Cycling Grobglockner from Pockhorn (south)
Photo: Beautiful town of Hiligenblut am Grobglockner - km 2.4
Grobglockner is the highest mountain in Austria and the road over it is an engineering marvel. The road surface is impeccable and with many nice views of the surrounding mountains and the perfectly engineered roadway below as we ascend it. At just under 8% average grade, the climb from Pockhorn has a slightly lower average grade than from the north (Fusch; see Grobglockner from Fusch climb page). This is the easier of the routes to the top of Grobglockner at just over 100 in the World while the northern approach ranks in the world’s Top 25 Most Difficult Climbs. It may be a bit less challenging, but it is none less scenic!
Several breathtaking views of the valley and mountains below as we climb.
In 2017: 35.50 Euro for cars, 25.50 for motorcycles and 0 for bikes
Many hairpins on this climb.
Our segment ends for safety reasons at the tunnel.
End of the line -
Photo contributed from Erwan Treguier
300 meter tunnel (first of two on the way to Fusch side of climb)
Photo contributed from Erwan Treguier
Of the road, Wikipedia notes:
“Mass tourism was decisively promoted by the scenic High Alpine Road (Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße) running from Heiligenblut to Bruck in Salzburg with a branch-off to the Franz-Josefs-Höhe viewpoint. It was built across the historic Hochtor Pass of the Alpine divide between 1930 and 1935 according to plans designed by engineer Franz Wallack.
The pass road, Austria's highest, reaches 2,576 m (8,451 ft), and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country (second after Schönbrunn Palace) with about 270,000 vehicles and 900,000 visitors every year, about 50 million since its opening.”
The climb is fairly steady throughout: