The Stronachkogel, a stolid ‘forested hill’ in the east of Lienz, is the ideal tour destination for a leisurely ski hike in the sun and in tranquil surroundings. Next to the Rauchkofel it is one of the few elevations in Osttirol which exceeds the 2000 metre mark. The ski hike to the Kogel can only be carried out when there is sufficient snow, which is not the case every winter. Starting point is the parish of Stronach (1106 m). The forest trail starts here heading up to the Zwischenberger Sattel. We follow this for 500 metres, before the signposts to the left of the sun-drenched Alpine lodge (Virger Boden) take us to the start of a glade. Here, for the first time, the route can be truncated via a pasture, or we can slowly proceed higher up in a long-drawn-out right-left loop, staying on the forest trail which provides plenty of views. Later this is truncated via further glades and by timber felling (pay attention to the route signpost), before the ski track swings via Stronacher Wiesen to the traditional Stronachalm (around 1720 m). The terrain now becomes more open and via a final short slope we climb north-east to a nice summit cross situated on a wide forest peak. Descent along the ascent track.
Additional ski tour tips can be obtained in the ski tour guides by Thomas Mariacher. These are available here: http://www.grafikzloebl.at/verlag/buecher/
