Climber faces manslaughter charge after 'leaving girlfriend to freeze to death' on top of mountain

An Austrian climber has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly leaving his partner to die on the Grossglockner mountain.

The man, who has been named in local media as Thomas Plamberger, 36, is alleged to have left the woman, named as Kerstin Gurtner, 33, alone on the mountain to get help after the pair ran into difficulties on January 19, 2025.

It is thought that the case will be a landmark for the legal responsibilities that climbers have towards their companions.

The couple had been attempting to scale the Grossglockner in Austria, the highest mountain in Austria, in an ascent that had lasted some 17 hours.

But weather conditions deteriorated, with temperatures dropping to -9C (around 16F), with a windchill of -20C (-4F), and 45mph gusts of wind.

Kerstin had become too exhausted to continue the climbs, and Plamberger had left her around 50 metres (164 feet) below the summit at around 2am.

The Grossglockner in Austria (KERSTIN JOENSSON/AFP via Getty Images)

There, she froze to death.

Prosecutors are alleging that Plamberger is responsible for her death as he was the 'responsible guide for the tour' and that he was 'already very experienced in high-altitude Alpine tours and had planned the tour', whereas his girlfriend was not an experienced climber.

Plamberger has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer Kurt Jelinek has described the incident as a 'tragic accident'.

He left her on the mountain at around 2am and alerted emergency services at 3.30am.

At around 10.10am, Kerstin's body was found.

Prosecutors have also claimed that the pair had become 'effectively stranded' on the mountain at around 8.50pm, but Plamberger had not sent any distress signal to a police helicopter which was flying overhead at around 10:50pm.

Lawyers representing Plamberger have asserted that he said they needed help as soon as possible in a phone call to emergency services at 12.35am, but prosecutors are claiming that the contents of the call are 'unclear'.

The pair got into difficulty while attempting to scale the mountain (JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

They are also claiming that the defendant didn't have any further calls with emergency services, as he had put his phone on silent.

Prosecutors have said that Plamberger failed to take into account Kerstin's inexperience in mountain climbing as well as the harsh weather conditions.

Conditions had been very harsh when the pair reached a place on the mountain called the 'Breakfast Spot', which is the final camp before the summit, and given the weather conditions, they should have turned back.

The mother of the deceased has also spoken out, telling German newspaper Die Zeit that she didn't want to blame her daughter's partner for her death, and that the pair had been properly equipped.

A trial has been scheduled at Innsbruck Regional Court.