Welcome to my journey
After spending twelve summers exploring every winding pass in the Austrian Alps, I've gathered stories, mishaps, and those rare moments when you pull over just to breathe it all in. This isn't a guidebook—it's my personal logbook of roads that changed how I see driving.
Explore My Favorite RoutesI'm Marcus, and I've been obsessively driving mountain roads since my dad handed me the keys to his old Opel Kadett at seventeen. That first drive over the Brenner Pass — white-knuckled, heart racing — planted something in me that never left.
Austria holds a special place in my driving history. The roads here aren't just routes from A to B; they're engineering marvels carved into impossibly steep terrain, each hairpin turn revealing views that make you forget you're supposed to be watching the road. I've logged over 47,000 kilometers on Austrian alpine roads, and I'm still finding new perspectives on passes I've driven dozens of times.
What you'll find here are three roads that, for different reasons, have become my annual pilgrimage. The Grossglockner for its sheer audacity, the Silvretta for its intimate connection to the landscape, and the Gerlos for those unexpected moments when a waterfall appears out of nowhere and you're suddenly very glad you brought waterproof hiking boots.
Each drive taught me something different about the mountains—and about paying attention
Most Popular
The first time I drove the Grossglockner, I made the rookie mistake of checking my fuel gauge only after starting the ascent. There are no gas stations for 48 kilometers. I coasted into Franz-Josefs-Hohe on fumes and a prayer, but the view of the Pasterze glacier made every anxious moment worth it.
Read My Experience
I almost skipped Silvretta my first year. "Just another toll road," someone said. They were spectacularly wrong. The Vermunt reservoir appeared through morning fog like something from a dream, and I spent three hours just sitting there with my coffee.
Read My Experience
The Gerlos is where I bring friends who think alpine roads are just about white-knuckle driving. The Krimmler waterfalls — Europe's highest — sit right at the road's edge. My brother-in-law, a notorious skeptic, stood speechless for a full five minutes. Victory.
Read My ExperienceMost alpine roads open late May and close mid-October. I've learned the hard way that "probably open" and "definitely open" are very different things at 2,000 meters.
Hit the road by 7 AM if you can. You'll beat the tour buses, catch the morning light, and have time to actually stop when something catches your eye.
Mountain weather is its own creature. I use ZAMG for Austrian forecasts—they know their mountains better than any global app.
I love hearing from fellow road enthusiasts. Whether you need advice on a specific route or want to argue about the best viewpoint on Grossglockner, I'm all ears.
Get in Touch