Sabathy-Hütte im Zirbenland - Zirbitzkogel (mimo koče Rothaidenhütte)

Access to starting point:
Leave the Austrian southern motorway A2 (Klagenfurt am Wörthersee–Graz) at the exit Šentlenart in Lavanttal / Bad St. Leonhard im Lavanttal, then follow the signs for Zeltweg and Reichenfels. When you reach Austrian Styria, follow the main road to the village of Obdach, where you turn left towards the centre of the village (if you miss the first exit, another entrance to the village is available immediately after the tunnel). Through Obdach follow the signs for the mountain hut Sabathy-Hütte im Zirbenland and the village St. Wolfgang. When at approximately 1220 metres above sea level you 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 on a somewhat narrower asphalt road follow and you 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, bypass 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 (right Almrauschhütte hut, 1 minute) and continue walking on 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.
Behind the hut we leave the road and continue on a grassy path that descends transversely to the Leirerbach stream, which we cross via a small bridge. On the other side of the stream the path begins to ascend again and quickly leads us to another forest road. Further on we cross the mentioned road several times, then the path ascends parallel above it for some time.
In this section the path runs through a Zirbe forest. When the forest begins to thin, we return to the mountain road and follow it to the right. When we reach the north-eastern ridge, the path from the village Mönchegg joins from the left.
Here we go right towards the summit Zirbitzkogel (straight Rothaidenhütte hut) and quickly ascend to the elevation 1903, where the path that leads past the Rothaidenhütte hut joins from the left.
The path continues to ascend moderately along a wider, mostly grassy ridge, from which increasingly beautiful views of the surrounding mountains open up. At first we can still see the summit of Zirbitzkogel, then the view of it is gradually obscured by the slope along which we continue the ascent. At a few smaller junctions higher up we faithfully follow the markings. After a small break the view of the goal opens again, and a little further on the pastures we join the access track that leads towards the Zirbitzkogelhütte hut.
We continue along the mentioned track, which flattens higher up. From the left the usual path with starting point at the Waldheimhütte hut first joins, and a little further the path that leads past Lavantsee lake.
After this junction the track begins to ascend more steeply. At the last hairpin bend the paths that run along the southern ridge of Zirbitzkogel also join from the left, but we continue right and ascend transversely to the Zirbitzkogelhütte hut.
Here we go left and past a stone chapel quickly reach the panoramic summit, from which the view extends all the way to Slovenian and Italian mountains.

Starting point - Almrauschhütte 0:10, Almrauschhütte - Linderhütte 0:15, Linderhütte - Zirbitzkogelhütte 2:30, Zirbitzkogelhütte - Zirbitzkogel 0:02.

The description refers to the situation in July 2026, the photos are from October 2025 and July 2026.

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

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, summit register