Rauchkofel

Park below the church in Prettau (about 1,460 m). Follow path 16B along the road and then the old footpath through meadows and forest, cutting the long road bends, to the Waldneralm (2,068 m, refreshments in summer), about 1½ hours. An alm taxi can save this section. Continue on 16B up the open Waldner Egge ridge to the Waldner See (2,338 m), the largest lake in the Ahrntal, about 2½ hours from Prettau. From the lake traverse east over grass and boulders, partly without a path, past a signpost on the Platta plateau (path 15A) to the Lausitzer Höhenweg (path 13) near the ruins of the former Lausitz hut (about 2,534 m). Follow it briefly towards the Hundskehljoch and, before the Sauwipfel (2,643 m), turn right at the 'Rauchkofel' signpost. Stone-laid slabs cross a boulder field and zigzags climb to the south ridge, where the old built path ends at about 3,000 m. Below the rocky south spur (P 2,977) the marked route drops briefly west into a boulder bowl with unstable slabs and often old snow, then climbs the loose south-west flank on sandy scree back to the ridge; climbing the spur direct is about grade II. Easy scrambling on large granite blocks leads to the stainless steel summit cross (2013). Allow 2½–3 hours from the lake. Descend the same way, or follow the south-west border ridge (boundary stones from 1920) to a notch at 2,608 m and the Lausitzer Höhenweg along the Seewände to the Hundskehljoch (2,557 m), returning to the Waldner Egge on path 16B. A start from Kasern via the Starklalm joins the route before the Sauwipfel.