Hohe Ranach by Rothenthurm

The "Hohe Ranach" destination is known to many hikers, as it is a popular year-round destination in the Seetal Alps. Due to the exposed location of the extensive summit area, you have a wonderful view of the heart of the Seetal Alps, the Judenburg-Knittelfeld basin and the surrounding mountain regions. The long ascent from Rothenthurm (belongs to the municipality of St. Peter ob Judenburg) is rather unusual, so don't be surprised if you meet few or no hikers up to the Mühlbachersattel. Before you set off, you need to know that you are hiking in the immediate vicinity of a restricted military area and that the hiking trail to the Hohe Ranach is closed during live-fire exercises. You can find the closing times on the army's homepage.

We start in the village center or near the Rothenthurm fire station building (1), 742 m, and follow the yellow signposts in the direction of Hölzlkogel, trail no. 45. We walk leisurely less than 1 km into the valley before turning left at the crossroads in the direction of Feistritzgraben no. 6 - 18. On the asphalt road along the small Feistritzgraben, we walk comfortably uphill past a few houses. We soon continue on a gravel road through the forest, where the red-white-red markings and yellow signposts make orientation easy. At an altitude of approx. 1000 meters we reach a large alpine pasture, where we have a very nice view. At the next crossroads, we see another yellow signpost in the direction of Sperlalm - Wenzelalm Kreiskogel and Zirbitzkogel, trail 313, and follow it. We follow the gravel road and always stay on the main path until the road continues as a path. This is followed by a longer section through the forest, where the markings and wooden signs with the inscription "Zur Sautratte" clearly indicate the route. At the Sautratte (2),1430 m, we come directly to the road that leads to the military training area, to the Schmelzhütte and then to the Winterleitenhütte. A few meters along the road and then we turn right onto the forest road. After a short time, we leave the road and hike uphill along the clearly recognizable path until we reach a wooden passage. There are numerous no trespassing signs here. Continuing to follow the markings, we leave the clearing around the Sperlhütte on the right, so to speak. As the altitude increases, we slowly leave the forest and reach the Mühlbacher Sattel (3), 1787 m, which can be recognized by the numerous military signs. Here we keep to the right and can already see our destination ahead of us. We now follow the gravel road uphill for just over a kilometer until we reach the Hohe Ranach (4), 1981 m. The descent is via the ascent route.