Vgriz / Ogris - Ovčji vrh (Kozjak) / Geissberg (Kosiak) (direct way)

Access to starting point:
We drive to the border crossing Ljubelj and continue on the Austrian side. Soon after noticing a small church on the left side of the road, a road branches off to the left towards the village Poden / Bodental. At the crossroads after the village Slovenji Plajberk / Windisch Bleiberg, we turn left towards Poden / Bodental. In Poden / Bodental, we reach the mountain signposts for Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte, one to the left and one to the right. We head right and follow the road ahead to the next crossroads, where we turn left. We follow this road to a small parking lot, where an unmarked path from the inn Podnar / Bodenbauer joins (further driving is forbidden).

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue past the gate along the road, which in the initial part offers quite a nice view. The road then goes into the forest and brings us to a fork, where we turn left onto a cart track. We follow the cart track slightly uphill to a fork of two cart tracks. We take the slightly right marked cart track, which then starts to change into a footpath that ascends more steeply. The path brings us after a short ascent onto the ridge, where the path turns left and continues first still on then along the ridge. The path then moves onto steep slopes, which we cross without major ascents. Next, we cross a shorter partly already overgrown scree, after which the path starts ascending again and soon brings us to the grazing fence of the mountain pasture Vgriz, which we reach in a few minutes of further walking. On the pasture, where a shepherd's hut stands, a beautiful view opens up.
The path ahead starts to descend and after a short descent brings us to a spring, after which we reach a fork in a few steps. We continue straight (left downhill to Podnar) and the path brings us from the forest among the dwarf pines. Crossing the scree follows, then with the aid of steel cables we descend slightly downhill. From here on, the path is exposed to falling rocks. Next, the well-secured path starts to ascend the steep rocky slope. At the top of this easier climbing section, we reach the registration box, where we sign in. The difficulty of the path then disappears, and in a traversing ascent we reach the saddle Vrata. The path ahead starts to descend and brings us to a fork in a few minutes, where we continue right (straight to Celovška koča 5 minutes).
The path ahead starts to ascend steeply on an increasingly less vegetated slope. After half an hour of ascent, the steepness eases somewhat and the path continues along the summit grassy slope all the way to the top, where a cross stands.
Izhodišče - Vrata 2:00, Vrata - Ovčji vrh 1:00.

Along the route: Ogrisalm/Vgrizeva planina (1569m), Vrata (1714m)

We recommend: similar trips, summit register