From 25 April 2026, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road will be fully accessible again. In addition to the main route between Fusch in SalzburgerLand and Heiligenblut in Carinthia, the Glacier Road to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe and the road to the Edelweiss-Spitze will also be open. This means that all major viewpoints will be accessible right from the start of the season – something that has not been achieved for around ten years.
Precision work in high-alpine terrain
Although the snow levels this year were lower than in some previous years, the snow-clearing work remained demanding. Challenging avalanche situations, frozen meltwater and persistent core ice once again required great concentration, experience and precision from the teams.
Among the equipment used were the historic Wallack rotary ploughs, which have been closely associated with snow clearing on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road for decades. In 2026, they were operated with HVO100, a biofuel that causes significantly lower CO₂ emissions compared with conventional diesel.
Free passage towards summer
With the opening, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road once again offers alpine views, impressive snow walls and special road trip moments in the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park. Over 48 kilometres and 36 hairpin bends, the road leads through one of Austria’s most impressive high-alpine landscapes – up to the Edelweiß-Spitze at 2,571 metres. Especially at the start of the season, the route reveals a very special side: while spring has already arrived in the valleys, the snow walls along the road still clearly show the scale of the work carried out in the high mountains over the past weeks.
Please check current conditions before your visit
Despite the opening, conditions in the high mountains can change quickly. Particularly in the early morning or during the morning, freezing meltwater may occasionally lead to short-term restrictions for two-wheeled vehicles. Visitors are therefore asked to check the current road conditions and accessibility information on the website before setting off.
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is now open again – including the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe and the Edelweiss-Spitze.
