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Published: September 8th 2012
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Heiligenblut
Großglockner under the clouds. Rumor has it there was an Austrian farmer who wanted to cross from Heiligenblut to Kals, not an easy route. Being quite drunk, he managed to get lost in the mountain mist but he was able to get to Kals because he could hear the church bell. Like all legends, there is probably a hint of truth behind the origin of the name of Austria's highest peak - Großglockner - which I summited Friday morning at 7:35 am local time. It was definitely an exhilarating combination of major adrenaline and being very much aware of the extreme exposure.
I wanted to try for the 3798 meter summit when I was in Austria back in May but the weather was far from cooperative. I decided on a return trip from Turkey and bought a one way ticket a couple of months ago for the sole purpose of going on a guided climb of the mountain. Once again the weather was not good for the initial attempt so it was postponed by one day which gave me time to move over from Heiligenblut to Kals am Großglockner but unlike the farmer I took a couple of buses. Moving to the other side
Heiligenblut
The Big Bell still cloudy. of the mountain made the logistics much easier as the transport links were better than from Heiligenblut. The downside was there was a bit more vertical to overcome on the approach from Kals. The one night I spent in Heiligenblut was at the beautiful Pension Bergkristall. B&B was 38€, the breakfast and coffee were superb, and WiFi is available. To carbo load for the climb, I ate an entire pizza at the cafe near the tourist info office.
Leaving Heiligenblut, I took the Post Bus back to Lienz (1 hour, 8.10€) and two more buses to Huben then Lucknerhaus (~1½ hours, 8.60€ + 1€ toll, also passes Kals 7 km before the trailhead) where I spent the night in a nice hotel conveniently located at the trailhead. B&B was 38€. The administration annoyingly does not allow the 50€ half board option for stays of one night and there is a 2€ surcharge for single night stays. No matter as there was really no other option. The breakfast was excellent, there is free WiFi, and I was able to leave extra luggage at the hotel while I was on the mountain.
Before hitting the sack, I contacted the guide
Looking Back to Lucknerhaus
On the ascent to Stüdl Hütte under nasty, wet conditions. service and was told to meet the guide and other climbers (3 Swedes with extremely limited experience much to my chagrin) at Stüdl Hütte between 12:00 and 1:00 pm. At the
hütte the guide would distribute gear (crampons and a harness, ice axe unnecessary, helmet would have been nice) and we would ascend together to Erzherzog Johann Hütte where we would spend the night before an early morning attempt at Großglockner.
I departed Lucknerhaus (1920 m) Thursday morning at 9:45 am and arrived at Stüdl Hütte (2801 m) about 2 hours later slightly chilled from the light mist enveloping the entire valley. Our guide Luis was a bit late and we did not head up for the high hut until 2:00 pm which worked out well because the weather had started to improve by the time we left. After a half hour we reached the edge of the Ködnitz Glacier and roped up. Another 30 minutes later we were off the glacier scrambling the rocky ridge below Erzherzog Johann Hütte at an elevation of 3454 m only 344 m lower than the summit, a deceiving number for sure. One more hour before we were organizing our gear at the
Marmot Near Stüdl Hütte
Prized for their fat which is sold as oil for some sort of remedy. hütte. Normal half board is 47€ but if you are a member of a UIAA affiliated climbing club the price drops to 40€. Dinner was great but the breakfast consisting of bread, jam, butter, and a wedge of soft cheese washed down with tea, instant coffee, or hot chocolate needs major improvement starting with the coffee. Fortunately, I still had my last PowerGel Tangerine with double caffeine that I brought from the USA specifically for this type of dire emergency.
After breakfast we attached our crampons and bolted for the peak at 6:00 under a clear, blue sky. It wasn't cold but it was wicked windy. A little while on the snow and we tied in to the rope all very close together as is the norm for guided climbs in the Alps. Soon we reached the snow filled gulley and topped out on Kleinglockner where the real fun began. The summit ridge was insanely narrow and exposed but no rock protection would ever be used. Luis, like the other guides, used the rope to tie off numerous times on metal poles fixed into the rock. I was at the end of the rope and Luis gave me a
Roping up at the Ködnitz Glacier
About 2:30 pm on the way to Erzherzog Johann Hütte. Weather finally breaking after several straight days of clouds, rain, and snow higher up. Much of the glacier was a giant slush puddle. quickdraw to clip into a couple of beefy cables along the ridge as we descended to the notch between the twin summits. It was comforting to have that extra protection but the cables' attachment points were pretty far apart making for a potentially gnarly whipper. Fortunately everyone stuck to the rock which we all climbed in crampons. The crux was climbing up the first 10 meters from the notch. There was no snow on the rock which was slabby with a few key cracks just big enough to hold a couple of crampon points and there were a couple of iron rungs to aid the climbers' footholds. After the crux, it was much easier to the summit.
I expected the descent to take a long time owing to the narrow ridge at the crux combined with the huge numbers of climbers. But the guides are all familiar with the route and each other so there is quite a bit of cooperation. Since I was pressed to catch my train (a hasty and unwise purchase) we did not dawdle much at the high hut. Luis let me descend from the hut unroped and I latched onto another group for the
short roped section across the glacier. I left Luis' gear at Stüdl Hütte then shredded my knees practically running down to Lucknerhaus. After a major repacking effort it took 30 minutes to hitch a ride from a truck driver who took me all the way to Mittersill where I feasted on lasagne, arugula salad, strudel, and espresso. Besides breakfast, all I'd eaten was a Snickers bar which was great to chow on the mountain but only partially satisfied me. Eventually the bus arrived (~45 minutes and 6.90€ to Kitzbühel, the closest major rail junction) and I caught the train to Munich with plenty of time to spare. Interesting fact about Mittersill is the free
toilette at the train station/bus stop. The local train only goes to Krimml and Zell am See.
Climb report summary:
Lucknerhaus (1920 m elevation) > Stüdl Hütte (2801 m), 9:45 > 11:45
Stüdl Hütte > Erzherzog Johann Hütte (3454 m), 14:00 > 16:00
Erzherzog Johann Hütte > Summit of Großglockner, 6:00 > 7:35
Summit of Großglockner > Erzherzog Johann Hütte, 8:00 > 9:19
Erzherzog Johann Hütte > Stüdl Hütte, 10:00 > 11:25
Stüdl Hütte > Lucknerhaus, 11:39 > 12:45
Lucknerhaus > Münich (via Mittersill,
Kitzbühel, and Wörgl), 13:45 > 20:30
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clapton
non-member comment
Just checking in
Grossglockner looked like a lot of fun. I haven't been able to check in on every update, but do when I can. NFL is officially underway and the Denver/Pats game is looking like it is gonna be good. Check you later man. -clapton