Kühtai - Finsteltaler Schartenkopf (zahodni pristop iz Kühtaia in čez sedlo Finstertal)

Access to the starting point:
From Ljubljana, take the motorway past Salzburg towards Munich. At the Dreieck Inntal multi-level junction, take the A93 towards Innsbruck/Kufstein/Brenner. On your return to Austria, continue on the A12 motorway to the junction with exit 87-Zirl-Ost. There, join the L13 and follow it into the Sellraine valley. The wide and comfortable road continues past Sellrain, Gries and St. Sigmund and through a long tunnel, after which, after about 20 km of moderate climbing, we find ourselves in the tourist hamlet of Kühtai. The best parking is free of charge at the chapel and bus stop just after the signpost marking the start of the village, but as long as it is busy, the hamlet offers a number of alternatives. It is also possible to drive through the village and start the climb at the Dortmunder Hütte, in which case there is a slightly higher altitude difference but a slightly more direct route to the Finstertal reservoir.

An alternative is to drive through northern Itali: in this case, from central Slovenia, take the A2 motorway to one of the border crossings with Austria and continue to Lienz. Here you continue on the 100 road and pass the Prato alla Drava crossing into Itali. In Itali, follow the SS49 all the way to the junction with the A22 motorway in the direction of the Brenner Pass. After the pass, continue in the direction of Innsbruck and then a few kilometres in the direction of Bregenz to exit 87-Zirl-Ost. From there, follow the directions given above.

Path description:
Just above the high mountain chapel in the eastern part of Kühtai, a signpost points west towards Sulzkogl and the Finstertal reservoir. After a few minutes of easy crossing above Kühtai, the path turns south and starts to descend gently towards a plain about 50 metres lower than the starting point, from which you can see the continuation of the path towards the viewpoint above the lake, located to the left of the barrier above us. The path, which is soon joined by the path coming from the route of the Dortmunder Hütte, continues for some time on a moderate ascent up a grassy slope, crossing torrents on several occasions. A little higher up, we cross the mountain road a few times and, after a good hour's walk from the starting point above the tunnel, we climb up to a lookout point above the northern edge of the reservoir, where there is a large panoramic signboard and a fine view of the Zwölferkogel massif, which obscures the Sulzkogel behind it.
The path continues along a mainly horizontal slope to the left above the lake (or rather above the depression in which it was located) and, after a leisurely walk of just over half an hour, leads to the southern edge of the lake, below the rock building of the Finstertaler Schartenkopf (Finstertaler Schartenkopf). At the end of the crossing above the lake, at the signpost, follow the signs for Finstertaler Scharte and turn sharp left (straight ahead - westwards - the path leads to Sulzkogl).

After the crossroads, we climb moderately steeply up a grassy slope in a meandering manner to the plain between the lake and the Finstertal saddle, where we have a fine view of Kraspesspitze ahead, but also a wonderful view back towards Sulzkogl and Zwölferkogl. After a short, gentle climb straight southwards, we turn right at the foot of the slope leading to the Finstertaler Scharte and start a slightly steeper climb along the western edge of the high mountain valley. The route continues up the eastern slope of the Schartenkopf, then crosses over the upper edge of the valley, which remains snow-covered for most of the year, and climbs via a fairly steep (partly difficult) jump to the level ground just below the Finstertaler Scharte, which is only a short walk away.
At the saddle, turn right - westwards - and follow the footprints of a fainter path to the scramble of the eastern summit ridge of the Schartenkopf; along the way, you will see some faded markings and stone cairns, which suggest the proposed ascent direction: initially via a steep but short jump, then over flat rocks and a small threshold; the climbing is no more than Grade I. Towards the summit, the ascent becomes more and more leisurely and, after a craggy world made up of sometimes quite large and sharp rocks, leads us in just over ten minutes from the saddle to a panoramic summit with, exceptionally, only a single, uncrossed pole.

However, it is clear from the saddle that the ridge leading to the summit is clear and relatively easy to follow, and that we do not need to follow the (partially) marked path; if we keep slightly to the left of the marked path at the start of the steep climb up the ridge, we will see a modest path that leads us to the summit without any real climbing. This option is particularly suitable for descending; in this case, the route is at most "partly difficult". As the ascent to Schartenkopf from the Finstertal saddle is short and not too difficult, it can be used casually when doing a longer tour in the surrounding area.

On the way: Finstertaler Stausee (2335m), Finstertaler Scharte (2777m)

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