On July 30th, 2017; I visited the Grossglocker-Pasterze Glacier by driving the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. It lets you drive high up into the mountains to altitudes of over 2571 m above sea level. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is one of the most fascinating panoramic road in Europe, leading 48 km to the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park.

     Guarding the north face of Austria’s highest mountain—the Grossglockner—-is the Pasterze Glacier, Eastern Europe’s largest glacial formation.

     The glacier itself is receding at about 400 ft. per year.

     In a couple of hundred years, it will no longer exist. Below are photos showing the amount of recession, (immediately below was taken in the 1930s).

Pictured above and below, the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Hohe (2369 m), is a lookout point with a direct view of the Grossglockner and the Pasterze, (the longest glacier in the Eastern Alps).

     A paved road, hiking trail and a funicular railway provides access, to the surface and terminal talus of the Pasterze.  After taking the railway to the bottom from the parking lot, I started walking toward the glacier from this point.  Pictured below, was the point where the foot of the Pasterze Glacier was, and when the railway was built.

     After hiking several miles, I’m standing next at the front of the Pasterze Glacier pictured below at 2017.

(Pictured below), I’m standing across the valley from the Grossglockner Peak, 12,460 ft. elevation.