  We put forward a model for trapping stable optical vortex solitons (VSs) with
high topological charges $m$. The cubic-quintic nonlinear medium with an
imprinted ring-shaped modulation of the refractive index is shown to support
two branches of VSs, which are controlled by the radius, width and depth of the
modulation profile. While the lower-branch VSs are unstable in their nearly
whole existence domain, the upper branch is completely stable. Vortex solitons
with $m\leq 12$ obey the anti-Vakhitov-Kolokolov stability criterion. The
results suggest possibilities for the creation of stable narrow optical VSs
with a low power, carrying higher vorticities.
