Lenzmoarkogel

Topographic isolation: 22 km
Nearest higher peak: Lamprecthöhe (2114 m)
Prominence: 561 m

Overview

Lenzmoarkogel is the highest summit of Gleinalpe. Gleinalpe is a mountain range with an extension of 50 km x 30 km in Styria province of Austria.

For an unknown reason most maps indicate Speikkogel as the most important (highest) mountain of Gleinalpe: there are less detailed maps indicating only this mountainin Gleinalpe, while other maps - that show more summits – often highlight Speikkogel with bold font or with bigger font size. Despite of its "celebration", it is only the second highest summit of Gleinalpe. The neighbouring Lenzmoarkogel is 3 meter higher (1991 m).

The summit of Lenzmoarkogel doesn’t have a shape of peak. Like the other summits of Gleinalpe, its shape is more like a dome: deep valleys around the mountain, steep slopes emerging from the valleys, and round, almost flat hilltop. The hilltop is grassy.

The upper parts of the hillsides are grassy, too, but the eastern hillside is rocky, with a basin at its bottom that looks to be a cirque of the last glacial period. In the valleys there are dense spruce forests. The mountain is in the drainage basin of Mur.

Getting There

If you want to know how to get to the foot of Koralpe, then you can look at the map prepared by Vid.

Gleinalmtunnel is only 6 kmeast from the summit of Lenzmoarkogel. It is an 8320 m long tunnel of the Austrian highway A9 (European E57 transit route). This highway connects Graz with the NW part of Austria and with Germany. The highway cannot be seen from the summit. But the Übelbach orSt.Michael junctions of the highway can help approaching one of thetrailheads more quickly.

Routes

Lenzmoarkogel can be approached on marked routes from north and from southest.

The north route is an ascent from the village Vorlobming, via Türkentörl andLenzmoarkogel. This is a long and tedious ascend: 1350 m elevationgain and 14-15 km distance. And you have to return, unless you sleepin the nearby Gleinalm Hut. Gleinalm Hut is a logistic centre with 5 interconnecting local and long distance routes.

From southeast you can approach Lenzmoarkogel from the nearby Speikkogel. Speikkogelis the highest summit of the ridge of Gleinalpe and 3 important long distance hiking routes leads along this ridge:

• Route 02: it is a 1270 km long route between Feldkirch and Hainburg

• Route 05: it is a 510 km long route between Nebelstein and Eibiswald

• E6: this European route is 5200 km long, and it connects Kilpisjärvi in Finland with the Dardanelles in Turkey.

From east these routes are coming from the direction of Kreuzsattel (1583 m). From south theseroutes are coming from Gleinalmsattel (1586 m).

On the Summit

On the flat summit you can find the "mandatory" summit cross of the Austrian hilltpops.

View from the summit –some more exposed nearby mountains:

• N:Gösseck (2214 m)

• E: Laerchkogel (1894 m)

• SE: Speikkogel (1988 m)

• SW: Ameringkogel (2187 m)

• NW: Seckauer Zinken (2397 m) and Pletzen (2354 m).

For my surprise I didn't meat anybody during my hike on Lenzmoarkogel, though it was nice day in May. Looking to the log-book at the summit-cross, I found the last log from 3 days earlier. This summit looks to be not visited by masses of hikers. Also the trails leading to the mountain are narrow and the vegetation is intact on the top. Perhaps this summit is too far from the nearest villages and not easy to ascend - and for the relatively big effort it doesn't give the reward expected by most of the hikers.

Tourist Hut

Gleinalm Hut (1.586 m) on Gleinalmsattel. Opened also in winter.

External Links

For online map click here.

For the webpage of Gleinalm and its environment (in German language only) click here.

Images

View Lenzmoarkogel Image Gallery - 10 Images