On a clear sunny Saturday, November 20th, 2021 at 10.45 am, Grega and I reached the summit of Großglockner…. The highest Austrian peak. We rarely got along as siblings when we were younger. The competitive rivalry pushed us in sports, further in our lives, as athletes. After this trip, the ground was set for future expeditions. We now respected each other’s opinions and experience and are able to work as a team in the mountains.
The summit of Großglockner was in my mind, a great initiation, a beginning to many things that we are yet to come across. The mountain wasn’t either difficult or exposed. It was rather inviting and the route up was pretty straightforward. A healthy combination of mixed climbing, snow-ice-rock.
Willingly entering into life and death situations dissolves the importance of everything else in life that is superficial; the need to live is the strongest motivation there is.
Presenting the idea of summiting the highest peak in Austria to my brother was met with laughter. “Why?”
Why not. Let’s do it, I said. Both of us had alpine experience at that point and enough of it, to call ourselves confident but never had we climbed a serious mountain like this one, together alone.
3,798 metres above the Adriatic (12,461 ft), the highest mountain in Austria.
There was only a week left before my return to Canada. Quickly looking at the forecast, we had found a window to attempt the picturesque Grossglockner with my younger brother, Grega. We convinced our mother to join us, with our dog Megy. She was a trooper, the dog. From climbing to biking to Via Ferrata, she could do it all. Our mom has kept a cute logbook for her as well, filling it out nicely over the years with 1500-2700m peaks that Megy has achieved in her vibrant dog life.
We left the parking lot pretty late in the day, around 5 pm. The trail got quickly covered in snow. For a late November day, it got dark around 8 pm and it was a perfectly clear night, for the full moon. After ascending to Stüdlhütte (2802m) we took over the winter shelter since the main hut wasn’t open. We made some dinner and spent the night, with our alarms set early for the morning that came way too quick.
It felt like we woke up in the middle of the night. Quick breakfast, and some snacks and we took off, with the backpacks already packed from the night before. Across the glacier, the travel was easy. Everything freezing overnight made it easier for our crampons to grab nicely, without having the fear of sliding off. We continued along the Ködnitzkees to an easy via Ferrata, leading us to the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte (3451m).
The route leads to the summit from two sides of the mountain. Both starting points meet at the Adlersruhe, where the Erzherzog Johann Hut is located. This is the highest mountain Hut of Austria at an elevation of 3450m.
By this time, the sun was already high up. This was also the point where my mom and our dog turned around. The approach finally got more technical.
At 3500 meters, I have started to feel the difference. A small migraine has crept into my head, slowing me down significantly. My physical performance wasn’t just depending on the training beforehand. It was now being affected by the lack of oxygen in the air, as well approached the summit, step by step. Counting the steps, and taking a pause every 25 counts. Breathing in, and out.
Around 10 am, there was only a small section left after coming up the cole of the peak. Slightly covered rock had some exposed sections and due to warm temperatures, snow was soft and melting by the minute. The sound of crampons hitting the rock when stepping forward set off a slight wave of fear fulled adrenaline in my heart. I looked up, my brother was well ahead of me, setting a rope around safety poles. This style of climbing isn’t used very often anymore, only a few mountains have used these metal poles as anchors, Großglockner being one of them.
On the climb up we passed famous points like the steep Glocknerleitl, the Kleinglockner, Glocknerscharte, and finally the summit of Grossglockner with its distinct summit cross! That was a great feeling…
There aren’t many moments in life that can compare to summiting a technically challenging mountain. Suddenly, none of it matters anymore, because you’re on top. You’ve overcome the struggle, difficulty breathing, lack of nutrition due to low appetite on high altitudes… The constant repetition of gear and gear placement checks in your head. Set a foot firmly, into the soft snow-covered granite, so the teeth of your crampons grab, instead of scrapping down the rock. Find pockets of deeper snow. place the ice ax either in a good hold, strong enough to berry the weight of your whole body while you pull yourself up because the ice around it has already melted, due to strong sun exposure. There isn’t much room for other thoughts to run wild, apart from those that are keeping you alive. The money suddenly loses its powerful meaning and value, since up there, none of it matters.
When you reach the top, you are alive. Alive and well. And even though it doesn’t feel like it, the challenge isn’t over yet. It is way too simple to forget, and it always happens. You still need to come down, to the ground. The “real world”. The safe and stable ground. Or whatever they call it.
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Alenka
