Sommeralm - Stoahandhütte

Access to starting point:
Highway A2 Graz - Vienna / Wien we leave at the exit for Gleisdorf West, and then we follow the signs for Hartberg and Weiz, and later only Weiz. Through Weiz, we follow the signs for Passail. For the gorge Weizklamm, we turn right from the main road towards Sommeralm and surrounding settlements (straight for Passail). The road gradually starts ascending significantly, and we follow the signs for Sommeralm. Higher, we pass the cottage Stoakoglhütte, and a little further we reach the parking lot by the road to Sommeralm, where we park.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we head onto a side road which branches off in the middle of the parking lot towards the north and leads to the nearby wind power plant (we can also reach the wind power plant from the periphery of the settlement Sommeralm, via a marked path that is about a minute longer).
Past the wind power plant, we continue on the path that heads northwest and crosses grassy slopes, offering beautiful views of the surrounding hills. We then cross several grazing fences, and the path leads us for some time through the pastures of the expansive mountain pasture Sommeralm. When the path turns to the northeast, we gradually descend moderately into a strip of forest, where the path turns back towards the northwest. Upon leaving the forest, we stop descending, and sharply to the right, a path branches off towards the cottage Stoakogelhütte.
We continue towards the west, where we follow the signs for Teichalm, Strasseg, Haberlstall Alm, and Stoahandhütte, and the path splits again a little further on.
This time we continue slightly to the right (straight towards Pension Camping Holzmeister) and ascend a scenic, gentle grassy slope to the next junction, where we veer slightly left towards Teichalm and the Stoahandhütte cottage (slightly right for Strasseg and Haberlstall Alm).
A few minutes of gentle ascent follow, and we reach the summit with a cross, where a path from Haberlstall Alm joins from the right. Here we turn slightly left and continue walking along a grazing fence, enjoying beautiful views as we first descend slightly, then ascend the indistinct Kulmkogel, followed by a short descent and an easy climb to the top of the Mooskogel ski lift, where the eponymous peak lies beside an artificial lake.
Here the path veers slightly right and begins a steeper descent along the forest edge; lower down, the path flattens, and we quickly reach the Stoahandhütte cottage via a scenic grassy area.
Description and pictures refer to conditions in November 2023 and April 2024.

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