Bruderkogel, the often stormy brother at the origin of the Pölstal valley

Discover a wonderful tour full of views

From the parking lot, take the forest road into the Pölsen. The lower part of the tour leads through the forest belt, at the beginning the summer ascent to the Bruderkogel is used. The route leads through sparse forest to the Lackneralm. You then follow another narrow cart track that leads into a wide cirque. The route is rather flat along the cirque floor until you find a good passage to the left across the slopes for the ascent to the western ridge of the Bruderkogel. There are several options over hilly terrain. Once on the ridge, the tour leads along the ridge to the summit.

The ski tour to the Bruderkogel is very rewarding in good conditions. You cross the forest belt on paths and roads. Once in the cirque, follow the trail on flat terrain. Look for a good track on the slope from the cirque floor to the ridge crest. Sometimes the slope is blown off. Then the track is particularly important to avoid the hollows with drifting snow.

Characteristics

Skill

Fitness

Best season

January

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

The tour in numbers

medium

Level of difficulty

14,3 km

Route

3:14 h

Time

1094 hm

Uphill

1098 hm

Downhill

2296 m

Highest point

Map & downloads

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More information

From Vienna (approx. 3 hours):

Take the A2 towards Graz.
At 161-St. Michael junction, switch to the S36 towards Judenburg.
Exit at Judenburg-Ost.
Continue on the B114 towards Trieben/Hohentauern.
In St. Johann am Tauern, follow the signs to Pölsen.
Right at the entrance to Pölsen, there is a designated parking area (starting point for hikes).

From Graz (approx. 1.5–2 hours):

Take the A9 towards Linz/Salzburg.
At 161-St. Michael junction, change to the S36 towards Judenburg.
Exit at Judenburg-Ost.
Continue on the B114 towards Trieben/Hohentauern.
At St. Johann am Tauern, turn towards Pölsen.
The parking area is located right at the entrance to Pölsen.

From Salzburg (approx. 3 hours):

Take the A10 towards Villach.
At exit 63-Altenmarkt, change to the B320 towards Radstadt/Schladming.
Continue via Schladming to Liezen.
Join the A9 towards Graz.
Exit at 100-Trieben.
Drive on the B114 towards Judenburg up to St. Johann am Tauern.
From there, turn towards Pölsen.
The parking area is located directly at the entrance to Pölsen.

The car is parked in the parking lot, which is already visible from the B114 main road. Driving is prohibited from here. Now follow the forest road, which initially leads slightly downhill. Sometimes it is better to carry your skis here. Passing a few houses on the left-hand side, take the left-hand road at the fork, which leads over the bridge. It is advisable to put your skis on now if the forest road is not open. After about 600 m on the forest road, follow the summer path, which points SW (left). After crossing the small stream, follow it further along the left bank in the direction of the ascent until you reach a forest road again at about 1440m. Follow this in the direction of Lackneralm (hut). Leave the hut on the right and follow the forest path that begins south of the hut and after about 150 m, with a distinctive right-hand bend, leads fairly flat in a westerly direction south of the Lackneralm stream. At around 1600 m, you climb a few meters in altitude over a clearing, not very steeply in a southerly direction and soon afterwards ascend again in a westerly direction and thus to the wide cirque (also known as Lackneralm). In this area, the gullies and hollows that you have to cross up to the cirque are very difficult to negotiate.Be aware of the risk of avalanches. Once you reach the Lackneralm cirque, head into the cirque on flat terrain up to around 1900 m and then find a good ascent track on the slopes to the left (heading SW). There are many small ridges and hollows here, which you should make good use of on the ascent. Due to the frequent strong winds, there are often drift snow deposits on these slopes of the Bruderkogel. Ascent and descent routes should be chosen carefully. Once you reach the western ridge of the Bruderkogel, the route leads eastwards to the summit of the 2299 m high Bruderkogel. Descent as ascent.

A rest in the magnificent cirque is recommended.

If the slopes of the Bruderkogel are blown off, you can choose the Schüttnerkogel as your tour destination.

Unfortunately, this tour cannot be reached by public transport.