Parkplatz Innerfragant - Mittelstation (Mölltaler Gletscher)

Access to starting point:
From the Karawanks Tunnel, we follow the highway towards Salzburg to a highway junction where we turn left towards Spittal. From Spittal we drive towards Lienz. A little after the highway ends, at the settlement Möllbrücke, we turn right towards the settlement Mallnitz and the Alpine road Großglockner. We follow this road to the settlement Kleindorf (a little after the settlement Flattach) where signs „Mölltaler Gletscher“ direct us right onto the ascending road towards the bottom station of the cable car. We follow this road all the way to the large parking lots at the bottom station of the cable car.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the asphalt road which is closed to traffic. After a short ascent on the road, signposts direct us right onto the footpath „Richard Helfer Weg“. On the footpath we also avoid the tunnels on the road through which walking is forbidden.
From the junction, we start to ascend somewhat more steeply through the forest on a relatively poorly trodden path. Higher up, we join the road for a short time and then turn right again onto a footpath marked with Knafelc blazes. The path mostly ascends through the forest and crosses a few shorter clearings. Later, the path brings us to somewhat steeper slopes from which we occasionally get a view of the waterfalls of the Astrombach stream on the other side of the steep valley. On a shorter traverse where the slope is very steep, a rope also helps us. The path here is not overly demanding, but caution is needed because due to bushes and high grass we might not notice that beside the narrow path the slope is very steep. The path then turns left from the steep slopes and starts to ascend somewhat more steeply. On such a path through the forest we soon reach the mountain road.
We continue right on the road, which descends slightly and brings us to a marked junction near the lake Wurtenspeicher. We head left onto the cart track and after a short ascent we reach the lake. Near the lake there are also benches and a table.
The cart track that runs along the lake soon ends, and we head left onto the footpath. The path ahead mostly gently ascends across the slope above the lake towards the north, crossing a few smaller streams in the process. Later the path turns somewhat to the left and ascends in switchbacks for a short time. There follows a traverse of somewhat steeper slopes, where we bypass a smaller landslide. Some caution is needed here. Later the increasingly scenic path becomes less steep and proceeds towards the north. We still need to watch where we step because there are quite a few deep holes beside the path. The path then descends slightly and brings us near the lake Mernigsee.
Here the path turns slightly right and crosses a stream, then starts ascending the slope above the lake. We walk north again and soon traverse the slope below the chairlift that leads to the hut Weißseehaus. The path then turns left and follows a short ascent on the slope to the left of the ski slope. Later the path runs across the ski slope and brings us to a mountain road where there is a junction.
Left the road leads to the hut Weißseehaus, straight ahead across the ski slope the footpath leads to the hut Duisburger Hütte, but we head right slightly downhill on the road after a few dozen meters of which we reach the intermediate station of the cable car (Mittelstation), located by the lake Stübelesee. At the cable car station there is also a restaurant.

On the way: Wurtenspeicher (1695m), Mernigsee (2040m)

Trip can be extended to: Weißseehaus ( 20 min) , Duisburger Hütte ( 50 min) , Goldbergtauernkopf (2 h 20 min) , Eisseehaus (1 h 30 min) , Herzog Ernst Spitze (2 h 40 min) , Alteck (3 h 20 min) , Baumbachspitze (2 h 20 min) , Schareck