Steig1000 - Hüttersteig

A very demanding and steep round tour on the southern side of the Gerlitzen, which is suitable for ambitious, fit mountain runners.

The tour was deliberately designed counterclockwise, so most of the steeper sections are done uphill. To take the Kanzelbahn cable railway is a good alternative to walking downhill.

Hiking boots with profiled soles, rucksack, functional clothes, rainwear, hiking poles, food and drink, maps, first aid, mobile phone and binoculars

From the bus stop at the Gerlitzen Bergbahnen car park in Annenheim, head in the direction of the ticket office. The ergsteig1000 (path no. 34A) to Ossiachberg starts near the ticket office. The ascent is marked and signposted throughout.

At Ossiachberg, path no. 34A joins path no. 34 - which starts in Sattendorf - at the height of the hairpin bend under the paraglider launch site. The path no. 34 now leads in numerous hairpin bends directly over a meadow to the upper edge of the forest, where a platform with an ingenious view invites you to stop the arduous ascent. A short rest is really a good idea here.

While walking further up the MTB single trail "PROlitzen" has to be crossed a few times. The so-called Grüneben area offers another sunny and leveled place for a drink break before tackling the last steep sections towards the Kanzelhöhe. You have to cross underneath the Kanzelbahn before the trail joins the Wallack Steig. The Wallack Steig was designed by Hofrat Dipl.-Ing. Franz Friedrich Wallack (* August 24, 1887 in Vienna; † October 31, 1966) who was a civil engineer and also the constructor of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

Rather pleasantly the last hairpin bends lead directly to the old mountain station of the Kanzelbahn, where path no. 34 also meets the popular ÖAV path no. 176. Follow this briefly to the east and leave it immediately in the area of ​​the Kanzelbahn. After a few steps and hairpin bends along the lift support poles, you reach the point 1000 near the geographic high point of the Kanzelhöhe at the observatory.

You can now hike up to the summit of the Gerlitzen or hike along the asphalt road towards the holiday resort "Die Kanzlerin". The road joins path no. 176 at the car park on the Kanzelhöhe. Follow the signs "Hütter Steig" to the Julienhöhe at 1,361 m, where you turn off to the south again and begin the descent to the former hunting lodge "Hütter".

The last section down to Annenheim again requires concentration and stepping technique as it is slightly sloping and slightly exposed in some places. You reach Annenheim in the hairpin bend of the Promenadenweg. Now walk the last few meters down to the B94 of Ossiacherstraße and then go east in a few minutes' walk to get back to the starting point of the round.

Annenheim can be reached at regular intervals by public transport.

Click here for timetable information.

Click here for the Carinthia train station shuttle.

The ascent and descent are demanding and require not only a very good level of fitness but also sure-footedness on changing surfaces (root and rocky passages, leaves etc.) especially in difficult conditions (wet, icy, mud, ground frost etc.).