Waldheimhütte - Zirbitzkogel (via Rothaidenhütte)

Access to starting point:
Highway Klagenfurt am Wörthersee - Graz we leave at the exit Bad St. Leonhard im Lavanttal, and then we follow the signs for Zeltweg and Reichenfels. After the settlement Reichenfels we reach the state border between Austrian Carinthia / Kärnten and Steiermark, and a little further we arrive at the Obdacher Sattel pass, where we turn left towards the settlement St. Anna am Lavantegg. Next follows a steeper ascent to the mentioned settlement, from where we follow the signs for the Waldheimhütte mountain hut. In the last section we continue on a toll road; the toll is paid at the parking meter next to the Waldheimhütte mountain hut (the toll in 2025 was 3 euros for a passenger car).

Path description:
From the parking lot we walk past the hut to a marked junction, from which we head onto the path towards the summit Zirbitzkogel and Rothaidenhütte (slightly left, on the path that goes past the cross Türkenkreuz). The path ahead starts with a moderate ascent along a grassy slope surrounded by forest and, after a little less than 10 minutes of climbing, brings us to a junction where we turn right towards Rothaidenhütte (straight ahead is the normal route to Zirbitzkogel).
We continue along the cart track and very soon reach the next set of mountain signposts.
We continue straight ahead (the left path quickly rejoins the previously mentioned normal route to Zirbitzkogel) and follow a slightly narrower cart track that, for a longer stretch, traverses the slopes to the right; during this section we descend slightly a few times and then ascend again. Further on, the cart track gradually turns into a proper mountain path; we cross several successive streams, after which the ascent becomes steeper – first still through the forest, and in the final part along a grassy slope that leads us directly to Rothaidenhütte.
At the mountain hut, we turn right towards Sabathyhütte, and just beyond the hut the path splits.
We continue along the left upper path, which has signs for Zirbitzkogel and Sabathy (slightly to the right St. Wolfgang), and ascend diagonally across a panoramic grassy slope. A few minutes higher we cross a mountain road, then continue ascending diagonally to the right; higher up the path flattens and leads us onto the ridge, where we continue left towards Zirbitzkogel.
The path ahead ascends moderately along a broader, mostly grassy ridge that offers increasingly beautiful views of the surrounding mountains; at first we can still see Zirbitzkogel, but the view of the peak is gradually obscured by the slope we are climbing. Further on, at a few minor junctions we follow the blazes; after a small break in the slope, the view of Zirbitzkogel opens up again, and a little farther we join the access cart track leading to Zirbitzkogelhütte.
We continue along this cart track, which flattens higher up; first the normal path from Waldheimhütte joins from the left, and a little farther on also the path that passes Lavantsee.
Beyond the junction where the path past Lavantsee joins from the left, the cart track begins to ascend more steeply; at the final switchback, the paths coming up the southern ridge of Zirbitzkogel also join from the left.
Here we turn right and ascend diagonally to the Zirbitzkogelhütte.
Here we go left and past a rocky chapel we quickly reach the panoramic peak, from which the view reaches all the way to Slovenian and Italian mountains.
Waldheimhütte - Rothaidenhütte 1:10, Rothaidenhütte - Zirbitzkogelhütte 1:55, Zirbitzkogelhütte - Zirbitzkogel 0:02.
The description and photographs reflect conditions in October 2025.

On the way: Rothaidenhütte (1836m), Zirbitzkogelhütte (2376m)