Manslaughter trial set to begin for climber who 'left his girlfriend to freeze to death' on Austria's highest mountain

"Thomas Plamberger and Kerstin Gurtner were just 50m away from the 3,798m (12,460ft) summit of Grossglockner when she started suffering from exhaustion and disorientation, according to the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office. Mr Plamberger decided to leave her at 2am on Sunday, January 19, 2025,last year and descend to the nearest mountain hut to seek help, only returning six and a half hours later in the morning to find her dead, according to the public prosecutor."

"Gurtner, 33, froze to death alone on the mountain after she was left in -8C temperatures, with winds of up to 72kmh contributing to "feels like" temperatures as low as -20C. Prosecutors undertook an 11-month investigation into the incident and examined the couple's mobile phones, sports watches, and photographs of their climb, as well as commissioning an independent report from an Alpine mountaineering expert."

"They have now charged Mr Plamberger with negligent manslaughter, arguing that he made nine key mistakes that led to Gurtner's death, from not planning the expedition properly to failing to make contact with search teams and police. The trial, which opens in Innsbruck, Austria, will focus on whether Mr Plamberger's actions amounted to gross negligent manslaughter. Prosecutors argue that as the more experienced climber and the person who organised the ascent of the Grossglockner, he was the "responsible guide for the tour"."

Thomas Plamberger left Kerstin Gurtner about 50 metres from the 3,798m Grossglockner summit after she began suffering exhaustion and disorientation. He descended to a mountain hut at 2am on 19 January 2025 to seek help and returned about six and a half hours later to find her dead. Gurtner froze to death in -8C conditions with winds up to 72km/h creating feels-like temperatures near -20C. Prosecutors conducted an 11-month investigation, examined phones, watches and photos, commissioned an alpine expert, and allege nine key mistakes leading to negligent manslaughter charges. The trial will examine whether his conduct amounted to gross negligent manslaughter; he denies wrongdoing.

Read at Irish Independent