Category — Austria

To give you a first glimpse of the normal route to the summit of the Grossglockner (via Stuedlhut – Koednitzkees – Adlersruhe – Glocknerleitl) I have created an animated mini video using the amazing tool by animoto.com:

Before discussing the various climbing routes to the summit of the Grossglockner a little history seems appropriate since this mountain has had a prominent role in the history of Austrian mountaineering. Indeed the Grossglockner was summited as early as 1800 and thus it was the first of all high mountains of Austrian to be climbed. It was more of a research expedition than a modern mountaineering affair. Carefully planned under the protection of Altgraf Franz Xavier von Salm-Reifferscheid, archbishop of Gurk, a team of priests and natural scientists supported by local farmers and craftsmen researched possible routes for years.

Then in 1799 the quests for the summit started in earnest. The expedition team even built a mountain hut designed to shelter the mountaineers during bad weather (keep in mind that this was in the middle of the new ice age so summer used to by colder and and wetter than today). The whole expedition was really a large-scale operation, almost like the large mountaineering expeditions in the Himalaya in the 1920s and 1930s. Equipped with ladders and ropes the teams secured the most difficult and dangerous parts at the Glocknerleitl and near the Kleinglockner (still one of the most accident-prone areas until today). At August, 25, 1799 the team reached the Kleinglockner (3770m), the secondary summit of the Grossglockner and just some dozen meter lower than the real peak. However, the Glocknerscharte, an extremely narrow firn ridge between the Kleinglockner and the highest peak of the Grossglockner denied any success. About one year later (July, 28, 1800) the summit of the Grossglockner was climbed by a second expedition of some 60 people of which five eventually summited. The honorable archbishop himself did never reach the summit peak of the Grossglockner though he eventually climbed the Kleinglockner in later expeditions (1802 and 1806).

The first climb up the Grossglockner was more of a research expedition than a mountaineering endeavor of its own sake. Measuring the temperatures, the elevation and the air pressure were among the many scientific tests which were conducted during this expedition. Though this expedition was initiated and financed by a leading member of the Roman-Catholic Church it was first and foremost a sign of the enlightenment and its new approach towards understanding the forces of nature. Nevertheless it marks the beginning of the mountaineering age in Austria.

The Grossglockner (3798m) in the Hohe Tauern (Osttirol, Carinthia, Salzburg) mountain range is not only the highest mountain in Austria, it is also one of the most sought for of all the many high mountains in Austria. Each year, thousands of mountaineers from Austria, Germany, Italy and increasingly from Central and Eastern Europe are aspiring to summit this mountain with its small, rocky peak towering above the gorgeous glaciers of the Pasterze basin (itself the largest glacier of Austria).

Indeed there are so many mountaineers climbing to the summit of the Grossglockner that almot every summer discussions arise about somehow ‘managing’ the traffic jams caused by the crowds at the narrow and exposed cruxes just beneath the summit. These crowds more than the objective difficulties itself make the Grossglockner to one of the more accident-prone mountains of Austria with quite a couple of fatalities each year.

According to estimates by the Austrian Alpine Club (based upon sample counts on the different routes) about 8000 mountaineers are summiting the Grossglockner each year of which 5000 mountaineers are climbing during the summer months. Especially at weekends and during certain summer holidays (e.g. August, 15) ‘traffic jams’ alongside the narrow ridge just beneath the summit are causing significant delays. Mountaineers trapped in these traffic jams risk of getting in serious dangers especially when bad weather is rolling in.

Of course, the Grossglockner and its surrounding regions offer so many different possibilities for mountaineers (as well as for hikers, or just sight-seers and automobile tourists) that one blog post is definitely too short to give a comprehensive overview. Hence, I will start a mini-series of Grossglockner-related posts covering some facts and stories about this majestic peak in the Eastern Alps. Up to date, I have climbed the Grossglockner three times plus I did some ice climbing and ski mountaineering in the region as well. Hence, I attempt to give some honest assessments about the risks and rewards of climbing this mountain based upon first-hand experience.