward refer to the condition in September 2024.

On the way: Gießener Hütte (2215m)