Alpine marmots around the Grossglockner in Austria

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is said to be one of the most beautiful scenic and excursion roads in the world. In addition to breathtaking views, it also offers insights into the alpine flora and fauna. For example, ibexes and marmots have found a habitat in the high mountains around the Grossglockner and can be observed particularly well from the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. Since I was very eager to observe ibexes and marmots at the Grossglockner, I traveled there one summer.

The Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe

It had already been raining on and off the day before. The sun only managed to break through the thick cloud cover now and then for a short while. The following day – the day I planned to explore the High Alpine Road with the Glockner bus – the weather wasn’t expected to be much better in the morning.

What a shame. And that’s exactly how it turned out. I had been so looking forward to the breathtaking views along the High Alpine Road. Oh well. Just bad luck. But the weather wasn’t all that terrible after all. Yes, it was grey, wet, and the views at first were anything but spectacular, as the grey rain clouds blocked my view.

But that changed on the second stretch of the 48-kilometer-long High Alpine Road. The rain clouds began to clear. Although only a few rays of sunshine made it through the clouds, I was still able to enjoy some truly beautiful views from the High Alpine Road.

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is also simply referred to as the Grossglockner Road. It connects the Austrian provinces of Salzburg and Carinthia and lies within the Hohe Tauern National Park. The Hohe Tauern National Park is the largest national park in Austria and in the Alps.

I took the Glockner bus along the High Alpine Road. The bus started its journey at 9 a.m. in Hinterglemm and made stops in places like Saalbach and Zell am See, where other passengers boarded along with me. My journey ended that day at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, where I planned to stay for two nights.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Glockner bus made about a one-hour stop in front of the Alpine Nature Show Museum (Haus Alpine Naturschau). The museum is located at an altitude of around 2,260 meters. However, due to the poor weather, I didn’t take any photos of the “view” and didn’t spend much time standing around in the rain.

Instead, I visited the exhibition inside.

The Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe was our second and—for me—final stop. It sits at an altitude of 2,369 meters and offers excellent views of the Grossglockner and the Pasterze Glacier (see next section).

At the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, there is a visitor center, a hotel with a restaurant, two small shops, and a hiking trail leading to the Wilhelm Swarovski Observatory.

Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, the observatory was closed due to construction work.

The Glockner bus makes a stop at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe for about 2 to 3 hours. During that time, you can enjoy the views of the Grossglockner and the Pasterze Glacier. You can also visit the Wilhelm Swarovski Observatory—provided it’s open. There’s also a good chance of spotting marmots near the Grossglockner.

Still, personally, I found two or three hours far too short for a visit to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. Watching marmots in the soft evening light, breathing in the fresh mountain air in the morning and evening, and experiencing the calm before the arrival of the day-trippers—none of that would have been possible if I had only stayed for a few hours. So for me, spending two nights at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe was absolutely the right choice.

The Grossglockner

Did you know that the Grossglockner is said to be the most beautiful mountain in the world for many mountaineers? And that the largest rock crystals ever found worldwide were discovered in the Grossglockner region? Or that the first attempt to climb the Grossglockner was made in 1799—even though the first successful ascent didn’t take place until a year later, in 1800?

Still, I didn’t attempt the climb myself. I’ll admit it—the Grossglockner would have been a bit too much for me (or rather, more than just a bit). Instead, I stood in awe before it—or better yet, beneath it—gazing up at its towering presence.

At 3,798 meters, the Grossglockner is the highest mountain in Austria.

Not far from the Grossglockner, you can look out over the Pasterze Glacier from the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe.

The Pasterze Glacier is the largest and longest glacier in Austria and the Eastern Alps, as well as the ninth largest glacier in the entire Alps. In 1852, the Pasterze reached its maximum extent of 27 km². Since then, the glacier has been retreating. Research over the past two decades has shown that the Pasterze Glacier is losing significant length, area, and mass, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Since 1850, two-thirds of its ice volume has melted, freeing up an area of 11 km².

Both the Grossglockner and the Pasterze Glacier were incredibly impressive, extraordinary, majestic, unforgettable to me. And so much more—I could think of countless other words. Just because of the Grossglockner and the Pasterze Glacier alone, it’s definitely worth making the trip to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe.

However, I was also interested in something else…

I wanted to observe two of the “HighFives.” The HighFives are five extraordinary animals: the golden eagle, Apollo butterfly, Glockner bumblebee, ibex, and marmot. These five animals have one thing in common—they have adapted to the harsh conditions around the Grossglockner, such as cold, wind, and snow.

Ideally, I would have liked to observe all five. But I only managed to spot two of them—the marmot and the ibex. And that’s exactly what the next sections will be about.

Marmots around the Grossglockner

How easy would it be to encounter a marmot at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe? Would they be very shy, even though there’s a lot of visitor traffic there? And how many actually live in that area?

Even during the drive along the Grossglockner High Alpine Road toward the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, I was already wondering what awaited me there. When we arrived at the top, I immediately checked into the hotel, dropped off my luggage, and set out in search of the marmots at the Grossglockner.

But I didn’t really know exactly where to go. I just headed out and followed the path.

And voilà—the very first marmot appeared.

From the hotel, I set off towards the Wilhelm Swarovski Observatory. Even on this hiking trail, I encountered the first marmots at the Grossglockner. I spotted one on a piece of wood lying just below the path.

I stopped and waited.

There was no rush.

After a while, some of the marmots ventured closer, and one finally settled on a nearby piece of wood.

When I looked not down but up from the path, I spotted more marmots sitting in the grass.

It seemed like marmots were everywhere around the Grossglockner.

And this was despite it already being midday!

Normally, marmots—meaning alpine marmots in this case—avoid the warmest part of the day and spend it in their burrows. Alpine marmots, like other marmot species, don’t tolerate heat very well because they have few sweat glands and don’t pant, so they can’t cool down when it gets too hot.

But maybe it simply wasn’t too hot for the marmots that day. It wasn’t too hot for me either. I was wearing a sweater and a jacket. And this was in July!

One or two marmots stayed close to the path.

Some of the marmots looked quite expectantly in the direction of the visitors.

I was without any food.

Some other visitors, however, had small treats for the marmots. No wonder they were especially interesting to the animals.

Unfortunately, the marmots were sometimes offered treats they really shouldn’t have eaten.

However, there were also children who offered the marmots the plants growing there.

That was, of course, much better.

Some visitors were only looked at expectantly by the marmots when they had nothing to offer.

Then the marmots usually disappeared quickly again.

Some marmots were still quite tame. Not all of them, but quite a few.

I saw visitors petting the marmots. I preferred not to touch them.

The marmot is the third-largest rodent in Europe, after the beaver and the porcupine. Like all rodents, marmots have two enlarged, continuously growing incisors in both their upper and lower jaws.

The marmots at the Grossglockner showed me these teeth quite often.

But what do alpine marmots actually eat?

Although marmots have a seemingly bulky body, they feed (almost) exclusively on plants. Herbs, grasses, leaves, and flowers are their main food sources, while in spring they also eat roots and young shoots. They rarely eat fruits, seeds, or insects.

Over the course of the summer, marmots are said to specialize in certain plants.

At the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, I saw many marmots nibbling on the bladder campion (Silene vulgaris).

In July, the meadows around the Grossglockner bloom in the most beautiful colors. It seems the marmots have no shortage of food on the meadows around the Grossglockner.

Apparently, food intake is less limited by availability and more by too many warm days. But predators like golden eagles can also cause marmots to stay in their burrows for a while and not eat.

And what impact do the visitors at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe have on the marmots?

On my last morning at the Grossglockner, I struck up a conversation with a ranger.

She was just feeding the marmots. Our conversation soon turned to the food that visitors offer the animals. She told me that, fortunately, the quality of food offered has improved over the years. Nowadays, many day tourists mainly bring carrots or similar vegetables—no more popcorn or other industrially processed snacks.

On that last day, I observed a family with children offering pieces of pear to the marmots. The ranger herself handed them a piece of corn on the cob.

It was also interesting to learn that there are more marmots at the Grossglockner than would normally be expected. This is due to the supplemental feeding. As a result, the territory sizes of the individual groups or family units don’t need to be as large.

They have enough food.

As mentioned earlier, marmots live in family groups. A family group usually consists of an adult pair—one female and one male—and their offspring, which can be from different years.

But how can you tell males and females apart? Are those two females in the photo? Or two males? Or could it be one female and one male? Who is who then?

Males are slightly heavier than females, but externally the two sexes are not easy to distinguish.

Recognizing a young animal, however, is easier.

By the way, marmots are territorial animals—they defend their territory against other marmots and animals.

During my stay at the Grossglockner, however, I couldn’t observe any territorial fights. Probably two to three days were simply too short to have the luck to witness such behaviors. The more time you spend, the more intense the nature experience becomes.

However, I was able to observe other social interactions: repeatedly, I saw marmots playfully wrestling with each other—a behavior that looked like friendly roughhousing.

It is said that marmots spend a lot of time grooming each other. In fact, I was able to observe some animals grooming their fur—however, each one seemed to be busy with itself. At least during my observations, there was no sign of mutual grooming.

However, my stay at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe was too short to draw any reliable conclusions.

One marmot apparently didn’t even have a fellow marmot nearby to help scratch its head.

By the way, my best observations were in the morning and evening—times when there weren’t many visitors around yet. Not only did I have the paths all to myself, but the marmots were also not distracted by carrots or other treats.

Some marmots did approach me, but most of them quickly disappeared as soon as they realized I had nothing with me except my camera.

However, most marmots stayed sitting or lying at their lookout spots and didn’t pay much attention to me.

Or maybe they were watching me after all?

Especially in the morning and evening, the marmots stayed at certain lookout points—times when it was still quiet. During the day, however, there was a lot of activity at the Grossglockner. One could get the impression that the marmots were watching the visitors: on motorcycles, bicycles, in cars, or getting on and off the buses.

Marmots are especially famous for their warning calls or whistles.

I heard them several times, mostly when dogs were around. As soon as the marmots noticed dogs, they let out their characteristic whistles and fled.

The marmots near the hotel and along the hiking trails had to be especially alert.

This was because there were several dogs around (although on leashes).

Some marmots seemed so relaxed that they were even lying on the path near the Wilhelm Swarovski Observation Tower.

I also repeatedly observed marmots flicking their tails up and down. Allegedly, this is mainly done by males when they patrol their territory boundaries. But I mostly saw this tail flicking behavior in the smaller marmots.

What could that possibly mean?

Marmots are typical hibernators, like edible dormice or Eurasian hamsters.

That means they don’t fly away like migratory birds to escape the winter. Nor do they hide nuts like squirrels. No, marmots use hibernation as a survival strategy. But marmots don’t primarily avoid the cold by hibernating—they avoid the lack of food. In winter, the meadows are covered with snow, so marmots simply wouldn’t be able to find food on the snow-covered meadows.

Additionally, unlike squirrels, they cannot store supplies because herbs and grasses simply would not survive over the winter.

Marmots hibernate roughly from October to March. If you want to observe them in the wild, your best chances are between April and September.

Starting in September or October, when the first snow falls, they gradually retreat into their burrows.

Even though marmots don’t encounter predators during the winter and retreat completely into their secure burrows, winter is not entirely without danger for some marmots.

Marmots have to build up fat reserves beforehand because during hibernation they live off these stored fat deposits. They do lower their metabolism to minimize energy loss, but marmots still lose weight during hibernation. This can be especially dangerous for the smaller marmots.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see it—and very likely never will—but supposedly, with marmots, the smallest ones with the least fat reserves are placed in the middle to keep them the warmest. Together, a family of up to 20 animals forms a large huddle beneath their burrow.

I would love to see that someday! It’s also hard for me to imagine that marmot burrows have tunnels or chambers large enough to hold so many animals.

After all, some of these marmots aren’t exactly small.

Before hibernation, marmots seal off all their tunnels to keep as much wind out as possible. This also protects them from predators. Still, marmots cool down almost to the temperature of their surroundings—but not below 0°C.

It’s also important to mention that marmots don’t sleep through the entire winter. They briefly wake up about every two weeks. However, to the best of my knowledge, the reason for this is still not fully understood.

Nonetheless, I didn’t witness any hibernation—which, of course, wasn’t possible in July. My most beautiful observations, however, always happened when there were the fewest people around. That is, in the morning and evening.

At those times, the light was usually at its most beautiful as well.

Before I end this blog post, here are a few more photographic impressions of the marmots that I was able to capture one evening in the most stunning light.

To be continued…

Marmots at the Grossglockner weren’t the only animals I observed at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. In another blog post, I’ll write about the ibexes and birds I saw at the Grossglockner. I’ll also share a hiking route. In addition to a few details about the Glockner bus, which took me from Zell am See and back, I’ll also include some photographic impressions from my starting point down in the valley.

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Do you know the marmots at Grossglockner? Or have you ever spotted marmots somewhere else? Let us know in the comments!