Unterpirkach - Hochstadel (Dreitörlweg)

Access to starting point:
From Ljubljana through the Karawanks Tunnel and then on the highway to Spittal. We continue driving in the direction of Lienz, but drive along the Drava Valley to Oberdrauburg, where we turn left in the direction of Kötschach and Plöckenpass. Immediately after the Drava River and the railway track we turn right (at the intersection we notice numerous signs, among them also for the Hochstadelhaus hut), and then on a somewhat narrower road we reach Unterpirkach. Further we drive past a larger chapel and only a few meters ahead over the bridge across the Pirkner stream. Immediately after the bridge we turn left and park on the parking lot by the alpine trail signposts.

Path description:
From the parking lot we continue along the even gravel road that runs along the right side of the nearby stream. After a few minutes the road forks into two parts. The left one ends after some 10 meters at the stream, we continue on the right one, which gradually begins to ascend more steeply. The marked trail soon leaves the increasingly worse road and continues to the right, where it ascends transversely across occasionally somewhat steeper slopes. Higher up the trail returns to the road, which we follow to its end. The marked footpath continues in the same direction, then after some time turns left, where a climbing path soon joins us. We continue along the well-trodden path, which higher up crosses the road (the road is closed to public traffic), then returns to the forest and takes us past Hilda's smoking bench back to the forest road. We immediately leave the road, the marked trail crosses it higher up a few more times, or also follows it briefly. Higher up the forest thins, offering nice views to the east, where we can clearly see the Drava River and part of the Gailtal Alps. The trail returns to the road higher up, which we follow all the way to the Hochstadelhaus alpine hut.

Some huts organize transport to the alpine pasture.

From the alpine hut we continue slightly to the right (direction Hochstadel) and ascend through a short stretch of forest to the Unholdenalm pasture. Here we walk to the right side of the pasture, where at a few huts we step back onto the road. A short even ascent follows along the increasingly worse road, then we arrive at a marked junction. Slightly to the right the direct path to Hochstadel branches off, we continue left along the path called Dreitörlweg. The path initially ascends gently through sparse larch forest, crossing slopes to the south to the Raineck ridge, where it turns west and loses some elevation in the subsequent traverse. In doing so it crosses a few gullies (two larger ones) and then at the alpine pastures begins to ascend again. The ascent follows the mountain ridge for several hundred meters of elevation gain until it ends at a new junction, where it continues to the right. Here begins the secured climbing path of difficulty A to A/B, which in one hour leads to the summit. In doing so it elegantly chooses the path and crosses the slopes of Schneeklamkopf, 2642 m, before transitioning to the final summit slope of the mountain, at the top of which the path also emerges onto the expansive summit of Hochstadel.

Descent is possible via the easier direct path to the Unholdenalm pasture and then along the described path to the starting point.

On the way: Hochstadelhaus (1780m), Planina Unholdenalm (1800m), Raineck (1968m)