Sabathy-Hütte im Zirbenland - Zirbitzkogel

Access to starting point:
Leave the Austrian southern motorway A2 (Celovec ob Vrbskem jezeru / Klagenfurt am Wörthersee–Gradec / Graz) at the exit Šentlenart v Labotski dolini / Bad St. Leonhard im Lavanttal, then follow the signs for Zeltweg and Reichenfels. When we reach Austrian Styria, follow the main road to the settlement Obdach, where we turn left towards the centre of the settlement (if we miss the first exit, another entrance to the settlement is available immediately after the tunnel). Through Obdach follow the signs for the mountain hut Sabathy-Hütte im Zirbenland and the town St. Wolfgang. When at approximately 1220 metres above sea level we reach a right-hand bend where a chapel and a junction stand, continue on the left road following the signs for Sabathy-Hütte im Zirbenland. A few more kilometres of ascent follow on a somewhat narrower asphalt road and we arrive at the paid car park in front of the mentioned hut. The parking fee in July 2026 amounted to 3 eur.

Route description:
From the car park we walk to the Alpengasthof Sabathy hut in the Zirbenland region, pass it on the left side and then follow the signs for Zirbitzkogel. The path ahead initially leads us past the Herz-Jesukapelle chapel, then ascends along the edge of the forest to a small junction below the Almrauschhütte hut.
We continue straight ahead (right to Almrauschhütte hut, 1 minute) and continue walking along the mountain road which ascends for a few more minutes through the forest. Higher up we leave the forest and arrive at a junction by the Linderhütte hut.
We continue right towards Zirbitzkogel (straight ahead and then left leads to the Rothaidenhütte hut) and for a while return to the forest again. Higher up we cross the forest road twice more, always faithfully following the markings. After the last crossing of the road the forest begins to thin out. The forest in this section is extremely interesting, as it partly consists of stands of Swiss pine trees (or Zirbe), after which the entire region is named Zirbenland (Swiss pines are called Zirbe or Zirbenkiefer in German). Higher up the terrain becomes increasingly alpine, and ahead we can admire the mighty Zirbitzkogel massif on the left and the Scharfes Eck summit on the right. Further on, to the left below the path we notice a small intermittent lake, while we continue ascending moderately for a few more minutes. When the path levels out, only a short and pleasant walk separates us from Lindersee lake, which lies in the cirque of the valley.
We bypass the lake on the left side, passing a container of mountain rescuers with equipment. Then we begin to ascend gradually and steeply on the northern slopes of Zirbitzkogel, where some snow patches may still remain in early summer. This is followed by approximately 45 minutes of fairly steep ascent, after which we reach the path connecting Zirbitzkogel with the neighbouring Scharfes Eck summit.
Here we continue left towards the Zirbitzkogelhütte hut (right to Scharfes Eck), which we reach in a few minutes of easy walking.
Here we turn right and quickly reach the scenic summit past a stone chapel, from which the view extends all the way to Slovenian and Italian mountains.

Starting point - Almrauschhütte 0:10, Almrauschhütte - Linderhütte 0:15, Linderhütte - Lindersee 0:55, Lindersee 0:55 - Zirbitzkogelhütte 0:50, Zirbitzkogelhütte - Zirbitzkogel 0:02.

The description and photos refer to the situation in July 2026.

Along the route: Almrauschhütte (pod Zirbitzkoglom) (1650m), Linderhütte (pod Zirbitzkoglom) (1730m), Lindersee (2051m), Zirbitzkogelhütte (2376m)

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