Dangerous, imposing

Glocknerstraße freed from huge masses of snow

Nachrichten
26.04.2024 19:45

70 years old, but climate-friendly! Oldie milling machines clear masses of snow from the high Alpine road. While one environmental project is celebrated, another is criticized. 

The journey on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road feels like a winter wonderland. It goes to the "breakthrough on the Großglockner". On Friday, the "System Wallack" rotating plows from the Salzburg and Carinthian sides battled their way through the last section of the snow-covered Alpine road - until they finally came face to face. "The summer season starts. The road will be open again on Saturday!" says a jubilant Johannes Hörl, head of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Grohag)

The work, which was not without danger, took four weeks. "The fresh snow made clearing difficult," says snow clearing manager Sebastian Jury. "There is now an acute risk of avalanches. We had to carry out some blasting." But everything turned out well in the end! Thanks are also due to the mountain rescuers and emergency services. "They monitored the snow conditions at all times. We ourselves are also equipped with avalanche warning devices," continues the manager.

Environmentally friendly pilot project 
Grohag is proud of its pilot project: "For the first time, the 70-year-old tiller was powered by climate-friendly diesel substitute made from vegetable oils - and it worked perfectly!" says the Grohag boss happily. The nature park has been focusing on sustainability for years. "We have set up e-filling stations and there are various discounts for zero-emission vehicles on the crossing," says Heiligenblut's mayor Martin Lackner.

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is open to traffic again. (Bild: Peter Maier)
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is open to traffic again.
The snow-covered Grossglockner High Alpine Road has been cleared of snow. (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
The snow-covered Grossglockner High Alpine Road has been cleared of snow.
Old machines are being used to clear the snow. They are powered by bio-diesel. (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
Old machines are being used to clear the snow. They are powered by bio-diesel.
Only a few meters to go! Shortly before the Grossglockner High Alpine Road was cleared. (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
Only a few meters to go! Shortly before the Grossglockner High Alpine Road was cleared.
Tourism representatives and mayors from Salzburg and Carinthia were present. (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
Tourism representatives and mayors from Salzburg and Carinthia were present.
Also present at the spectacle: Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger, Managing Director of Österreich Werbung. (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
Also present at the spectacle: Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger, Managing Director of Österreich Werbung.
The rotary plows "System Wallack" (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
The rotary plows "System Wallack"
Thanks to the Grohag employees. (Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)
Thanks to the Grohag employees.

Criticism of the tourist project 
However, the representatives were heavily criticized for one project. Grohag announced special prices for the pass road during the tunnel construction on the A10. The ticket costs 33 instead of 43 euros. Scientists fear a "traffic avalanche in the highest protected area in the Alps."

Zitat Icon

We don't want to attract more guests, we just want to guarantee vacationers an additional offer.

Johannes Hörl, Grohag-Chef

The initiators don't understand the uproar: "The offer applies to guests from Carinthia, East Tyrol and Salzburg - only for arrival or departure. Proof of booking must also be provided. This project has been completely misunderstood," counters Hörl. There is a long way from a traffic jam. "We only expect 20 more vehicles a day and want to guarantee guests a breathtaking journey." In recent years, the company has worked hard to reduce the number of vehicles. "We are strongly committed to environmental protection, which is why there are also discounts for electric vehicles and the like."

Klaus Ehrenbrandtner, Head of Kärnten Werbung, agrees: "We want to give our holidaymakers a highlight on their trip. It's not a reduction for everyone, and that was never the intention. What's more, the offer is not valid in July and August!" 

Loading...
00:00 / 00:00
Abspielen
Schließen
Aufklappen
Loading...
Vorige 10 Sekunden
Zum Vorigen Wechseln
Abspielen
Zum Nächsten Wechseln
Nächste 10 Sekunden
00:00
00:00
1.0x Geschwindigkeit
Loading
Kommentare

Liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,

die Kommentarfunktion steht Ihnen ab 6 Uhr wieder wie gewohnt zur Verfügung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
das krone.at-Team

User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.

Kostenlose Spiele
Vorteilswelt