Pasterze Deep Dive
The Pasterze sits beneath the Grossglockner, Austria's highest peak. It is Austria's largest glacier — historically over 26 km2 — and one of the most-visited ice masses in the Alps thanks to the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse and the Franz Josefs Hohe visitor centre that looks directly onto it.
Geography
The glacier descends from the Grossglockner-Johannisberg massif into the Mollthal valley. Its current snout sits at around 2 100 m. The Mollwurzboden basin below the snout is now a proglacial lake. The Pasterze is heavily monitored — its annual length and mass-balance records go back to 1879, among the longest series in the Alps.
Retreat
Pasterze has lost about 50 metres of length per year on average since the early 2000s. The 2003, 2018, 2022 and 2023 melt seasons each recorded record-breaking annual loss. Posts along the path down from Franz Josefs Hohe — labelled with year markers — make the timeline visible.
How to visit
- Driving. Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse (toll, May to October) brings you to Franz Josefs Hohe parking at 2 369 m.
- Visitor centre. Free entry. Panorama windows, exhibitions on glaciology and the road's history.
- Gletscherweg. Steep but signposted gravel track from Franz Josefs Hohe down to the glacier and former snout area. Allow 90 minutes to descend, two hours back up.
- Guided ice walks. Local guides from Heiligenblut operate half-day crampon walks on accessible sections of the lower tongue.
When to go
The road is closed roughly November to April. Best walking late June to September; September is quieter than July-August.
Why it matters
The Pasterze has become a poster-child for glacier retreat in the Alps because the year-on-year change is so visible — and so easy to reach by car. Bring a copy of an older photo from the visitor centre for the deepest compare-and-contrast experience.
Explore on the map
The interactive map shows the path from the parking, the year-marker positions and the current proglacial lake outline.