Vgriz / Ogris - Vertatscha/Vrtača

Access to starting point:
We drive to the border crossing Ljubelj and further on the Austrian side. Soon after noticing a smaller church on the left side of the road, a road branches off to the left towards the village Poden / Bodental. At the crossroads after the village Slovenji Plajberk / Windisch Bleiberg, we turn left towards Poden / Bodental. In Poden / Bodental, we reach the mountain signposts for Celovška koča / Klagenfurter Hütte, one to the left and one to the right. We head right and follow the road ahead to the next crossroads, where we turn left. We follow this road to a smaller parking lot, where an unmarked path from the inn Podnar / Bodenbauer joins us (further driving is forbidden).

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue past the gate on a road which in the initial part offers quite a nice view. The road then goes into the forest and brings us to a junction, where we turn left onto a cart track. We follow the cart track ahead slightly upwards to a junction of two cart tracks. We head onto the slightly right marked cart track, which then starts to change into a footpath that starts to ascend more steeply. The path after a shorter ascent brings us onto a ridge, where the path turns left and continues first still on then along the ridge. The path then moves onto steep slopes which we cross without major ascents. Further, we cross a shorter partly already overgrown scree, after which the path starts to ascend again and soon brings us to the pasture fence of the mountain pasture Vgriz which we reach in a few minutes of further walking. On the mountain pasture, where a shepherd hut stands, a beautiful view opens up.
The path ahead starts to descend and after a short descent brings us to a spring, after which in a few steps we reach a junction. We continue straight (left downhill to Podnar) and the path brings us out of the forest into dwarf pines. Next follows crossing the scree and then with the help of a steel cable we descend slightly downhill. From here onwards the path is exposed to falling rocks. Further, the well-secured path starts to ascend a steep rocky slope. At the top of this easier climbing section we reach the summit logbook, where we sign in. The difficulty of the path then disappears and in a traversing ascent we reach the saddle Vrata. The path ahead starts to descend and in a few minutes brings us to a junction, where we continue straight (right to Ovčji vrh) and in a few minutes of gentle descent we reach Celovška koča.
At the hut, we head left in the direction of Prešernova koča na Stolu. The path ahead first crosses grassy slopes, then slightly descends to an indistinct little saddle. The path ahead starts to ascend steeply over scree to a somewhat overgrown section of the path. A little further, a steel cable helps us when crossing a steeper slope, but this section of the path in dry conditions causes no difficulties. Further, we ascend again over scree all the way to the state border.
From the saddle Belščica, from where the path to Svačica branches off to the left, we continue straight and follow the path in the direction of Vrtača, Prešernova koča and Zelenica. For a few minutes we cross grassy slopes, then we arrive at the spot where the inscription on the rock for Vrtača directs us left (straight downhill to Stol). There follow a few minutes of relatively easy walking, then we arrive at a short but steep grassy slope, across which we descend transversely. When the descent ends we arrive at extensive scree fields, over which we start to ascend in a semicircle. In the continuation, the less beaten and in several places exposed to falling rocks path ascends more steeply higher up several times, then turns a bit more to the right and brings us to the southwest shoulder of Vrtača, where we join the better beaten path from Ljubelj and Završnica.
Here we continue left and start to ascend steeply over very steep and slippery-dangerous slopes. Higher up the path brings us to the main ridge of the Karawanks, where it flattens. There follow approximately 20 minutes of walking on and along the ridge, which is somewhat exposed in places and dangerous for slipping throughout. We then follow this panoramic path all the way to the summit of Vrtača.

Along the route: Ogrisalm/Vgrizeva planina (1569m), Vrata (1714m), Klagenfurter Hutte/Celovška koča (1664m), Sedlo Belščica (1840m)

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