It was a great pleasure for my son Matt and I to travel to Austria and be a part of this tractor competition. This all came about with the business relations and friendship of Dirk Schulze (Schulze Heimtierbedarf), of Germany who I found out a few years ago is also a John Deere Tractor collector.
We have built a strong friendship around this common interest. Only 2 years ago I assisted Dirk in importing to Germany a John Deere, model # 730 Standard diesel with electric start from Montana. We shipped it first to Canada, took it to a show in Rosebank near New Dundee and then put it on a container to be shipped to Germany to become part of his collection.
Dirk invited me to come visit him in Germany during the time of the GrobGlockner Tractor competition and offered to me to drive this same tractor which we had assisted him in importing to Germany.
My son Matt joined me on this expedition which began on September 11 with a flight to Hanover, Germany.
We assisted his local tractor club (Alt Tractoren Freunde Weserbergland) located in Porta Westfalica, Germany, which is near Hanover, to load 11 tractors and 1 Unimog on 3 tractor trailers in preparation for the 800 Kilometer trip south into Austria. This was a very scenic drive through Germany with highlights in Bavarian architecture as we entered the Munich area. We continued south to the most southern tip of Germany and then on into Austria. Finally we arrived at our destination of Bruck, Austria. This is a very pretty town, many hotels and restaurants as it is a destination for hikers and skiers alike.
The tractor competition is not a race up the mountain GrobGlockner but rather a competition won by having a constant speed during the 2 legs of the contest.
The first leg runs from Bruck to Fusch at an elevation of 800 meters with little gain in this elevation and a distance of 5 kilometers. Officials time each contestant through this distance and calculate a specific speed that you have obtained. They do not inform you what speed you have achieved as this adds to the challenge.
The goal is then to maintain this exact speed throughout the second leg of the contest (20 Kilometers) from Fusch to the Top of GrobGlockner reaching an elevation of 2485 meters on the constant uphill traverse with many, many switchbacks to accommodate the steep elevation. The winner of each class of the competition is then determined by the contestant who is closest to the determined time needed to complete the second leg by keeping the most constant speed.
There were 700 tractors entered in the competition. We understood that 2,000 more had applied but were not accepted as the full 700 positions were filled within the first 8 hours that applications were being received. Applications were only received online beginning at midnight March 1st.
Driving up the GrobGlockner is an unforgettable experience. The slower pace, as in driving the tractors, allows one to take in all of the scenery in its fullest grandeur. It is a breathtaking and most exhilarating experience as you drive through the clouds, leaving the tree line below and see fully the glaciers at the top. The view as you look below is magnificent. The waterfalls are many from the melting glaciers as they wind their way down the mountaintop to the valley below.
The GrobGlockner experience is a once in a life time opportunity that my son Matt and I will never forget.
This in itself was enough however we learned at the closing celebrations that we had actually won the World Championship Title for our class of tractor in the competition. We were truly amazed and surprised by this announcement. It was great to receive the award as well as all of the congratulations from other tractor contestants from around the world.
Another great feature of this trip and perhaps most importantly was to be able to meet other tractor enthusiasts from many different countries driving tractors we have never known about or even seen before.
It is great to know that the tractor community stretches far beyond country and language borders. We had the opportunity to meet, to get to know and become friends with many individuals we otherwise would not have met. This is a great hobby that knows no boundaries.
I have always known that my heritage and roots originated from Germany. I am currently working on the Neeb family Genealogy and find that my ancestors originated from the VanDenhausen Hessen Darmstadt area. As we drove through this area on our trip south I couldn’t help but think of what it may have looked like in 1836 when Conrad Neeb, my distant ancestor, left this area and headed to the New World of Canada.
I thank again my good friend Dirk Schulze for this invitation and the many friends we were able to make during this most unforgettable experience.
Ron & Matt Neeb
Leave a Reply