Grossglockner & Hohe Tauern National Park

🇦🇹 Heiligenblut & Franz-Josefs-Höhe, Carinthia, Austria

About this guide

The Grossglockner, at 3,798 m Austria's highest mountain, stands at the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park, the largest national park in the Alps. Below it lies the Pasterze, Austria's largest glacier. The 48 km Grossglockner High Alpine Road leads to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe (2,369 m), which Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth visited in 1856. The summit itself is a glacier climb: guided ascent only.

Difficulty: No official grade for the Gamsgrubenweg alone. Most of the open section runs through tunnels: sturdy shoes and a warm jacket. Closed beyond Tunnel 6. Grossglockner summit: guided ascent only, with the Kalser Berg- und Schiführerverein or the Bergführerverein Heiligenblut; huts and conditions: Austrian Alpine Club.
Season: The High Alpine Road is closed in winter, from the start of November to the start of May.
Getting there: By car on the toll Grossglockner High Alpine Road from Heiligenblut to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe; from mid-June to mid-September also by post bus from Heiligenblut. For the summit, the base is Kals am Großglockner.
Food & drink: At the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe: the Kaiser Franz Josef Haus, the Panoramarestaurant and the Gletscherrestaurant.