We start on this stage of the hiking route "From glacier to wine" in the middle of the Schneealm (tourist information Tel. +43 3857 8321) and hike first without major descents or ascents over the high plateau in the direction of the Lurgbauerhütte (Tel. +43 676 6335456). Afterwards we follow the Nordalpenweg 01 for about 1 km in order to branch off to the left onto trail 442 in the direction of Karlalm before descending to the Naßwand. Note: the Naßwand lives up to its name, because the descent is so washed out that bypassing this short piece is highly recommended!
At the Karlalm with its small hunting lodge we branch off to the right to get back to our 01 path. Over the so-called Naßkamm with a beautiful view into the Altenberg valley we reach the unmanaged Zimmermannhütte and the private Gamseckhütte to the Gamsecksteig at the foot of the highest elevation of the Rax, the Heukuppe. First through mountain pines and over scree, the well-secured ascent over short ladders and passages equipped with wire ropes soon begins in order to enter the plateau of the Raxalpe at an altitude of about 1,850 m above sea level. Another tip: The ropes are passed a few times only through the anchorages, which results in a strong yielding of the rope after each anchorage. Please keep your distance, otherwise one will pull on the other!
We leave this short and rather easy via ferrata behind us to continue hiking to the summit of the Rax, with 2,007 m above sea level a real two-thousand-meter peak! Enjoying the view of the surrounding mountains and back to Schneealm, Veitsch and Hochschwab, we then descend to our stage destination, the Karl Ludwig Haus (Tel. +43 2665 380 or +43 699 11888972), which was not only completely renovated a few years ago, but was also certified as an organic farm. While enjoying an excellent snack, you can already plan the next day: this stage takes you to Mürzzuschlag, a small town beautifully situated in the nodes of Hochsteiermark on the UNESCO World Heritage Semmering Railway.