Starting point: Prettau, parking lot at the church. The route starts with the sign "Waldneralm, Weg Nr. 16 B", leads through the village and climbs steeply through the forest after crossing a stream. This path eventually merges back into the driveway to Waldner Alm (2068 m).
To Waldner Alm and Waldnersee: The hike continues along the driveway, with the possibility to shortcut a curve, up to Waldner Alm. From there, a mountain trail leads past wind and snow fences, directly to the marked trail junction and further to the picturesque Waldnersee (2237 m).
Summit ascent of Rauchkofel: East of the lake, follow the path to the right and reach a fork where you follow the "Lausnitzer Weg Nr. 15 A" to the left. At the next fork, continue left on the "Lausnitzer Weg Nr. 13" until the turn-off north of Sauwipfel (2534 m), from where you follow the sign "Rauchkofel" on a rocky path and later over switchbacks through rocky terrain to the summit (3252 m).
Alternatives to the summit: Direct ascent over the south spur with some easy climbing or bypassing the rock spur through the basin for a less strenuous climb. Both variants lead to the impressive south ridge and over boulder fields to the summit.
Way back: The descent is similar to the ascent up to the trail junction with the "Lausnitzer Weg Nr. 15 A". Instead of going back to the lake, the path leads left to Archbichl (2414 m), downwards through the picturesque Marchsteinboden to the unmanaged Starklalm (2029 m) and further to Kasern, where the bus back to Prettau waits.
Tip for an easier tour: A ride with the Almtaxi from Prettau to Waldner Alm saves about 600 meters in altitude and 2 hours of walking time.
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