Zettersfeld - Östlicher Sattelkopf

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards Spittal and further towards Lienz (a little after Spittal the highway ends). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through the Drau Valley. In the center of Lienz, at the roundabout, we continue right towards the town of Matrei. Already after a few hundred meters after the roundabout we continue sharply right and then left over a bridge towards the town of Thurn. Further, we always follow the green signs »Zettersfeld Zentrum«. A little before the ski center, when the road starts descending, we will notice a macadam road on the left side of the road which leads towards the ski area and is closed for traffic. By the road there are also yellow hiking signposts. We park on one of the smaller parking lots nearby. A little further on the main road there is also a much larger parking lot.

Path description:
From the starting point, we head onto the macadam road (path 9b) following the signs »Steinermandl«. The road, closed to traffic, ascends towards the east and brings us to the ski area where we soon reach a junction.
We continue left following the signs »Steinermandl« and then ascend for some time below the chairlift that leads to the summit of Steinermandl. The road later turns left and ascends somewhat more steeply. From the path we have all the time a very nice view towards the Lienz Dolomites and the town of Lienz. The road then becomes flatter and leads us past a large artificial lake intended for snowmaking. Here the road turns slightly right and brings us to a marked junction.
Ahead on the road, the path leads to the summit of Steinermandl and the upper chairlift station. We continue left uphill on the footpath, which begins to ascend the grassy slope. Higher up, when the slope becomes flatter, we reach another junction.
From the right, the path from the upper chairlift station joins us; straight ahead leads the path along the north side of the peak Goiselemandl (Goiselemandlweg Nord); we continue left on path 913 following the signs »Goiselemandl, Schleinitz«. Further on, the path runs northwest and brings us below the slopes of the peak Goiselemandl. Here we reach a junction where the path to Goiselemandl branches off to the right. We continue straight and cross the somewhat steeper western slopes of the mentioned peak. When we reach the north side of the peak, the path continues to cross the slopes on the left side of the ridge; on a shorter section, some steel cables also assist us. Further on, the path brings us to the right (northeast) side of the ridge and begins to ascend gently. This path then brings us to flat grassy slopes along which we soon reach a marked junction.
Left leads the path to the summit of Schleinitz; we continue right and descend slightly to the lake, which we already see ahead of us.
At the lake, we continue on the marked path that runs along the lake, and soon another path joins us from the right—the one running along the north side of the peak Goiselemandl and the path from the Debanttal valley. We continue on the path following the signs »Östlicher Sattelkopf« and begin ascending mostly grassy terrain all the way to the ridge where there is a junction.
On the ridge, where the view opens to the north, we continue right; left leads the secured climbing path to the summit of Schleinitz. From the junction, there is first a short ascent along the ridge, then the path moves to the right side of the ridge and follows a short traverse with the aid of some steel cables to the cross. The cross is located a few meters below the summit of Östlicher Sattelkopf.

On the way: Neualplseen (2438m)