Klösterle - Gerlitzen (via Stifterboden)

Access to starting point:
A) Over the border crossing Ljubelj we drive to Austria, and then we follow the road towards Celovec / Klagenfurt. In Celovec at all crossroads, we continue straight, and when the main road turns firmly to the right, only a little further we leave it and we continue left in the direction towards settlements Dhovše pri Celovcu / Lendorf and Trg na Koroškem / Feldkirchen in Kärnten. When we get to a highway junction we go left in the direction of the settlement Trg na Koroškem, and when we get to the mentioned settlement we go from a traffic light crossroad right in the direction towards Alpine mountain pass Turracher Höhe. After the settlement Himmelberg, we go left in the direction of Gerlitzen and we start considerably ascending. When the road stops ascending, we follow it to the parking lot 6a.
From the border crossing Ljubelj to the starting point, there is approximately 73 km.
B) Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we drive on the highway to a highway junction, from there we go towards Spittal an der Drau and we continue driving on the highway A10. Highway A10 we quickly leave and we go to the exit for lake Ossiacher See, and in the nearby roundabout, we choose the third exit (if it wouldn't be a roundabout, we would go left) and further we drive on Millstätter Strasse. On the mentioned road, we drive to a crossroad, where we turn right towards the settlement Arriach and ski slope Gerlitzen, so that we are further driving on Teuchen Landesstraße. On the mentioned road, we drive to the parking lot 6a.
From the border crossing Karawanks to the starting point, there is approximately 47 km.

Path description:
From the parking lot on a wooden bridge we cross the stream Arriachbach, and then we walk to the bottom cableway station Klösterlebahn I, which we bypass on the right side. After the chairlift station we continue right, so that we continue to the edge of the forest. When we step into the forest, we notice the first blaze, and the path few steps ahead splits.
The marked path continues straight and leads to Wurzelpark, and we go left, where after few steps we notice a beaten footpath which after a short ascent turns right and it ascends diagonally above the archery site. After approximately 5 minutes of walking on an unmarked path we return on a marked path, which we reach on the part where it runs on the macadam road (path past Wurzelpark is approximately 15 minutes longer).
We follow the road to the left and then we quickly get to the edge of the ski track, from where a beautiful view opens up, and the path turns right and continues on the road. Higher, we make few hairpin turns, and then we return to a ski slope, on which we are for some time ascending, and then the path again passes into the forest, where we continue on a bad road. After crossing a grazing fence, the path for a longer time passes on a ski slope and also becomes steeper, because it is ascending on a ski slope straight upwards. When we get closer to the upper station of the cableway Klosterlebahn I, we go again right in the forest. In the forest, the road turns sharply left and it brings us to the station of the mentioned cableway, where few 10 strides before it, we continue right upwards. We quickly reach the next road and we continue there with increasingly beautiful views, which reach all the way to the highest peak of Austria. Next follow few crossings, where we follow the blazes, and then past the artificial lake, from which a nice view opens up on Wintertalernock, we get to a crossroad near the mountain hut Huaba Hittn.
Here we go right (left mountain hut Huaba Hittn 1 minute) and on the road we start lightly descending to the nearby stream. After the stream, the road turns right and in a gentle ascent brings us to a crossroad, where we go slightly left and then we quickly get to the mountain hut Neugarten Almseehütte.
From the mountain hut, we continue slightly right (slightly left one of the paths on Gerlitzen) in the direction towards Stifterboden. The path ahead at first leads on a transport road which runs on a ski slope, and then blazes point us right in the forest, where we cross a grazing fence. After crossing the fence, we continue on a wide and gently sloping path, which quickly brings us to an asphalt road, and there we ascend to the settlement of holiday cottages Stifterboden.
We continue left, few steps still on the asphalt road, and then we go slightly right on a marked footpath which is ascending right from the road. Next follows an ascent by at first a wooden, and higher wire fence, and the path brings us out of the forest on the more and more panoramic slopes of Gerlitzen. With nice views we short time continue parallel with the road, and then we join it and we quickly get to Alpin hotel, from where to the top of Gerlitzen, where stands also hotel Gipfelhaus separates us only a shorter ascent.
From the top, we can descend to the near vantage point, from which a nice view opens up on lake Osiacher See.
Klösterle - Huaba Hittn 1:40, Huaba Hittn - Neugarten Almseehütte 0:10, Neugarten Almseehütte - Stifterboden 0:30, Stifterboden - Gerlitzen 0:40.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in the year 2019 (August).

On the way: Huaba Hittn (1605m), Neugarten Almseehütte (1620m), Stifterboden (1665m)