Ljubelj - Celovška špica / Klagenfurter Spitze (via Vatelca or Skleda)

Access to the starting point:
Drive to Border crossing Ljubelj, where you turn left before the tunnel towards Zelenica. Drive over a small bridge, then park in a large parking lot.

Path description:
At the beginning of the parking lot, the mountain signs for Hochstuhl, Vertatscha and Dom na Zelenici direct us to the wide cart track, which begins to climb along the torrent. When the cart track turns left a little higher up, we continue straight on along the mountain path, which continues through the forest and soon returns to cart track. Cart track turns right a little higher up and leads us out of the forest onto the ski slope of the former Zelenica ski resort. There is a short, steeper climb up the ski slope, and then the trail flattens out and leads us along the foothills of the scree below Begunjščica.
The marked path soon branches off to the right along a service road, and we continue along the "road" to the nearby Vrtača Hut.
At the hut, the road turns right and we continue straight on towards the mountain path to Zelenica. For a short time we continue under the former single-seater Zelenica II, and then the path begins to climb steeply up the slope, which is partly overgrown by dwarf pines. After a few switchbacks, we return to the service road, which we continue along, overlooking the Šentanski avalanche.
The path ahead takes you along the slopes of the Lower Plot (the summit of which was covered by a sport climbing route a few years ago), then off the road turn right onto a footpath that cuts around a long bend. Once back on the road, we are at the top station of the former Zelenica II monorail, with only a few steps of descent to the Zelenica Home.
Just before the lodge, the path leading to Begunjščica and Roblek's lodge branches off to the left, and we go around the lodge on the right and start climbing along the edge of the former Ciciban ski slope. After a short climb, we arrive at a small crossroads, where we continue to the right over the former ski slope (left Koča pri izviru Završnice, Srednji vrh and Hochstuhl - lower path). On the other side the path goes into a narrow lane of a forest, then cross another grassy slope where there used to be a ski slope. Cross this ski slope as well, and then, by a small boulder, find the continuation of the marked trail leading to Vertatscha and Stolo. The trail continues along the slopes below the ridge of Na Možeh, then descends slightly and leads to a point where an unmarked trail branches off to the right into the valley of the Suhego dwarf pines and Palcu (at the crossroads there is a smaller cairn). Beyond the crossroads, the trail gradually transitions to the slopes of Vertatscha, over which it climbs mostly cross-climbing. Higher up, an unmarked path from Koča pri izviru Završnice joins from the left, and we continue straight on to the next marked crossroads.
At the crossroads, the path to Vertatscha branches off slightly to the right, and the upper path to Stolo continues straight ahead. Continue along the right-hand path towards Vertatscha, which climbs slightly steeper. Higher up, you reach a grassy slope where the path becomes a little steeper, then turns left to steep slopes. Cross a slightly exposed gully and then climb over steep grasses to the south-western shoulder of Vrtača.
Here the marked path leading to Vertatscha turns sharp right, and we continue straight on the other side of the ridge, where we follow the path down to a nearby scree slope. When you reach the nearby scree, continue along the slightly less well-trodden but marked mountain path. The path, which descends first gently and then moderately, and occasionally steeply, along the scree, almost semicircularly bypasses the nearby cirque. The path, which is also exposed to falling stones in several places, stops descending lower down and leads to a short but steep grassy slope. Climb up the steep slope for a few metres and then arrive in the plateau world around the Skleda sinkhole (also Vatelca on some maps). Follow a relatively gentle path for a few minutes and then arrive at a marked crossroads, where you continue downhill to the left (to the right, the Belščica saddle, Bielschitza and the Celovška koča). The path ahead first descends steeply down a gully, then turns to the right and ascends across a scree slope across a scree slope. The slope then lays down and leads us to a nearby crossroads where the upper and lower paths and the path from Završnice join.
At the crossroads, continue for about 100 metres in the direction of Stol, then leave the marked path and turn right onto the trackless road. Exactly where we leave the marked path is not important, we could also leave it at the crossroads where the path from Završnice joins us. When you leave the marked path, head towards a small saddle in the Orlice ridge (between Celovška špica and Jelenčko). At first, you climb on rough scree over numerous rocks and boulders, but a little higher up, when the rocks become finer, you will notice a less well-trodden path. When you reach the base of the summit of Jelenček, the path is already clearly visible. Here we continue to the left and the path soon leads us in a cross-climb to the saddle on the border ridge.

At the saddle, continue left and climb up to the ridge. Continue climbing along the ridge for a while and it is helpful to have some cairns. The slope here is quite steep so some caution is needed. The path then leads us to a short grassy section where we cross a short dwarf pines. The path then turns to the right and climbs up a short ravine and leads us to a partly vegetated ridge. Continue left here and climb the ridge for some time. The path is mostly visible here, and there are a few cairns to help us. When you are fully approaching the steep rocky slopes below the summit, continue right and cross a narrow notch to the north side of the mountain. Here continue left and there is a short traverse up a slightly exposed slope which is dangerous for slipping. The slope then becomes less exposed and there are a few metres of easier climbing to the summit.

On the way: Koča Vrtača (1288m), Dom na Zelenici (1536m)

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