Greatest Roads #1 – Grossglockner
Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Review and photos by Budd Stanley
About The Route:
Best time to Go: Weekdays during May, June, September and October
Places To Stop: Tourist kiosks and restaurants at the peak of the pass, as well as the Grossglockner lookout just above, Grossglockner Glacier, Celtic monument, Hot Springs.
Total Distance: 48 km
Altitude: 2,428m, 2,504 at the lookout
Starting Point: Begin in Lienz, Austria. Head north on highway #107 or “The Grossglocknerstrasse,” over the Grossglockner Mountain, and on to Bruck, Austria
Road Type: High-speed flowing Alpine Pass with a good smooth road surface.
Warnings: Watch for Hikers, Marmots and Sheep. Also expect a 28 Euro Toll charge. Open between May and October and only between 6am and 9:30pm; check road conditions before leaving.
Additional info: www.grossglockner.at/en
Review:
Welcome to the first installment of our search for great driving roads of the world. As an automotive enthusiast, I believe that a great car is only as good as the road you drive it on. So in an effort to find these great roads, I’ve traveled to Europe and enlisted the help of Test Drive Engineers form several manufacturers to guide me to some of the world’s most spectacular stretches of tarmac. Who better than the skilled test drivers whose sole purpose is to find challenging and rewarding roads that will take a car to its absolute limits, to guide us to their favourite playgrounds.
We begin this first installment by talking to Andreas Proebstle, the Chassis Testing Project Manager for the Panamera at Porsche. Mr. Proebstle recalled that given the opportunity, he would jump into a Boxster with his wife, and head for the Alps. Alpine passes such as the Grossglockner, a route he uses regularly in testing the Panamera. Funny name yes, but this heavenly strip of tarmac that reaches over Austria’s tallest Alp turned out to be one of the finest bit of driving pleasure I have ever had the pleasure to encounter. Given a free weekend, Andreas hinted that the Boxster would be his personal favourite car for this route, given its open top design, its great balance and fun-to-drive attitude that makes it an ideal holiday car. So, with Mr. Proebstle’s recommendations in hand, off I went to find out just what the Gross, as I will call it, is all about.
For those who have seen Top Gear’s search for the world’s greatest driving road, you’ll remember that James May insisted on going to Austria, only to be out-voted by Jeremy and Hamster to name the Stelvio as their greatest road. Well, it’s too bad they never made it across the border, as the Gross out-shone the Stelvio with a much more playful and high-speed route.
Traveling north from Lienz, Austria, Highway #107 leads towards the Grossglockner National Park. The whole region is sacred to the Austrians as several myths and tales can be mixed in with the scenic beauty of this protected park. The run up the 107 is a much more pleasurable experience than most roads leading to alpine passes. Speeds were kept high in the 80 km/h range, and there are not many villages to slow you down.
I won’t get into all the fairy tales, but I will give a quick history lesson. Austria’s defeat in the First World War brought about a devastating economic downturn. In an effort to increase motorized tourism and trade, plans were made to build a three-metre wide roadway over the ancient Celt and Roman trail through the Hochtor Alp range. While the ancient trail has been in use for over four thousand years, the roadway was completed in 1935, with an international hill climb race celebrating the road’s opening. The event was a hit and was run two more times before the onset of the Second World War.
Today, this impressive pass now hosts flocks of auto and moto enthusiasts hell-bent to take on one of the greatest Alpine passes, alongside several car manufacturers who use the challenging nature of the road to test performance and safety systems. The business starts at the tollbooth at the base of the main climb. Here you must part with 28 Euros for the pleasure of tearing through their sacred park. Soon after, I realized it was a small price to pay for such a glorious road. The first section traverses the forest-strewn base of the mountain, with substantial drops off the left side; however, the road is smooth and has now been widened to three lanes in some sections. By European Alpine pass standards, the Gross is a virtual freeway, allowing drivers to reach higher speeds, challenging the tires’ grip. At the first roundabout, the first attraction can be found, a road leading to the base of a glacier. An impressive sight, and only one must-see on this tourist friendly region. All along the pass, pull-outs with picnic tables and information boards that treat passers-by with a great view and a good story, whether it be one of many local myths, geological formations or regional information.
As I gained altitude past the tree line and into the alpine, the fast-winding road started to challenge me even further by becoming erratic and throwing in some hairpins. Not massive amounts like Stelvio or Furka, but just enough to give the Gross an even variety of challenging terrain. A hugely rewarding drive when conditions allow the driver to push the limits of the car. However, for me it wasn’t meant to be. As I neared the top, fog rolled in along with the onslaught of tens of thousands of pilgrims flooding the road on their annual march to Heiligenblut, the town that translates to “Holly Blood,” as its church contains a relic of Christ’s Holy Blood. Bad timing on my part, so mark June 28th as a bad day to travel this route.
Slowly crawling my way through the thousands of hikers, all with Nordic sticks in hand, I was heartbroken as I slowly inspected this ever more-challenging roadway that was now nothing more than a large sidewalk. The extremely steep drop down the north side would have been an even greater exhilaration, however it was not to be. Even the cloud obscured the spectacular view of Austria’s tallest Alp, preventing me from capturing the true essence of this magnificent road. With a tight schedule demanding a hasty retreat, I will have to wait for another day to properly tackle the Gross.[PSGallery=2ygc8xj8v]
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