Weinebene - Barofen

Access to starting point:
A) Over one of the border crossings with Austria (Korensko sedlo, Karawanks Tunnel, mountain pass Ljubelj, mountain pass Jezerski vrh, mountain pass Pavličev vrh) we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving on the so-called south highway towards Gradec / Graz. On the mentioned highway we drive to the settlement Wolfsberg, where we leave the highway, and when we get to an old or regional road we continue driving in the direction of the settlement St. Gertraud. In the settlement St. Gertraud we notice signs for Alpine mountain pass Weinebene, which point us to the right on an ascending asphalt road. On the mentioned road, we drive approximately 18 km, and then we get to the mentioned alpine mountain pass, which is situated at an altitude 1668 meters. We park on a large marked parking lot by the mountain pass.
B) Over the border crossing Holmec or Vič we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards the settlement Wolfsberg. From Wolfsberg we continue on a regional road in the direction of the settlement St. Gertraud. In the settlement St. Gertraud we notice signs for Alpine mountain pass Weinebene, which point us to the right on an ascending asphalt road. On the mentioned road, we drive approximately 18 km, and then we get to the mentioned alpine mountain pass, which is situated at an altitude 1668 meters. We park on a large marked parking lot by the mountain pass.
C) First, we drive to Maribor, and then we continue driving on the highway towards the border crossing Šentilj and ahead on Austrian highway towards Gradec / Graz. We leave the mentioned highway at exit for settlement Lipnica / Leibnitz. When we leave the highway at the roundabout, we continue in the direction of the settlement Lipnica / Leibnitz and further we drive south from the village Gralla, which is today already some kind of peripheral part of Lipnica. Further, the road leads us past industrial zone, and at the roundabout by store Hofer we continue "straight" on the second exit in the direction of the settlement Lonč / Deutschlandsberg. Further, we for some time drive on the main road, and after the village Graschach we turn right in the direction of the settlement Lonč / Deutschlandsberg. In a roundabout right next to the settlement Lonč / Deutschlandsberg, we continue "straight" in the direction of the alpine mountain pass Weinebene. From here on, the road starts ascending steeper, and we follow it approximately 20 km to the already mentioned mountain pass, where we park on a settled parking lot.

Path description:
From the mountain pass Weinebene we continue on the asphalt road in the direction of Wolfsberg, or the marked path towards cottage Gh. Pfeiferstocker and cottage Gh. Weberwirt and descend for a little less than 10 minutes by the edge of the asphalt road. When the lower asphalt road turns left, we continue straight on the marked path, which crosses a pasture. A little further, we reach a narrow strip of forest, where we cross a grazing fence, and behind it, in a few steps, we descend to a macadam road, which we reach right at a turn.
We continue straight or slightly left and keep following the blazes. Further on, we slowly descend, and at a few crossroads, we follow the blazes or just continue straight. We then follow the marked path all the way to the mountain pasture, where slightly below the marked path is located the hunting cottage Jagdhaus Straßerhalt.
We continue on the marked path, which is joined by two more paths, and we follow the signs for Wildbachsattel and Barofen, continuing on the macadam road, which mostly runs through the forest, with a shorter section crossing a panoramic slope, from which a beautiful view opens up on the highest peaks in the Labotniške Alpe and on the nearby partly forested Barofen. A little further, at a smaller crossroad, we go slightly right and start ascending. From here, we continue on the road for a short time and reach the next crossing, where a path branches off to the right towards the saddle Wildbachsattel and Wolfstein. We continue on the road, which higher up leads past a trough, a small cottage, and a cross, and eventually brings us out of the forest, where it gradually turns slightly to the left. We leave the road before the nearby transmitter and continue right, following the blazes, though no visible footpath is present at first. The footpath soon becomes more distinct and leads us through a vast pasture to a marked crossing, where we go right (straight to Gasthaus Langhans). Next follows a moderate ascent through a sparse forest; when we join the path starting at Hebalm, we go left, and after a short, steep ascent, we reach the summit with a cross.
Weinebene - Jagdhaus Straßerhalt 0:35, Jagdhaus Straßerhalt - Barofen 1:25.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in November and December 2023.

On the way: Jagdhaus Straßerhalt (1522m)