Seichenbrunn - Hochschoberhütte (via Leibnitztörl)

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards Spittal and further towards Lienz (the highway ends a little after Spittal). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through the Drau Valley. A little before Lienz at the roundabout, we continue right towards the places Iselsberg and Winklern. The road starts ascending, and then we have to pay attention because the road soon branches off to the left towards the Debanttal Valley (green sign). The road towards the Debanttal Valley becomes macadam, and later it joins a somewhat nicer road from the place Nußdorf-Debant. When driving through the Debanttal Valley, we then follow the signs for the huts Lienzer Hütte and Wangenitzseehütte. We follow the road all the way to the gate where we park on a large parking lot (Parkplatz Seichenbrunn).

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the macadam road, which is closed to traffic. Already after a few dozen meters, we come to a marked junction where the path towards the hut Wangenitzseehütte branches off to the right over a bridge. At the junction, we continue ahead on the macadam road following the signs »Lienzer Hütte«. Soon after that, an educational path towards the hut Lienzer Hütte also branches off to the right. This path is half an hour longer than by road. We continue on the macadam road, which runs left of the stream Debantbach. The road gently ascends the whole time and crosses the pasture fence several times. In summer months, livestock indeed grazes along the road. The road then leads us past a smaller hut by the mountain pasture Gaimbergalm. Further on, we also cross smaller tributaries of the already mentioned stream Debantbach several times. A little higher, the road brings us to a junction.
Right leads the road to the mountain pasture Hofalm, which is only 100 meters away. At the junction, we continue straight ahead on the road towards the hut Lienzer Hütte from which we have an increasingly beautiful view of the peaks above the Debanttal Valley. Shortly before the hut, we come to another marked junction.
This time a footpath branches off to the left towards the ski area Zettersfeld, and we continue on the road and soon arrive at the hut Lienzer Hütte from which there is a nice view of the surrounding peaks.
At the hut, we continue left past the children's playground and the cross, and already after a few dozen meters we come to a marked junction. Left leads the path towards the notch Mirnitzscharte and the summit Alkuser Rotspitze, and we continue right following the signs »Hochschober, Leibnitztörl«.
The path from the junction runs towards the northwest among increasingly sparse trees. Further on, the path then ascends through terrain covered with grass and low shrubbery. Soon we also enter the central part of the Hohe Tauern National Park (Nationalpark Hohe Tauern). The path then brings us to another junction.
Right, initially downhill, the path branches off towards the summit Glödis, and we continue straight towards the saddle Leibnitztörl. From the junction, the path runs towards the west, slowly turns slightly left and then ascends somewhat more steeply along the stream upwards. A little higher, the path turns right, crosses the mentioned stream and brings us to somewhat less steep slopes. The relatively gentle path then soon crosses the stream again and leads us past a smaller pond. The path then soon begins to ascend somewhat more steeply again and brings us to a marked junction.
This time the path towards the summit Hochschober and the saddle Schobertörl branches off to the right, and we continue left towards the saddle Leibnitztörl. From the junction, the path in a gentle ascent crosses the slope towards the south and quickly brings us to the mentioned saddle. From the saddle follows only a short descent to the scenic lake Gartlsee from which there is a very nice view of the surrounding peaks.
We continue along the lake on the path, which runs over rocky slabs to the saddle on the western side of the lake, and then we begin to descend. In the initial part of the descent, the slope is somewhat steeper and on a shorter section we are also assisted by fixed protections. The path further on is no longer demanding and continues to descend towards the west. Lower down, the slope also becomes somewhat more grassy, and the path then leads us along a high-alpine stream. The slope then flattens out completely, and a few more minutes of walking follow on the panoramic path to the hut, which we have been able to see from the path for quite some time.
We can return by the same path or by the slightly longer path 917 over the notch Mirnitzscharte. This path is somewhat less trodden.

On the way: Gaimbergalm (1753m), Lienzer Hütte (1977m), Leibnitztörl (2591m), Gartlsee (2571m)

Trip can be extended to: Schoberlacke , Barrenlesee , Hoher Prijakt , Hochschober