Grossglockner - Austria

We arrived in Europe with the goal to climb the following mountains over the next nine days;


Grossglockner at 12,461 feet in Austria
Zugspitze at 9,717 feet in Germany
Grauspitz at 8,526 feet in Liechtenstein
Dufourspitze at 15,203 ft in Switzerland
Monte Bianco at 15,781 ft both in France & Italy


Our flight to Vienna took off in the early Seattle morning for stops in Newark then onto Paris before arriving the next day at our final destination and the start of another great adventure. Vienna wasn't the original jumping off point being Venice, Italy was the closer to Austria's highest peak; however a miscommunication in booking the ticket confirmed where our starting point would be. Either way, Europe in comparison to America is much smaller and this change was originally thought as a good problem now the capital of Austria was in the plan. The flight to Vienna went smoothly with no issues but traveling such a long distance causes the body to crave physical activity which plenty in store in the coming days. In preparing for this trip, it was decided at the beginning to minimize all planning with the exception of what mountains to climb. With the flight time to Vienna we would review the first mountain and make the decisions on the routes as we went adding to the challenge. In addition, my take-a-way from Pico de Orizaba in Mexico was to learn the basic language of countries I was traveling and printed from the web must know travel phases for the three European languages we were traveling. As I would learn on this trip, a take-a-way is only good if you actual do something with it.


We arrived in Vienna Friday morning, grabbed our gear from the carousel and made our way to the rent-a-car counter to pick up our transportation for the next week. There was a lot of discussion on what was the best mode of travel as trains are notorious in Europe, however due to our tight schedule along with the remoteness of towns near the mountains, the flexibility of a rental car was the right choice on this adventure. Once in the car we were off on another great adventure with the plans over the next 10 days to climb five summits in six countries. By the way, our backcountry adventure included a Mercedes Benz that we found could hold its own on the Germany Autobahn.


Grossglockner, our first destination, is located in the western part of the Austria's so we grabbed a map and headed west through the town of Lienz and then Salzburg sitting north of our the mountain. We stopped at a supermarket to grab some supplies and made our way south to the entrance of the Hohe Tauern National Park and Grossglockner High Alpine Road. It was nearing 7 p.m. and the ranger at the entry station was concerned of our intentions with a park curfew nearing in the next hour and half. We stated our plans and he suggested we head up to the Franz-Josefs-Haus where we could park and sleep in the car for the night. As we drove up the highway, the countless mountains keep us on our toes to which was Grossglockner. After nearly an hour of spectacular driving, we arrived to a cold and windy night without a hint of any mountains around as the clouds drifted in and out at the 2000 meter elevation we sat. The area was deserted and we backed the car into a cozy spot on the 2nd floor of a five story parking garage and prepared for bed before heading out in the morning. There happened to be a group of climbers whom drove up and scoped the mountain conditions but quickly jumped back in to their truck and headed back down which I assume was to a warm hut for the night. It was tempting to do the same but we were on a budget and we drifted off to sleep after only a few sips of wine with anticipation of climbing the first of five peaks on this challenging adventure.


Morning came as expected to a very cold, cloudy morning and we prepared our gear and set off for base camp. We started the route by descending to the Pasterze Glacier 500 feet below and crossed it in a northwest direction until it met on the opposite side to the ridge that would take us to the beginning of the Hoffmannkees Glacier. The Pasterze, at approximately 5.2 mi in length, is the longest glacier in Austria nd in the Eastern Alps reaching the 11,330 ft Johannisberg to 6890 ft above sea level. The length of the glacier currently decreases about 33 ft each year with it volume diminished by half since the first measurements in 1851.


From the base of the Hoffmannkees Glacier, we ascended to the south directly underneath the ridge line and then back in a westerly direction to the Erzherzog-Johann-Huette. This route in times past had to been the most common ascent but it has become more difficult in recent years because of shrinking glaciers and dangerous stonefalls. As we continued up the firm snow, the hut was always in view which makes for fun climb. In the North Cascades, the setup time to reach any peak can be at a day or more, but it was very apparent over the hundreds of years of climbing in the Alps the roads were further and deeper in the mountains than what we were used to without the need to tromp through trees, over logs, carrying tents, sleeping bags, cooking year, and food. We didn't bring a tent but had the rest of our gear. We arrived at the Erzherzog-Johann-Huette, the highest hut in Austria, at 3454 meters or 11,332 feet slightly before noon and as I walked into the hut I was blown away in my first impression of what climbing is like in the European Alps. It included every amenity of a modern hotel including a dedicated gear room, a room to dry out your boots including a wall of slippers, a full staffed kitchen, kegs of beer, beds with fresh sheets, and crystal clean toilets. We dropped our gear and took a break in in the dining hall before making the decision to summit Großglockner in the afternoon instead of waiting for a midnight rungiving us the ability to leave first thing in the morning.


The Großglockner is the "king" of the eastern half of the alps with a prominence, the elevation over the deepest pass that separates it from the next higher mountain, only second to Mont Blanc. The Grossglockner is surrounded by the Glockner Group of mountains that is a central part of the Hohe Tauern Range. We left the hut at 2 p.m. and followed the zigzagged boot path to gain access on the steep ridge and summit hidden in the clouds above. There were a handful of other climbing groups heading to the summit at the same time but the real challenge was those which were coming down over a series of fixed anchor points providing protection to the continuous drop on both sides. With the exposure like this, it takes extreme care to insure you’re always anchored to the mountain while allowing the ropes to pass along. As we continued to climb up, I realized we were well on our way to summiting the first mountain of this grand adventure, and as we continued to climb I could see the summit close above and felted the excitement of reaching the top. As I crested what I thought was the summit, I quickly realized there was more to this mountain.


From where I stood we still needed to down climb a 30 foot wall which was connected to a narrow col with a abyss dropping on both sides. Across the small ledge on the opposite side was a 50 foot vertical climb taking you to the the final summit ridge and then to the top. I have to admit my first thoughts were “rats” because in my mind I thought we were already on the top, and even though I have climbed many high peaks with dangers such as crevasses and avalanches; I was just gaining momentum in mixed climbing on snow and rock. In addition, this section of the route required not only protection for the fixed anchors but required self belays on many sections. It's is times like these that I get excited knowing I'm really pushing the limits of what I can do and failure at any point will be grave consequences but that do not get excited because of fear, but knowing I am pushing my life foreword as I realize I'm in Austria climbing the highest peak in the country. I love this life am deeply engaged in the climb stripping away from my mind all nonessentials and deeply focused on the task at hand which is the reason why I climb mountains. Our timing couldn't be better as we walked onto the summit with no one on top to a clear sky and remarkable country below. We snapped a few pictures and enjoy the moment of being on the top of Großglockner, the highest peak in the country of Austria.


As we turned to head down the mountain our bodies reengaged in the task in preparation for the 50 foot cliff overlooking the abyss and up the another less technical 30 foot section. At this point, there are many parties to contend with and I envision the excitement of being in a bottleneck on Everest’s Hillary Step as the weather deteriorates and climbers are near exhaustion. A key to climbing exposed ridges like this is to eliminate time as a factor and stay deeply connected to every move. Once past this section the steep down climb seems like child's play but nonetheless dangerous. We make it back to the saddle after negotiating other parties working their way up including a group that decided to turn back.


Once back at the hut, we relaxing in the superb accommodations the Europeans mastered a long time ago, listened to foreign conversations, and regretting not having cash for a cold beer and a hot meal. It was evident climbing in the Alps requires only climbing gear and money with everything else available in the high paradise. Even though we packed only the minimal gear, we quickly realized we brought way too much gear including a tent, stove, food, water, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. We hung out for a while being the only Americans with in diverse group of nationalities whom enjoyed a spice for life not found in American with songs through the night. At some point we reluctantly headed up your bed and snuggled into our fresh blankets with anticipation of a great nights rest. Don't get me wrong about the style of climbing in the Alps as it is not a downgrade but a comment on truly enjoying the mountains in a different way. It's a shame Americans do not embrace the beauty of mountains at this level because in America it's the select few who are willing to push through the worse parts to gain the best.


I woke up in the night with no idea of the time even though my natural senses told me to get up so I pryed my climbing buddy’s watch and happily saw it was four o'clock. We had already decided we would get up early and head back to the car in order to get an earlier start to Germany for the next climb of Zugspitze. I found my way downstairs to collect my gear and walked out onto the hut patio to a faint morning sunrise over the mountains to the east. I snapped a few pictures and realized how lucky I was to be at this point at exact moment in the country of Austria. As we stepped onto the glacier, the snow was in perfect condition for plunge steps as our momentum carried us down the mountain and I could see across the glacier the starting point of this climb. This is unusual compared to climbing in the North Cascades due to long to wooded approaches and having the end in sight always makes the climb down more enjoyable as you can quickly sense your progress. We continued the same path we came the preceeding day back to the ridge and then to the Pasterze Glacier below. Intrigued by the mistake we made on the way up, it still wasn’t obvious as I looked back once on the lower glacier and if I had to lead it again would probably make the same mistake. Once we crossed the Pasterze Glacier, we climbed back up 600 feet to reach our starting point.

Back at the car, we changed into clean clothes and found a small café overlooking the valley with Großglockner in the background. The American coffee I am used too is nothing compared to the small cups you get in Europe. In American, we want “grande” or "venti" whereas espressos are more popular here even though they pack just as much caffeine. We asked for bread with our coffee only to get blank stares to why we would do such a thing but quickly realized the culture's breakfast was standard of meat, cheese, and bread. They however were happy to fulfill our request and we enjoyed our coffee with warm bread. After leaving the café, we traveled south through many small villages in southern Austria then into Italy before crossing back into Austria to the southern border of Germany.


Head to Zugspitze in Germany