On the last weekend of July, a team of KAMPER employees set off for the small town of Kals am Grossglockner to take on the adventure to climb the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner.

After a joint dinner at the Lucknerhaus pension and a last “good” night’s sleep, the group took the route to the Luckner hut and Stüdl hut. At Stüdl hut the lunch break also served for changing gear since from that point on, Ködnitzkees glacier and rock were waiting. Four guides safely accompanied our group to Adlersruhe shoulder. Erzherzog Johann hut provided shelter for our mountaineers who more or less successfully seeked rest for the next day.

Early on Saturday morning, at 5:30 am, the group braved adverse weather conditions with heavy snow, fog and low temperatures and set off to Glocknerleitl, a pretty steep ice slope, crossed rocky terrain to rise up to Kleinglockner spur. From there, a short drop leads to famous Obere Glocknerscharte, a true knife edge gap, beyond which a short rock crest is all that remains to the large cross on the summit.

Weather conditions had not changed a bit, and so the glorious panorama of mountain ranges in all directions hid itself behind clouds. But off course, the euphoric sensations on top of Austria’s highest summit prevailed. Grossglockner, with a height of 3798m above sea level is one of the most relevant peaks of the Hohe Tauern Range and its first ascent marked the birth of alpinism in the Eastern Alps.

After a short break at the majestic cross on top, the teams joined again at Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte to share the traditional “summit beer”. Exhausted but truly happy they returned to Stüdl hut to end that day rejoicing in this amazing experience. On Sunday, the team returned to the company’s headquarter after breakfast only to be warmly welcomed with a huge transparent.

Warm thanks go to Michaela Liebminger for perfect organization and to Manuel Pampel who contributed photos.