Weinebene - Großer Speikkogel (Koralpe) (via Großes Kar)

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 Volšperk / Wolfsberg, where we leave the highway, and when we get to the 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.
B) Over the border crossing Holmec or Vič we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards the settlement Volšperk / Wolfsberg. From Volšperk 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.
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, the road begins to ascend more steeply, and we follow it to the mentioned mountain pass, which we reach after approximately 20 km of driving from the start of the settlement Lonč.

Path description:
From the mountain pass Weinebene we continue towards the southwest, where by the mountain hut Weinebenehaus (a little away there is also the mountain hut Göslerhütte) mountain signposts for Gr. Speikkogel (Gr. Speikkogel is the highest peak of Koralpe), Jauksattel / Kleinalp, Grillitschhütte, Großhöllerhütte and Koralpenhaus point us on a gentle macadam road which ascends on a gentle grassy slope. The marked path which continues on the road soon crosses a grazing fence, and after few minutes it brings us on a small saddle, from which a nice view opens up towards the highest peak of Koralpe and on peaks north to northeast from the mentioned peak. When the road starts descending, parallel marked path branches off slightly to the right, which continues through an ample pastures. When the path stops gently descending, it slightly ascends and returns on the road which is already from the very beginning closed for public traffic. Further, the road is gently to moderately ascending on the southeastern slopes of the peak Brandhöhe (1886 meters (Brandhöhe is a peak, which is situated above the ski lift of a ski slope Weinebene)), and a little further also of the peak Moschkogel (1916 meters). When we get to the slopes of the latter peak, the road starts descending diagonally towards the saddle, which is situated south of the mentioned summit.
On the saddle, where there is a marked crossing, we arrive from Steiermark to Kärnten, and we continue slightly right on a cart track which crosses the slopes to the right (the cart track is briefly unmarked, as the marked path leads right to the nearby cottage Grillitschhütte and from there further onto the cart track; the path straight along the fence continues towards the summit Großer Speikkogel - a panoramic path).
Few minutes we cross slopes below the summit Hühnerstütze (1989 meters), and then we get to a cross Schäferkreuz, where already mentioned path past the mountain hut Grillitschhütte joins. Here we continue straight and in few minutes we get to an indistinct saddle between Hühnerstütze (1989 meters) on the left and the peak Sprungkogel (1868 meters) on the right.
On the saddle is a marked crossing, where we continue slightly left in the direction of the summit Großer Speikkogel (straight mountain hut Großhöllerhütte). We continue on a wide cart track, which further crosses several streams. A gently sloping cart track which is at first even slightly descending, a little higher turns into a gentle footpath which continues through panoramic and gentle meadows. A little further, on the plateau Großes Kar, we reach a marked crossing, where we turn right towards the cottage Koralpenhaus (straight ahead leads the path to the summit Gr. Speikkogel).
We cross the grazing plateau Großes Kar in the direction towards the west, continuing for some time without significant changes in altitude. As we gradually begin to moderately ascend, a path past the waterfall Poms and a path past the cottage Großhöllerhütte join from the right.
Here we continue straight towards the cottage Koralpenhaus, crossing the last stream, and then begin ascending more steeply on a steeper slope.
After a few minutes of steep diagonal ascent, we reach the wide northern ridge of the peak Steinschneider, along which we continue an increasingly panoramic ascent. The path and ridge then turn slightly to the left, and we quickly reach the 2070-meter-high peak Steinschneider.
We bypass the structure with transmitters on the left side, then start descending on the macadam road. We quickly leave the macadam road, along which the marked path continues towards the cottage Koralpenhaus, and proceed slightly left on an unmarked but well-trodden footpath that continues along the ridge. A few minutes later, we reach an asphalt road leading from the cottage Koralpenhaus, and we continue the ascent along it. We follow the road to the radars at the top, which we bypass on the right side, and then, along a footpath, in a minute of further walking, we ascend to the cross at the summit.
Weinebene - Steinschneider 3:15, Steinschneider - Gr. Speikkogel 0:25.
Description refers to the condition in July 2023, and pictures are from various periods.

On the way: Steinschneider (2070m)