Lienzer Dolomitenhütte - Große Gamswiesenspitze (Madonnen Klettersteig)

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, then continue driving towards Spittal and further towards Lienz (just after Spittal, the motorway ends). Further on, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through the Drau Valley. A few kilometres before Lienz (near the settlement Unterdorf), we will notice signs for the mountain hut Lienzer Dolomitenhütte, which direct us left onto a local road. The road then crosses the Drava/Drau over a bridge and brings us to the village Lavant, where we continue right in the direction of the village Tristach. Between the village Lavant and Tristach, we will come to the next crossroad, where we continue left in the direction of "Lienzer Dolomitenhütte". We follow this road, which starts to ascend more steeply, to a large parking lot near the mentioned mountain hut. The road is payable (July 2009 7€).
To Lienz we can also come if, instead of through the Drau Valley, we drive through the Gail Valley (Korensko sedlo, Hermagor, pass Ziljsko sedlo/Gailbergsattel); in this case, we arrive in the Drau Valley at the settlement Oberdrauburg.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the road, on which in 2 minutes we arrive at the mountain hut Lienzer Dolomitenhütte.
From the hut, we cross the fence and continue the ascent on a panoramic road (nice view of the serrated ridge - highest is Spitzkofel 2717 m), which in the initial part is exposed to falling rocks. The road then crosses a short stretch of forest and brings us to the indistinct saddle Premstall (1625 m), where there is a smaller junction.
We continue straight past the trough with water (left upwards Weißstein Alm) on the road, which after a few minutes of further walking brings us to the smaller alpine pasture Instein Alm, where we notice a small wooden hut and slightly above it a chapel.
We continue further on the road, which quickly brings us to a marked junction, where we leave it.
We continue the ascent on a wide mountain path, which starts to ascend somewhat more steeply through increasingly sparse forest. The path, from which very nice views open up, crosses the mountain road several times and higher up brings us to a small wooden shelter.
At the shelter, we leave the road again and walk for a short time on the footpath towards the Karlsbader Hütte hut, then turn onto the footpath that leads sharply right towards the saddle Kerschbaumer Törl. Initially we still walk through a grassy valley, then begin to ascend the scree towards the saddle. When we reach below the walls of the peak Törlkopf, the path from the Karlsbader Hütte hut joins from the left. The path then turns slightly left and follows a short ascent to the saddle Kerschbaumer Törl. At the saddle, where there is a junction, we continue right slightly downhill following the signs “Madonnen Klettersteig”. After a short descent, we reach another junction where we continue right and further in descent cross the slopes below the peak Kleine Gamswiesenspitze. When the path brings us into the dwarf pines, signposts “gr. Gamswiesenspitze” soon direct us right upwards. The path then ascends a partly grassy slope and soon brings us to another junction and thus to the start of the climbing section of the path.
We continue left onto the extremely demanding path “Madonnen Klettersteig”. The path already at the start ascends along the steel cable on a steep slope. Further on, the path crosses the slope slightly to the left several times, otherwise constantly ascending steeply northwards. Later the path turns left and crosses a steep exposed wall, bringing us to a hanging bridge. After crossing the bridge, the path turns right upwards again and along the steel cable brings us to the logbook box, located before the entrance to the most difficult section of the path.
From the logbook box, we continue left upwards and then ascend almost vertically several times along the steel cable. This path brings us to the west side of the mountain. Here we will notice an interesting rock ahead, to which a “halo” has been added, so from afar it looks like a statue of the Virgin Mary. The path then turns slightly right to go around the mentioned rock, then turns left and ascends vertically several times along the steel cable. This section of the path is extremely demanding and marked with difficulty level C. Towards the summit, the path becomes less steep and after a short ascent along the ridge, an easier path joins from the right. From here only a short ascent along the panoramic ridge to the summit remains.
The described path is extremely demanding and suitable only for the most experienced mountaineers with sufficient arm strength and mandatory self-belaying. The ascent is particularly demanding because the entire path is secured only with a steel cable, which is often positioned so that it can be used only for protection, not as aid for climbing.
Descent recommended via the easier path (Normalweg) over the notch between Große Gamswiesenspitze and Kleine Gamswiesenspitze.

On the way: Instein Alm (1669m), Kerschbaumer Törl (2285m)