Hiking Tour: “Raabklamm” via “Stroß” and “Gösser”

Hike up Stroß and Gösser via the Wachthaus- and Lärchsattel and return via the beautiful Raabklamm

The tour starts at the parking of Weiz / Göttelsberg and first follows some forest roads and streets north towards Zattach. The route then leads through a forest towards the Hochwoarta Kreuz and then up to the peak of Stroß (stone pyramid) and its summit cross a few meters further behind. The tour then descends following a marked hiking trail to Gschaid and continues via the (marked hiking trail) towards the Wachthaussattel. From there the route follows the marked trail towards the Lärchsattel. A detour towards the Katerloch (impressive stalactite cave) is recommended but the cave is only accessible by attending a tour that needs to be agreed upon via telephone before and the tour requires additional 2 hours! Back at the Lärchsattel, the tour then continues westwards towards the Sattelwegkreuz and then further around the Gösser. The summit of Gösser is not really accessible but the trail around the ridge offers very impressive views into the Raabklamm. The tour then descends steep and on a barely marked trail westwards till reaching a forest road. This is the most difficult part of the tour and requires a good sense of orientation and a sure foot. When reaching the forest road, the tour simply follows the forest road till crossing into the Gösserweg road which is followed north for a few meters. The tour then turns left into a small hiking trail which descends to Arzberg. After a well-deserved break, the tour then follows the trail through the Raabklamm till reaching the exit towards Mortantsch. At Mortantsch, the route then follows the Jaklweg which leads directly back to the parking.

Tour Description

00:00	Start at the parking Weiz/Göttelsberg (GPS: 47.211985, 15.597152) and follow the street westwards (away from the village) for a few meters.
00:02	Turn right into the forest road and follow the forest road northwards.
00:10	Turn left into the street and follow the street westwards.
00:15	At the crossing, turn right and follow the street up heading to Zattach (see signposts).
00:20	At the crossing, turn left into the Zattachweg and follow the street through the village of Zattach.
00:30	At the village border of Zattach, do not turn into the hiking trail but stay on the street northwards for some few more meters.
00:32	Turn left into the trail next to the electrical tower and follow the trail up to the forest.
00:35	Take the first trail through the hedge and then follow the trail northwestwards.
01:10	At the Hochwoarta Kreuz, keep left and continue following the trail upwards. The trail now gets disperse but leads logical up to Stroß.
01:25	Bypass the summit of Stroß, marked with a stone pyramid. Continue following the trail for a few more meters to access the summit cross and the rest area.
01:30	Short break at the rest area of Strosskreuz. Best enjoyed with a self-brought refreshment ().
01:40	Continue following the now red-white-red marked trail northwards heading towards Gschaid.
01:45	At the crossing, turn right and follow the red-white-red marked trail 4a towards Gschaid (see signposts).
01:50	Turn right into the street and follow the street into the village of Gschaid.
01:55	At the crossing, keep left and follow the street towards Wachtkreuz (see signpost). Keep on the marked hiking trail towards Wachthaussattel and the Wachtkreuz.
02:15	At the crossing, turn left and follow the trail towards Lärchsattel / Gösser (see signpost).
02:25*	Potential detour: At the Lärchsattel, turn left and follow the trail down towards Katerloch.
02:30*	Turn right at the parking and follow the street up towards the entrance of Katerloch (stalactite cave).
02:35*	Do the 2h tour through the impressive stalactite cave of Katerloch. After the tour, take the same way back to Lärchsattel. The 2h tour is not reflected in the timings here.
02:50	At Lärchsattel, follow the trail 18 westwards towards Gösser.
02:55	Enjoy the nice rest area at Sattelwegkreuz, obviously best enjoyed with a self-brought refreshment ().
03:15	Follow the marked route 18 towards Gösser (see signpost).
03:30	At the crossing, keep straight and follow the trail south (do not turn yet into the trail towards Gösserwand).
03:35	At the crossing, now turn right into trail 18b towards Gösserwand (see yellow signposts).
03:50	Enjoy the impressive view from Gösserwand (there are several narrow access paths from the trail), obviously best enjoyed with a self-brought refreshment ().
04:20	Continue following the red-marked trail till reaching the next crossing.
04:22	Stay left and follow the small trail that is barely marked with red dots along the ridge. The trail is now becoming steep, unmarked and requies a good sense of orientation!
04:30	Either turn right and follow the forest road and then descend in serpentins, or shortcut once again by following the steep trail downwards.
04:40	Turn right and follow the forest road downwards. At the next crossing, turn left and continue following the forest road till reaching the street.
05:00	U-turn into the street and follow the street northeastwards for a few meters till reaching a clearing.
05:05	U-turn into the trail towards Arzberg.
05:15	At the mine, u-turn into the street towards the church of Arzberg.
05:16	Well deserved break ( ) at Gasthof Kirchenwirt.
06:15	Turn right and follow the trail around the parking and the sports area into the Raabklamm (see signposts).
07:20	Short break at the center of Raabklamm (here you can claim your SummitLynx stamp).
07:25	Continue following the trail southwards towards Jägerwirt (see signposts, do not cross the bridge!).
07:55	At the crossing, keep left for the steep descent or right for an easy but longer descent.
08:25	At the crossing, keep left and follow the trail towards Jägerwirt.
08:40	At the crossing, keep straight (slightly left) towards Mortantsch and leave the Raabklamm.
08:45	Turn left and follow the street Kohlerweg into Mortantsch.
08:50	At the crossing, turn left into the Jaklweg (marked trail 15) and follow this street that brings you back to the parking.
09:00	At the crossing, turn right and continue following the Jaklweg (marked trail 15) back to the parking.
09:05	Cross the main street and follow the street eastwards back to the parking which appears after a few meters. End of the tour.

General Tour Data

Area:		Eastern Styria, Styria, Austria
Distance:		30km
Ascent:		1418m (3h 40min)
Descent:		1408m (3h 30min)
Highest Pt:		1039m
Lowest Pt:		482m
Duration:		7h 00min (without breaks) 9h 05min (with breaks) +2h 00min with cave tour
Stop/Rest:		Gasthaus zum Kirchenwirt (576m) Land Stüberl (508m)
Equipment:		Comfortable hiking shoes Backpack with standard hiking equipment Snacks and plenty of water (refill possible at Raabklamm) 3x Gipfelbier () Sun & Weather protection Camera GPS recommended

		Download GPX
O		Tour at outdooractive.com

At a glance

Level	moderate – difficult
Technique
Shape / Fitness
Experience
Scenery
Best time in the year
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Please note: The Katerloch cave is only accessible by guided tours. The entire tour takes 2 hours (on top of the anyway long tour), thus should be considered only for hikers with excellent fitness. The tour cannot be booked at the location of the cave but must be arranged upfront via telephone. The tour will only take place with 10 or more participants. It is therefore recommended to either carefully plan or do the tour seperately! For more invormation please visit the hompeage of Katerloch.

This tour provides 8 points of the required points of the Almenland Oststeiermark – Bronze trophy (25 points). You can collect the points using the SummitLynx app on your mobile phone and redeem the trophy later at the Nature Park Tourist Office in Fladnitz an der Teichalm.
You will get points for:

Wachthaussattel: 3 points
Katerloch: 1 point (Detour *)
Arzberg: 1 point
Raabklamm: 3 points