Grossglockner

Grossglockner
Edward Theodore Compton : Grossglockner (1918)
height	3798  m above sea level A.
location	Carinthia / East Tyrol border , Austria
Mountains	Glockner group / Hohe Tauern
Dominance	175 km →  Königspitze
Notch height	2428 m ↓  Brenner Pass
Coordinates	47 ° 4 '28 "  N , 12 ° 41' 38"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 4 '28 "  N , 12 ° 41' 38"  E
rock	Prasinite
First ascent	July 28, 1800
Normal way	from the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte over the east side and the Kleinglockner
particularities	highest mountain in Austria
Area of ​​the Grossglockner
Großglockner from the southwest: 1. Glocknerwand, 2. Untere Glocknerscharte, 3. Teufelshorn (left) and Glocknerhorn (right), 4. Teischnitzkees, 5. Großglockner, 6. Kleinglockner, 7. Stüdlgrat, 8. Ködnitzkees, 9. Adlersruhe

The Großglockner (often also called Glockner for short ) is at an altitude of 3798  m above sea level. A. the highest mountain in Austria . The striking tip of rocks from the green slate facies belongs to the Glockner Group , a mountain range in the central part of the Hohe Tauern , and is considered one of the most important peaks in the Eastern Alps . Since the first explorations at the end of the 18th century and the first ascent by four participants in a large expedition led by Prince-Bishop Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim in 1800, the Großglockner has played an important role in the development of alpinism . To this day, it is of great importance for tourism in the region and a popular destination for mountaineers with more than 5000 summit climbs per year. The view of the mountain, one of Austria's most famous landmarks, is the main scenic attraction of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road .

geography

Location and surroundings

The Großglockner is part of the Glocknerkamm , a mountain ridge of the Glockner Group ( Austrian Central Alps ), which branches off at the Eiskögele in a southeastern direction from the main Alpine ridge and forms the border between the federal states of Tyrol in the southwest and Carinthia in the northeast. This border is also the watershed between the Kalser Valley with its side valleys on the East Tyrolean and the Mölltal with the Pasterze on the Carinthian side. The area around the mountain has also been part of the Großglockner-Pasterze special protection area within the Hohe Tauern National Park since 1986 .

The Großglockner is the highest mountain in the Alps east of the Ortler group, 175 km away, and thus has the second largest geographical dominance of all mountains in the Alps after Mont Blanc . At 2,424 meters, its notch height is also the second largest of all Alpine peaks after Mont Blanc. Thus the mountain is one of the most independent elevations in the Alps. The view from the Großglockner is considered to be the furthest of all mountains in the Eastern Alps, it stretches 220 kilometers, taking into account the terrestrial refraction almost 240 kilometers. The view over more than 150,000 square kilometers of the earth's surface extends to the Swabian-Bavarian plain in the northwest, to Regensburg and the Bohemian Forest in the north, to the Ortler in the west, to the Po Valley in the south, to the Triglav and the Dead Mountains in the east.

The most important places in the vicinity of the mountain are Kals am Großglockner ( 1324  m ) in the Kalser Valley in East Tyrol, located about eight kilometers from the summit in a south-westerly direction, and Heiligenblut am Großglockner ( 1291  m ) in the Mölltal in Carinthia, from the summit approx twelve kilometers to the southeast.

topography

Großglockner from the northeast: 1. Adlersruhe, 2. Hofmannskees, 3. Kleinglocknerkees, 4. Glocknerleitl, 5. Pallavicinirinne, 6. Kleinglockner, 7. Großglockner, 8. Glocknerkees, 9. Berglerrinne, 10. Glocknerhorn (left) and Teufelshorn (right ), 11. Untere Glocknerscharte, 12. Glocknerwand

The Großglockner is a pyramid-shaped rock summit that is often compared to the mountains of the Western Alps due to its high-alpine, heavily glaciated appearance . With the 3770  m high Kleinglockner in front of the southeast, it forms a distinctive double peak . Whether the Kleinglockner is to be regarded as a secondary summit or an independent main summit is handled differently in the literature. Due to its low notch height and dominance, as well as the close connection between its history of ascent and that of the Großglockner, it is counted as part of the Großglockner in historical publications, but because of its independent routes, mountaineering literature evaluates it as an independent summit.

Between the two peaks lies the Obere Glocknerscharte , the 3766  m highest gorge in Austria, from which a couloir inclined up to 55 ° descends 600 meters in altitude to the Glocknerkees , the Pallavicini gully named after the mountaineer Alfred von Pallavicini . The north-east and north face of the Grossglockner are connected to this gully running in a north-easterly direction. These are limited by the northwest ridge, part of the main ridge of the Glocknerkamm, which runs over the Grögerschneid ( 3660  m ) and the ridge elevations Glocknerhorn ( 3680  m ) and Teufelshorn ( 3677  m ) to the Lower Glocknerscharte ( 3598  m ), to which the 3721  m connects high Glocknerwand adjoins.

To the south-west, the Großglockner sends a pronounced ridge , the Stüdlgrat (named after Johann Stüdl ), which, with its extension, the Luisengrat , separates the west face and the underlying glacier Teischnitzkees from the south face with the adjoining Ködnitzkees . The south wall is crossed by the Pillwax channel below the Obere Glocknerscharte , the majority of the south wall is east of this channel below the Kleinglockner. The east side of the Kleinglockner, the Glocknerleitl , is glaciated to just below the summit and continues down to the Pasterze in the Kleinglockner and Hofmannskees .

geology

Geological map of the Großglockner and its surroundings, after Ferdinand Löwl, 1898

The Großglockner is located in the middle part of the Tauern Window , a west-east extended zone that was created by tectonic uplift (exhumation) in conjunction with erosion . Today, rocks come to light there that reached the uppermost area of ​​the earth's crust from a depth of more than 10 km and subsequently, due to ongoing erosion of the mountains, finally broke through the Eastern Alpine nappes .

The Großglockner consists of igneous rock and sediments that were transformed into today's particularly hard crystalline slates under the high pressure of the depths. Its height is mainly due to the weathering resistance of the greenish colored rock prasinite (formerly called green stone ), which, embedded in chlorite schist , builds up the summit. This prasinite consists of basalts which, as former ocean floors of the Pennine Ocean, were later metamorphically overprinted. In addition to prasinite, serpentinites , breccias , quartzites and phyllites are also involved in building the Grossglockner base. The Großglockner area is surrounded by thick layers of Bündner slate , which emerge on the northern flank of the Glockner, the Glocknerwand, the Glocknerkamp and Hohenwartkopf and consist of limestone mica slate. In the course of the Alpine mountain formation, the Obere Glocknerscharte, which separates the Großlockner from the Kleinglockner, was created by a northeast-southwest trending geological fault . This structural disturbance extends from the Pallavicini channel up to the notch and runs through the Pillwax channel parallel to the Stüdlgrat down into the Ködnitzkees.

Flora and fauna

The flora of the Großglockner area consists of alpine and subalpine plant species. The tree line of tall trees marks the transition of the two areas and reaches a height from 2000 to 2200 meters. The snow line is around 2600 to 2700 meters, where all contiguous vegetation ends. Individual high-alpine species, such as the glacier buttercup and various lichens , can still be found immediately below the summit.

In addition to chamois and marmots , griffon vultures , bearded vultures and golden eagles are represented in the Hohe Tauern National Park and thus also in the Glockner area . In addition, various species of butterflies can be found up to the highest peak locations. The first projects for reintroduction of the Alpine ibex already existed in 1914. In the 1960s, such plans were implemented for the first time today (2006) lives in the area Grossglockner Pasterze one of the biggest ibex populations of the Hohe Tauern.

Tourist importance and development

View from Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe to the Glockner

In 1919, when South Tyrol was awarded to Italy after the Treaty of Saint-Germain , the Glockner replaced the Ortler as the highest mountain in Austria. After the First World War he won growing tourist importance that continues to this day and attracts many visitors, on fine summer days more than 150. The Glocknerrunde , a height by the Austrian Alpine Club and the Tauern National Park as a package deal worked out week-long hike around the Grossglockner, offers a Another attraction for the growing trekking tourism in the region. More commercially significant today, however, is less mountaineering than automobile mass tourism on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road . The view of Austria's highest mountain from Franz-Josefs-Höhe (historical spelling: Kaiser-Franz-Josephs-Höhe) is one of the biggest attractions on this adventure route and attracts around 900,000 visitors annually. The total number since the opening in August 1935 is estimated at over 50 million visitors, making the Großglockner the second most popular sight in Austria after Schönbrunn Palace . He is shown on postage stamps and the coats of arms of the communities of Kals am Großglockner and Heiligenblut. Since 2007, the name “Großglockner” has served as a joint brand for the Hohe Tauern National Park region and the Großglockner High Alpine Road.

With more than 30 routes described in the literature, the Großglockner has a large number of climbing options. In addition to the alpine attractiveness resulting from its height, this is also due to its relatively complicated structure of ridges, gullies, glaciers and rock faces.

The Lucknerhaus ( 1918  m ), the Lucknerhütte ( 2241  m ), the Kalser Tauernhaus ( 1755  m ) and the Stüdlhütte ( 2802  m ) serve as bases for an ascent of the Großglockner on the East Tyrolean side in the southwest . On the Carinthian side in the east is important for the normal route , the slightest ascent, especially the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte on the Adlersruhe ( 3454  m ), the highest shelter in Austria. Further bases are the Glocknerhaus ( 2132  m ), the Salmhütte ( 2638  m ) and the Franz-Josefs-Haus ( 2363  m ) on the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, which can be reached via the Großglockner High Alpine Road . The Hofmannshütte located at 2,444  m , which could be reached in a short climb from the Franz-Josefs-Höhe, was closed since 2005 due to dilapidation and was demolished in September 2016, the area is being renatured .

At 3205  m , north of the Großglockner summit on the northern edge of the Glocknerkees, lies the Glocknerbiwak , a bivouac box that serves as a base for inspections of the north-facing ascents on the Glocknerkamm.

Slightest ascent

Kleinglockner, Obere Glocknerscharte and Großglockner

Of the many climbs to the summit, only today's normal route , the route that was already used by the first climbers in 1800, with difficulty level II according to UIAA, is relatively easy. The starting point of this path is the Adlersruhe elevation (on which the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte stands today) on the southeast ridge of the Kleinglockner . It can be reached from the Stüdlhütte in the south via the Ködnitzkees, from the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe to the east via the Hofmannskees or from the Salmhütte in the southeast via the Hohenwartkees and the Hohenwartscharte. From the Adlersruhe the path leads over the Glocknerleitl , the largely glaciated eastern ridge of the Kleinglockner, almost without rock contact to just below the Kleinglockner summit. The last upswing to the Kleinglockner, which is often heavily overgrown, is provided with steel bars. The following descent to the Obere Glocknerscharte, secured with wire ropes, and the crossing of this eight meter long, only half a meter wide and exposed on both sides transition is considered a bottleneck of the normal route, where it often closes both on the ascent and on the descent persistent congestion with long waiting times can occur. With difficulty level II (UIAA), the 30 meters from the saddle to the summit are considered the most difficult section in terms of climbing technology and form the key point of the normal route.

Stüdlgrat

Further climbs

The hard crystalline rock , which is responsible for the height of the Grossglockner, is well suited for climbing thanks to its strength . The most popular rock climb on the Glockner is the Stüdlgrat (southwest ridge) with a difficulty of III + on the UIAA scale. Some difficult areas are defused with steel pins or the like. Other important routes are the northwest ridge (III) and the south ridge (IV +).

A well-known pure ice tour is currently (2016) the Pallavicini Channel, which is increasingly threatened by rockfall due to the thawing permafrost, with a steepness of 55 °, the Mayerlrampe (70 °), the Berglerrinne (50 °) and the northeast face ice nose (90 °) are also important . Important combined routes are the northeast ridge (IV, 45 ° ice), the north face (IV +, 55 °), the south face (IV, 45 °), the west face (IV +, 45 °) and the Schneiderrinne (III, 60 °).

Surname

Map by Wolfgang Lazius, 1561: The first evidence of the name Glockner (Glocknerer)

In 1561 the name Glocknerer was first recorded on a map by the Viennese cartographer Wolfgang Lazius . The name Glogger , the first documentary mention of the name of the mountain, is passed down from a boundary description of the court in Kals from 1583 . Up until the 18th century this name was used to refer to the entire Glocknerkamm up to the Eiskögele. Names like Glöckner Mons and Glöckelberg appear in later cards . In the Atlas Tyrolensis by Peter Anich and Blasius Hueber it is recorded as Glockner Berg , a name that subsequently became established. The addition "Groß-" is only to be found in the reports from the first Glockner expedition in 1799 ("Gross-Glokner").

There are a number of predominantly folk etymological hypotheses about the origin of the name Glockner . The name is often derived from its bell-like shape, an assumption made by Belshazzar Hacquet as early as 1784 . Another hypothesis is the derivation of closed capes used in the 15th century and known as "bells", whose shape was also similar to that of the Grossglockner. It was also assumed that as the highest mountain and therefore the “leader” of its surroundings, the Glockner got its name from the bell-shaped bell hammers of the flocks of sheep, known as Glogga . A derivation from the dialect word “klocken” (thunder, rumble), which is supposed to refer to the sounds of ice and stone falling on the slopes of the mountain, was also discussed. Due to the presence of the Alpine Slavs in East Tyrol and Upper Carinthia for several centuries, an origin from the Old Slovenian word Klek , a common name for pointed peaks, is believed to be possible. The large number of Slavic place, river and mountain names in Carinthia make this theory seem plausible. The current Slovenian name of the mountain is "Veliki Klek".

Say

The real threat from glacier advances is reflected in mythical explanations for this danger in many regions of the Alpine region . The glaciation of the Großglockner area is also seen in old legends as a punishment for the wastefulness of the farmers in the formerly allegedly fertile Pasterzental, which, together with its entire surroundings, froze to ice. According to a variant of this legend, a magician from Hundstein first transformed the Wiesbachhorn into a glacier before he was imprisoned in the ice, today's Pasterze, because of his intransigence towards those he punished. Since then, the Großglockner has stood above the glacier to guard the prisoner.

history

Early explorations

This copper engraving by Belshazzar Hacquet from 1782 is considered the first illustration of the Grossglockner

The French naturalist Belsazar Hacquet made the first concrete considerations about a possible ascent in his work Mineralogical-Botanical Pleasure Journey from Mount Terglou in Carniola to Mount Glokner in Tyrol, published in 1783, in 1779 and 81 . He already suspected the later path of the first climber as the cheapest climb. Hacquet traveled the area around the Glockner several times and measured the mountain, whereby his estimate of the height of 20,000 fathoms (approx. 3793 m) was astonishingly close to today's official height. The first known illustration of the Grossglockner comes from Hacquet in the form of a copper engraving showing the Grossglockner and the Pasterze.

The Glockner Expedition in 1799

In 1783 Franz II. Xaver von Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim was appointed Prince-Bishop to Carinthia, where he came into contact with the scientifically interested clergy Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart and Franz Xaver Freiherr von Wulfen . Influenced by the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786, Salm decided to organize an expedition to the Glockner after Wulfen and Hohenwart had already carried out initial measurements around the mountain in 1795 and Salm himself had inspected the area in 1798. The aim of the expedition was not only to measure the mountain more precisely, but also to climb it for the first time .

Two farmers from Heiligenblut, who are referred to in the reports as "The Glokner", were selected as mountain guides . Their job included planning the route, choosing the equipment, exploring and organizing the expedition. Other farmers and carpenters from Heiligenblut built paths under their guidance and the Salmhütte, named after the prince-bishop, the first refuge in the Eastern Alps. This accommodation was below the Leiterkees , higher than today's Salmhütte and provided space for a total of 30 expedition participants, including Hohenwart, Wulfen and the consistorial councilor Johann Zopoth. The two "Glokner" explored the route over the then much larger Leiterkees, the Hohenwartscharte and the Glocknerleitl to just below the summit of the Kleinglockner. It was also suggested that when they were explored on July 23, 1799, they had already reached the summit of the Kleinglockner, but that this was not mentioned because none of the “gentlemen” was there. After two attempts, which were broken off due to bad weather, Hohenwart and four guides, including the “Glokner”, reached the summit of the Kleinglockner on August 24 and erected a summit cross there.

Commemorative medal for the alleged ascent of the Großglockner in 1799. Bishop Salm is depicted on the obverse , the Großglockner with the Salmhütte in the foreground on the reverse , including the date of ascent 25 August 1799.

Inaccurate reports led to the long-held opinion that the Grossglockner had already been climbed back then. Hohenwart wrote, for example, "[...] I and my four signposts managed to climb the Glockner all the way" and there is talk of "climbing the second peak". The diary of a trip to the mountain Gross-Glokner , which was probably written by expedition participant Johann Zopoth and revised by Bishop Salm, but published anonymously, notes: "He has now climbed, the [...] Glokner, this ornament of the Noric Mountains ". It is assumed that the inaccurate reports had the aim, among other things, to present the expedition as a success, although a new attempt for the next year was planned as early as September 1799 and preparations such as the expansion of the Salmhütte had already been made.

The legend was reinforced by the later issue of a commemorative coin by Bishop Salm, which shows the Grossglockner with a summit cross and gives the date of the first ascent August 25, 1799.

First ascent in 1800

The second expedition in 1800 was more than twice as large as the first with 62 participants. Among the new participants were the educationalist Franz Michael Vierthaler , the botanist David Heinrich Hoppe , the surveyor Ulrich Schiegg with his student Valentin Stanič as well as the pastors of Dellach im Drautal and Rangersdorf , Franz Joseph Orrasch (also called Horasch) and Mathias Hautzendorfer . The same four farmers and carpenters were hired as guides for the summit stage as in the previous year. In addition to the personnel, the organizational effort was increased, for example a second hut, the Hohenwarte , was built on the Hohenwartscharte .

On July 28th, the summit troop advanced to the Kleinglockner, where Hohenwart, Hoppe and Orrasch stayed behind. The four guides were the first to climb the summit of the Großglockner, secured the ascent with ropes and returned to the Kleinglockner. Together with the pastor Mathias Hautzendorfer, they then climbed the Grossglockner one more time. Hautzendorfer had to be persuaded to do so: “They did not let him leave the place because he wanted to leave. [...] He prepared himself as if to death. ”But the expedition was only considered successful when“ One of the Lords ”had reached the summit. That this was Hautzendorfer has only been considered certain since the discovery of an expedition report by Joseph Orrasch in 1993. Due to incorrect descriptions of Franz Michael Vierthaler, who remained behind on the Adlersruhe with Bishop Salm, for a long time Joseph Orrasch, who, according to current knowledge, was only the first participant to climb the Klein glockner, was considered the first to climb.

The four farmers and carpenters involved in the ascent of the summit are not named in the published reports of the expedition participants. Here the two main leaders entrusted with leading the expedition are simply referred to as “Die Glokner”, their identity was in the background for the expedition participants compared to their important function: “They had ... two courageous farmers from the h. Bleeder parish elected. From now on, both will be called the Glokner as the first to climb the mountain ”. The brothers Sepp and Martin Klotz from Heiligenblut are usually mentioned as the names of the "Glokner" . Today, however, this is doubted: "Kloz" was only the nickname of one of the "Glokner" that Bishop Salm received for loosening a cornice ("snow block"). The name "Klotz" did not appear in Heiligenblut at the time in question. Even the Hoysen-Sepp , a Heiligenblut farmer who later as the Count Apponyi led expedition from 1802, is considered a possible participant, where one behind this name alias of the aforementioned Sepp Klotz is suspected. In an unpublished letter from Ulrich Schiegg, Martin Reicher is named as one of the "Glokner". From today's perspective, of the five first climbers, only Martin Reicher and Mathias Hautzendorfer have been determined by name.

The next day the Großglockner was climbed for the second time, this time Schiegg and Stanič also reached the summit. They took air pressure measurements and measured the summit. The farmers attached the summit cross they had brought with them , on which a barometer was also left for future measurements.

Bishop Salm financed two further Glockner expeditions in 1802 and 1806. In 1802 Sigismund Hohenwart also reached the summit, Salm himself never got further than the Adlersruhe, as in 1800.

Further expeditions in the early 19th century

Sketch of the ascent by Dionýs Štúr (1855)

In 1802 the natural scientist Joseph August Schultes undertook an expedition with Count Apponyi , which he described in 1804 in his four-volume “Reise auf den Glockner”, which also contains the reports of the first ascent. In the course of the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars , the Glockner was rarely climbed in the following years, the huts fell into disrepair under the then advancing glaciers and were plundered by the local population.

After the end of the wars in 1814, however, the Großglockner became a popular destination for alpinists and researchers, among the successful climbers were Karl Thurwieser (1824), Hermann and Adolph von Schlagintweit (1848), Anton von Ruthner (1852) and Dionýs Štúr (1853). These were still exclusively alpinists who at least partially mapped, measured and researched. The Geoplastiker Franz wedge designed after his ascension in 1854 a topographic relief, which was long considered the most accurate representation of the massif.

Activities that put sporting and alpine interests above scientific interests were given a higher status and meaning with the first solo attempt (up until then nobody had reached the summit without a guide) by Stephan Steinberger in 1854 and the first winter ascent (Francisci and Liendl 1853) the end of the lavish expeditions. New routes were not developed during this time, all ascents were made by the first climber.

Development of further routes

Map of the Glockner from 1878

In Heiligenblut, Glockner tourism was already an important economic factor in the middle of the 19th century, and the monopoly of the Carinthian town as the only starting point for climbing the Glockner was reflected in high prices. From 1852 Joseph Mayr from Lienz began to look for a rise from Kals with the support of the villagers in order to secure a share of the growing tourism for the Tyroleans. It was not until 1854 that the first ascent from Kals was reported, whereby at that time only the somewhat cumbersome Mürzaler Steig over the Burgwartscharte ( 3104  m ) and the Leiterkees was chosen. In the following years there was fierce competition between the two villages. The lower costs for accommodation, food and mountain guides in Kals and the discovery of the shorter, direct connection between Glocknerleitl and Ködnitzkees by Julius Payer in 1863 meant that already in 1869 there were 35 summits from Kals, compared to only three from Heiligenblut.

In order to increase the attractiveness of Kals as a starting point, attempts were made as early as 1853 to develop a new glacier-free ascent over the south ridge. This ridge was climbed for the first time in 1864, but it turned out to be more difficult than expected. In order to develop the Neue Kalser Weg into a competitive ascent, the Prague merchant Johann Stüdl financed the construction of the Stüdlhütte , the reorganization of the Kals mountain guide system and the construction of a via ferrata over the southwest ridge that was later named after him. However, the via ferrata could not establish itself as the new normal route and fell into disrepair, because on the one hand, despite the insurance, it was more difficult than the east climb and, on the other hand, on August 5, 1869, the day of its opening, a new way to the Adlersruhe was found on the Carinthian side. This route, which was first taken by Karl Hofmann via the Hofmannskees , which was later named after him, became the most popular route to the Adlersruhe for a long time and led to the renewed popularity of Heiligenblut as a starting point.

In 1876 the mountain guides Hans Tribusser, G. Bäuerle and J. Kramser from Heiligenblut climbed with Alfred von Pallavicini the 600 meter high and up to 55 ° inclined north-east channel. The ascent, for which Tribusser struck 2,500 steps into the ice of the Pallavicini Gully , is considered to be one of the greatest alpine achievements of its time. The pallavicini trough was not climbed a second time until 23 years later.

In the following decades, the first ascents of increasingly difficult routes followed through rock, ice and combined terrain, such as the north-west ridge in 1879, the north-east ridge in 1911, the north face ( Willo Welzenbach ) in 1926 and the Berglerrinne in 1929. In 1967 the Mayerlrampe, the most popular one today, and in 1984 with the Theo Riml memorial ascent through the northeast face, one of the most difficult ice climbs on the Glockner was opened. Since the first ascent of the so-called emerald pillar below the Kleinglocknerkees in the same year, all ridges, walls and gullies of the Großglockner have been conquered, further new routes are only variants of the existing main climbs.

Effects of glacier retreat

In the course of global warming in the 20th century, massive glacier melt on the Großglockner and the thawing of the alpine permafrost soils occurred in the last few decades . This has a clear impact on alpinism. The ice climbs of the Großglockner like the Pallavicini channel usually only have sufficient firn cover in spring and early summer , later in the year white ice makes it difficult to ascend . In addition, the rapid evaporation results in an increased risk of falling rocks . In some years, these routes, which were previously possible throughout the summer, can no longer be used in June. But the ascent over the steeply receding Pasterze and Hoffmannskees, which has been one of the most popular paths for decades, is also affected and in some cases hardly accessible because of increased crevices , bare ice and falling rocks. The Glocknerleitl above the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte has an increasing number of white ice in midsummer. As an alternative, the long unpopular route of the first climber from the Salmhütte via the now almost apere Hohenwartscharte was restored at the end of the 20th century and today represents the most important ascent from the Carinthian side, but cannot compete with the route from Kals. The Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte was also endangered by the break-up of its subsoil consisting of thawing permafrost. In June 2016, after 15 years of work, the foundation consolidation, renovation and modernization of the hut was completed.

In general, the Glockner is an often underestimated mountain, serious accidents occur regularly. The greatest dangers - in addition to falling rocks - are thunderstorms and sudden falls , avalanches in every season and crevasses. So far, a total of 248 people have died on the Grossglockner (as of 2004), whose names are recorded at memorials in Kals and Heiligenblut.

Development of skiing

The Großglockner was first climbed on skis by Max Winkler and Fritz Strobl in 1909, the later circumnavigation of the Glockner massif, the Glockner bypass , became a ski tour that is still popular today . From 1935, if the conditions allowed, the annual high-alpine Glockner ski race was even carried out. As a downhill race or giant slalom and with routes that differ greatly from year to year, the winners each needed two to three minutes for the route from the Adlersruhe to the Hofmannskees to the Pasterze. The last Glockner race took place in 1959, one reason for the end of this event was the deteriorating conditions due to the glacier retreat.

The ice rises on the north side became an interesting destination for extreme skiers in the second half of the 20th century . The Pallavicini channel was first used in 1961 with snow gliders (Gerhard Winter, Herbert Zakarias) and in 1971 also with skis (Michael Zojer). In 1981 Stefan Eder drove through the Berglerrinne, in 1986 Andreas Orgler managed to climb the Mayer ramp, which is up to 70 ° steep.

Despite its steepness, the mountain is now a popular destination for ski tourists. The Stüdlhütte is therefore also open during the touring season from March to May and the Großglockner is intensively advertised as a ski touring destination. The ascent on skis is possible via the Ködnitzkees or the Hofmannskees. Usually, however, skiers do not climb all the way to the summit.

Summit cross

The Kaiserkreuz on the summit of the Grossglockner

The four above-mentioned carpenters erected the first cross on the summit on July 29, 1800, one day after the first ascent. Due to the exposed nature, the wooden cross fell into disrepair after a few years. The crosses on the Kleinglockner and Großglockner from 1799 and 1800 were among the first summit crosses in today's sense, which were artistically crafted especially for setting up on a summit.

In 1879 the Austrian Alpine Club secured the ground for erecting a new cross. This was dedicated to Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth on the occasion of their 25th anniversary , who had already visited the mountain from Franz-Josephs-Höhe in 1865. It was designed by Friedrich von Schmidt and executed free of charge by the "Hüttenberger Eisengewerks-Gesellschaft" in Klagenfurt. On October 2, 1880, the three-meter-high and 300 kg heavy iron imperial cross was erected on the summit by Kals mountain guides. For the 200th anniversary of the first ascent, the cross was flown down into the valley in a helicopter and restored. A replacement cross was placed during this time.

The cross no longer has a summit book after several summit books were stolen. Instead, an "online summit book" was set up in June 2007. A constantly changing access code could be found on the summit cross so that only actual climbers could make an entry. However, this project ended in June 2008.

In May 2010 a memorial plaque for the deceased politician Jörg Haider was erected under the cross , but was removed after a short time due to protests and damage. In August of the same year, the cross was probably torn from its anchorage by a lightning strike and threatened to fall, so that it had to be fixed again in an elaborate action.

Development plans and nature conservation

The tourist attraction of the Großglockner resulted in several projects to open up the area for mass tourism. As early as 1889, thought was given for the first time to a tunnel railway to the Adlersruhe. In 1895, Heiligenblut am Großglockner in the direction of Pasterze carried out routing work for a mountain railway to the Grossglockner (with a single 25 m long tunnel) . The first concrete plans for a cable car to the summit were made in 1914. In 1933, plans for a cable car to the Adlersruhe received a “pre-concession”. None of these early ropeway projects were put into practice.

The access road to Franz-Josefs-Höhe, the Gletscherstraße , which was used exclusively for tourist purposes , was opened in 1932. With the completion of the Großglockner High Alpine Road in 1935, this vantage point was also accessible from Fusch in the state of Salzburg . However, other projects for road construction, the establishment of a ski area and the construction of a dam (with the exception of the construction of the Margaritze reservoir, which was completed in 1953 ) were not implemented. Most recently, investors planned a cable car from Franz-Josefs-Höhe to Pasterze in 2000 , as the rapid glacier retreat made it difficult for tourists to access it from there. However, the necessary removal of the required areas from the national park could not be enforced.

In order to prevent further development plans like the one from 1914, the Villach wood industrialist Albert Wirth bought 41 km² on the Carinthian side of the Großglockner in 1918 and donated the area to the Austrian Alpine Association with the condition that it be protected from further development. In 1938 the Alpine Association also acquired 30 km² on the Tyrolean side from the Austrian Federal Treasury . The Austrian Alpine Club owns 114 m² of the Glockner summit area on the Tyrolean side and the area of ​​the summit cross, which was anchored and braced on Tyrolean and Carinthian soil. This area was incorporated into the "Hohe Tauern National Park" in 1971, in whose core zone all property traffic is excluded. In 1981 the Carinthian part of the Großglockner became part of the newly established Hohe Tauern National Park . In 1986, the Carinthian state government created the Großglockner-Pasterze special protection area within the national park with particularly strict protection provisions. In 1992 the Tyrolean part of the mountain was declared a national park.

literature

General

• Eduard Richter : The development of the Eastern Alps, III. Band, the Glockner Group . Publishing house of the German and Austrian Alpine Club, Berlin 1894.
• Oskar Kühlken: The Glockner Book . The Grossglockner in the mirror of alpinism. Das Bergland-Buch, Salzburg 1951, ISBN 3-7023-0049-X .
• Anonymous: Diary of a trip to the previously unclimbed Gross-Glokner mountain on the borders of Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol in 1799 (seventeen hundred and ninety-nine) . special copy from d. Freyherrn von Moll yearbooks d. Mountain u. Metallurgy. - (Reprint of D. Ed.). Ed .: Karl von Moll . Mayer / Böhlau, Salzburg / Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-205-07199-9 (first edition: 1800).
• Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Großglockner expeditions in 1799 and 1800 . Ed .: Kärntner Landesarchiv. Klagenfurt 2000, ISBN 3-900531-47-1 .
• Hans Fischer (ed.): The Grossglockner. The book of the king of the German mountains . Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich 1929.
• Wolfgang Pusch, Leo Baumgartner: Grossglockner . Bergverlag Rother, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-7633-7509-0 .
• Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen AG, Austrian Alpine Club, Hohe Tauern National Park. (Ed.): Jubilee Großglockner. 200 years of first ascent, 120 years of Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte . 2000.

Maps and guides

• Austrian Alpine Club (ed.): Alpine Club Map 1: 25,000 . Sheet No. 40 Glockner Group.
• Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying (Ed.): Austrian Map 1:50 000 . Sheet No. 153 Großglockner.
• Willi End : Alpine Club Leader Glockner and Granatspitz Group. A guide to valleys, huts and mountains . Ed .: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol. 10th edition. Bergverlag Rother, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7633-1266-8 .

Web links

Großglockner from Fuscherkarkopf

Commons : Großglockner  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Großglockner  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Entry on Großglockner in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
• Webcam Großglockner - Live image from the Großglockner
• Großglockner on summitpost.org (English)
• 360 ° panoramic image of the Grossglockner
• Großglockner on Peakbagger.com (English)
• Archive recordings about the Grossglockner in the online archive of the Austrian Media Library (folklore films, radio reports, interviews)

Individual evidence

1. ^ The trip to the Glockner (continued on August 16 and 23, 1800). In:  Intellektivenblatt von Salzburg , August 9, 1800, p. 5 (online at ANNO ).
2. ↑ Alpine Club Guide, p. 37
3. ↑ The Tyrolean Grenzberg Großglockner in old maps and historical sources . For the 175th anniversary of the first ascent of the Großglockner on July 28, 1800. In: Tiroler Landesarchiv (Ed.): Lebendige Geschichte . No. 12 , 1978, p. 25 .
4. ↑ ^{a b} Ordinance of the state government of November 4, 1986 on the Hohe Tauern National Park Version of August 21, 2016, see § 8: Special protection area “Großglockner-Pasterze”.
5. ↑ Core Europe Ultras - Peaks with 1500 meters of Prominence. peakbagger.com, accessed March 15, 2009 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Alpenvereinsführer, p. 262. Großglockner, 3798 m (PDF; 874 kB), accessed on March 2, 2009
7. ↑ ^{a b} Kühlken: Das Glocknerbuch , p. 53
8. ^ ^{A b} Karl Krainer, Institute for Geology and Paleontology of the University of Innsbruck: The Geology of the Hohen Tauern . Ed .: National Park Fund of the federal states of Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol. Carinthia, Klagenfurt 1994, ISBN 3-85378-429-1 , p. 33 .
9. ↑ Alpine Club Guide, p. 63
10. ↑ Recording report on the geological map of the Republic of Austria in the yearbook of the Federal Geological Institute, Vienna 1983. Federal Geological Institute , accessed on March 29, 2009 . 
11. ^ Geological map of the Republic of Austria, 1: 50,000, sheet 153, Vienna 1994. (No longer available online.) Federal Geological Institute , archived from the original on June 8, 2012 ; Retrieved March 29, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ^ After explorations by Hohenwart, Hoppe and Schultes from Franz Turski: The Grossglockner and his story , Vienna, Leipzig 1922, p. 40 f.
13. ↑ Günther Mussnig: The National Park Hohe Tauern and the Archduke Johann Hut . In: Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen AG, Austrian Alpine Club, Hohe Tauern National Park (ed.): Großglockner anniversary: ​​200 years of first ascent, 120 years of Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte . 2000, p. 64 .
14. ↑ Katharina Huttegger: Basic data on the Hohe Tauern National Park. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Hohe Tauern National Park, May 2005, archived from the original on June 21, 2009 ; Retrieved March 9, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Clemens Hutter: First fear of the mountain, then fear for the mountain . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-14-2 , ISSN  0179-1419 , pp. 278 .
16. ^ Gunther Greßmann: Alpine rock game around the Grossglockner . Ed .: Hans Pichler, Steinwildhegegegemeinschaft Großglockner. Journal, Matrei 2005, ISBN 3-902128-09-7 .
17. ↑ ^{a b} Wolfgang Pusch: traffic jam under the summit cross and loneliness above the clouds . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-15-0 , ISSN  0179-1419 , pp. 280 .
18. ↑ The Glockner circuit in the Hohe Tauern National Park alpenverein.at
19. ↑ Construction of the road. Grossglockner High Alpine Road, accessed on March 9, 2009 . 
20. ↑ 70 years of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. (No longer available online.) Province of Carinthia, August 7, 2005, archived from the original on April 8, 2014 ; Retrieved March 9, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
21. ^ Special postage stamp 7 Schilling, " 200 years first ascent of the Großglockner " (2000), stamp 160 cents with motif Großglockner (2015), in: Austria-Forum
22. ↑ Use the “Großglockner” brand together. (No longer available online.) Province of Carinthia, December 17, 2007, archived from the original on April 8, 2014 ; Retrieved March 9, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
23. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , pp. 13, 89
24. ↑ Hofmannshütte . In: Salzburger Nachrichten : Salzburgwiki . (with tear-off photos).
25. ^ Austrian Alpine Club Villach: Glockner bivouac. (No longer available online.) Bergstieg.com, July 12, 2004, formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 26, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
26. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , p. 89
27. ↑ Axel Jentzsch-Rabl: Stüdlgrat. Bergstieg.com, accessed July 28, 2020 . 
28. ↑ Alpine Club Guide, pp. 280–290
29. ↑ Alpine Club Guide, pp. 282–294
30. ↑ The Tyrolean Grenzberg Großglockner in old maps and historical sources . For the 175th anniversary of the first ascent of the Großglockner on July 28, 1800. In: Tiroler Landesarchiv (Ed.): Lebendige Geschichte . No. 12 , 1978, p. 20 .
31. ↑ Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , pp. 99, 112–113
32. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , p. 18
33. ↑ Rudolf Badjura: Ljudska geografija. Terensko izrazoslovje. Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana 1953, p. 118, 147-148 .
34. ↑ Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne , p. 33
35. ↑ Kühlken: Das Glocknerbuch , pp. 13–15
36. ↑ The legend of the Pasterzen glacier. Sagen.at, accessed on March 9, 2009 . 
37. ^ Johanna Bernhardt: Glacier . The secret in the eternal ice. In: German Alpine Club, Austrian Alpine Club, South Tyrolean Alpine Club, Swiss Alpine Club (publisher): bergundstieg . tape 06 , no. 2 . Innsbruck 2006, p. 52–58 ( bergundstieg.at [PDF; accessed on March 9, 2009]).
38. ↑ Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne , pp. 84–93
39. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , p. 21
40. ↑ ^{a b} Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , pp. 153–155
41. ↑ Moll: Diary of a trip to the previously unclimbed Gross-Glokner mountain , p. 53
42. ↑ Kühlken: Das Glocknerbuch, p. 101 f.
43. ↑ Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , p. 160
44. ↑ Report by Joseph Orrasch, in Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , pp. 330–331
45. ↑ Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , p. 162
46. ↑ ^{a b} Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , pp. 163–167
47. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner, pp. 24-25
48. ↑ Moll: Diary of a trip to the mountain Gross-Glokner , which had not been climbed up until then , p. 7
49. ↑ "The prince-bishop gave the farmer who undermined the snow locomotive [...] who had the name Glokner from last year, the addition Kloz - he is alseizt in the Glokner story = Gloknerkloz". From the report by Joseph Orrasch, in: Marianne Klemun: … confer with Madame Sonne. The Grossglockner Expeditions 1799 and 1800 , p. 330
50. ↑ Alfons Haffner: 200 years picture of the first ascent of the Großglockner under Prince-Bishop Salm-Reifferscheidt (1803-2003) . In: History Association for Carinthia (Hrsg.): Carinthia I - Journal for historical regional studies of Carinthia . No. 193 . Verlag des Geschichtsverein für Kärnten, 2003, ISSN  0008-6606 , p. 355 .
51. ^ Franz Mandl: Salms Hut on the Großglockner . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-14-2 , ISSN  0179-1419 .
52. ↑ Alpenvereinsführer, p. 258. Großglockner, 3798 m (PDF; 874 kB), accessed on March 2, 2009
53. ^ Franz Mandl: Salms Hut on the Großglockner . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-15-0 , ISSN  0179-1419 , pp. 260-267 .
54. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , p. 26
55. ↑ ^{a b c} Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , pp. 27–31
56. ↑ Kühlken: Das Glockner-Buch , pp. 135–148
57. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , pp. 34–38
58. ↑ Pusch, Baumgartner: Großglockner , pp. 58–59
59. ↑ Alpine Club Guide, pp. 262–293
60. ^ Massive snowmelt on the "Leitl" , ORF.at-Network
61. ↑ Wolfgang Pusch: traffic jam under the summit cross and loneliness above the clouds . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-14-2 , ISSN  0179-1419 , pp. 281 .
62. ↑ Climate change makes Glockner more dangerous. orf.at, accessed on October 21, 2013 . 
63. ^ Little newspaper Graz. June 7, 2016, also online kleinezeitung.at accessed on June 11, 2016.
64. ↑ B. Pichler, E. Rieger, J. Gratz, J. Essl, P. Bauernfeind, P. Haßlacher, P. Tembler: Großglockner - safe on the roof of Austria. (PDF; 900 kB) Mountain guides, mountain rescue and tourism associations of the communities of Heiligenblut and Kals am Großglockner, Hohe Tauern-Kärnten National Park Administration and Tyrol, Oesterreichischer Alpenverein, May 2007, archived from the original on January 24, 2011 ; Retrieved June 23, 2009 . 
65. ^ Alfred K. Treml : Why do people (voluntarily) climb the mountains? In: Hartmut Heller, Otto Koenig Society (ed.): Matreier Talks. Space - home - strange and familiar world . LIT Verlag, Berlin-Hamburg-Münster 2006, ISBN 978-3-8258-0040-6 , p. 142 ( Google Books [accessed June 23, 2006]).
66. ↑ Kühlken: Das Glocknerbuch. P. 268.
67. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Grossglockner. Pp. 56-57.
68. ↑ Kühlken: Das Glocknerbuch. Pp. 277-284.
69. ^ Pusch, Baumgartner: Grossglockner. P. 57.
70. ^ Andreas Orgler In Memoriam. mountainfuture.at, archived from the original on January 23, 2007 ; Retrieved March 9, 2009 . 
71. ↑ Otti Wiedmann: steep wall driving . In: Austrian Alpine Club , Alpine Club South Tyrol , German Alpine Club , Swiss Alpine Club (ed.): Bergundstieg . No. 1 . Innsbruck 2008, p. 72 ( online [PDF; accessed February 26, 2010]).
72. ↑ HochTirol ski route. Austria Alpinkompetenzzentrum Osttirol, Osttiroler Bergführer, accessed on March 9, 2009 . 
73. ^ Grossglockner from the south. (No longer available online.) Bergstieg.com, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 9, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
74. ^ Alpenvereinsmuseum , Phillipp Felsch (ed.): Mountains, an incomprehensible passion . Folio-Verlag, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-85256-408-1 , p. 40 .
75. ↑ William Eppacher: Ber- and peaks crosses in Tirol . In: Raimund Klebelsberg (ed.): Schlern writings . tape 178 . Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 1957, p. 8, 62-64 .
76. ↑ Kaiserkreuz on the Grossglockner. In: Peter Haiko, Renata Kassal-Mikula: Friedrich von Schmidt. (1825-1891). A Gothic rationalist (= Historical Museum of the City of Vienna. Special exhibition 148). Museums of the City of Vienna, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85202-102-2 , pp. 222–223.
77. ↑ Alpenvereinsführer, p. 260. Großglockner, 3798 m (PDF; 874 kB), accessed on March 2, 2009
78. ↑ Helmut Chorvat: The summit cross on the Grossglockner . In: Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen Ag, Austrian Alpine Club, Hohe Tauern National Park (ed.): Großglockner anniversary: ​​200 years of first ascent, 120 years of Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte . 2000, p. 51-57 .
79. ↑ Großglockner receives "Online Summit Book" diepresse.com, June 21, 2007
80. ^ Posse around Haider-Taferl on the Grossglockner. derstandard.at, May 22, 2010, accessed on August 13, 2010 . 
81. ↑ Summit cross secured at the last minute. orf.at, August 10, 2010, accessed on August 13, 2010 . 
82. ↑ From the Alps. Alpine transport projects. (...) The Glockner Railway. In:  Der Alpenfreund. Illustrated tourist magazine for the Alpine region , year 1895, No. 111/1895, December 15, 1895 (fifth year), p. 1242. (Online at ANNO ). .
83. ↑ Peter Haßlacher: Alpenverein working area Großglockner - a foray into spatial planning and national park policy . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-14-2 , ISSN  0179-1419 , pp. 254-258 .
84. ↑ Clemens Hutter: First fear of the mountain, then fear for the mountain . Map area / area topic: Großglockner. In: German Alpine Association, Austrian Alpine Association, Alpine Association South Tyrol (ed.): Alpine Association Yearbook Berg 2007 . tape 131 , 2007, ISBN 3-937530-14-2 , ISSN  0179-1419 , pp. 274-279 .
85. ↑ Günter Mussnig: The National Park Hohe Tauern and the Archduke Johann Hut . In: Großglockner Hochalpenstraßen AG, Austrian Alpine Club, Hohe Tauern National Park (ed.): Großglockner anniversary: ​​200 years of first ascent, 120 years of Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte . 2000, p. 62 .
86. ↑ Gertrude Reinisch, Adi Mokrejs: Austrian Alpine Club. Austrian Alpine Club, accessed April 24, 2017 . 
87. ^ Hermann Stotter: History and dates of the Hohe Tauern National Park, Tirol. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Hohe Tauern National Park, archived from the original on June 21, 2009 ; Retrieved March 17, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on July 17, 2009 in this version .