Klösterle - Gerlitzen (via Stifterboden)

Access to starting point:
A) Via the Ljubelj border crossing we drive into Austria, then we follow the road towards Celovec / Klagenfurt. In Celovec at all crossroads we continue straight, and when the main road turns sharply to the right, a little further on we leave it and continue left towards the settlements Dhovše pri Celovcu / Lendorf and Trg na Koroškem / Feldkirchen in Kärnten. When we arrive at the motorway junction we go left towards the settlement Trg na Koroškem, and when we arrive at the mentioned settlement we go from the traffic-light intersection right towards the alpine pass Turracher Höhe. After the settlement Himmelberg we go left towards Osojščica / Gerlitzen and begin to ascend more noticeably. When the road stops ascending we follow it to parking lot 6a.
From the Ljubelj border crossing to the starting point there is approximately 73 km.
B) Through the Karawanks Tunnel we drive into Austria, then we drive on the motorway to the motorway junction, from which we continue towards Spittal an der Drau and continue driving on motorway A10. We quickly leave motorway A10 and take the exit for Osojsko jezero / Ossiacher See; at the nearby roundabout we choose the third exit (if there were no roundabout we would go left) and then drive on Millstätter Strasse. On the mentioned road we drive to the intersection, where we turn right towards the settlement Arriach and the Gerlitzen ski area, so that further we drive on Teuchen Landesstraße. On the mentioned road we drive to parking lot 6a.
From the Karavanke border crossing to the starting point there is approximately 47 km.

Path description:
From the parking lot over a wooden bridge we cross the stream Arriachbach, then we walk to the lower station of the cable car Klösterlebahn I, which we bypass on the right side. Behind the chairlift station we continue right, so we proceed to the edge of the forest. When we enter the forest we notice the first mark, and the path splits a few steps ahead.
The marked path continues straight and leads to Wurzelpark, but we go left, where after a few steps we notice a trodden path, which after a short ascent turns right and ascends transversely above the archery area. After approximately 5 minutes of walking on the unmarked path we return to the marked path, which we reach on the section where it runs along a macadam road (the path via Wurzelpark is approximately 15 minutes longer).
We follow the road to the left, along which we soon arrive at the edge of the ski slope, from where a beautiful view opens up, and the path turns right and continues along the road. Higher up we make a few hairpin turns, then we return to the ski slope, along which we ascend for some time, then the path enters the forest again, where we continue along a poorer road. After crossing the pasture fence the path stays on the ski slope for longer and becomes steeper as it ascends straight up the ski slope. When we approach the upper station of the cable car Klösterlebahn I we go right into the forest again. In the forest the road turns sharply left and brings us to the station of the mentioned cable car, where some 10 steps before it we continue right uphill. We quickly reach the next road and continue along it amid ever better views reaching to the highest peak of Austria. There follow a few junctions where we follow the marks, then past the reservoir lake, from which a nice view of Wintertalernock opens up, we arrive at the junction near the hut Huaba Hittn.
Here we go right (left to hut Huaba Hittn 1 minute) and along the road we begin to descend gently to the nearby stream. After the stream the road turns right and in a gentle ascent brings us to a junction, where we go slightly left, then quickly arrive at the hut Neugarten Almseehütte.
From the hut we continue slightly right (slightly left one of the paths to Osojščica) in the direction of Stifterboden. The path further first leads along a service road running along the ski slope, then the marks direct us right into the forest, where we cross a pasture fence. After crossing the fence we continue along a wide and even path that quickly brings us to an asphalt road, along which we ascend to the settlement of holiday homes Stifterboden.
We continue left, a few steps further along the asphalt road, then slightly right onto the marked footpath that ascends to the right of the road. There follows an ascent alongside first a wooden then higher a wire fence, and the path brings us from the forest onto the increasingly panoramic slopes of Osojščica. With nice views we continue parallel to the road for a short time, then join it and soon arrive at the Alpin hotel, from which only a short ascent separates us to the summit of Osojščica, where the Gipfelhaus hotel also stands.
From the summit we can descend to the nearby viewpoint, from which a nice view opens up onto Osojsko jezero / Ossiacher See.
Klösterle - Huaba Hittn 1:40, Huaba Hittn - Neugarten Almseehütte 0:10, Neugarten Almseehütte - Stifterboden 0:30, Stifterboden - Osojščica 0:40.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in 2019 (August).

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