Climber ‘left girlfriend to die’ on Austrian mountain

8 hours ago 3

By Nick Squires

December 7, 2025 — 7.30pm

An experienced mountaineer has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly leaving his girlfriend to freeze to death on Austria’s highest peak.

Thomas Plamberger, 36, is accused of making a series of life-threatening errors while climbing Grossglockner mountain with Kerstin Gurtner, his 33-year-old girlfriend, in January.

Kerstin Gurtner lost her life on the peak in January.

The couple were just 45 metres from the 3797-metre summit when Gurtner collapsed from exhaustion about 8.50pm and said she could not go any further.

Plamberger decided to leave her and descend the mountain to seek help. But he was gone for more than six hours, during which she died from extreme cold.

Webcam images show how the tragedy unfolded. The couple’s torches can clearly be seen as they initially clamber up towards the summit about 6pm on January 18.

The next image, taken six hours later, shows a small pool of light as the torches began to lose power.

A third image reveals Plamberger, his torch still functioning, traversing the top of the mountain in an attempt to descend the other side and find help, leaving his girlfriend alone.

Haunting webcam images show the couple’s torches near the summit. Subsequent footage shows just one light continuing alone.

At 7am the next day, a helicopter was deployed to search for Gurtner, but the mission had to be called off due to strong gusts.

Three hours later, a rescue team was sent up the mountain, but by the time they reached Gurtner, she was dead.

Plamberger was charged with manslaughter and gross negligence following an investigation into her death. He has denied the allegations and said he had gone to get help, calling it “a tragic, fateful accident”.

If convicted, he could be imprisoned for up to three years. His trial will begin at a court in Innsbruck in February.

Prosecutors accused the mountaineer of making nine cardinal errors.

They said he should not have embarked on the climb because of his girlfriend’s inexperience. She had never undertaken such a challenging high-altitude climb in winter conditions.

He was also accused of starting the climb two hours later than he had originally planned.

He did not carry emergency bivouac equipment that could have kept Gurtner warm while he went for help. She was wearing soft snowboard boots, unsuitable for the mountain terrain, prosecutors said.

The climber should have decided to abandon the entire venture due to 74km/h winds and temperatures of minus 8 degrees, which would have felt more like minus 20 with the wind chill effect.

Phone set to silent

He also did not give a distress signal when a helicopter flew over at 10.50pm, and he did not call police until 12.35am. He then set his phone to silent, meaning he missed any further calls.

Lastly, he failed to ensure that his girlfriend was in a sheltered spot, out of the wind, which may have slowed her rate of heat loss. Nor did he remove her backpack and wrap her in emergency blankets, which the couple had brought with them.

An online tribute page to Gurtner said her death had brought “deep shock and sadness”.

It described her as “beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law, godmother, granddaughter, partner and friend” and asked those visiting the page to “refrain from accusations and assumptions”.

Prosecutors say Kerstin Gurtner was not properly equipped for the ascent.

In a statement, prosecutors said: “At approximately 2am, the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 metres below the summit cross of the Grossglockner. The woman froze to death.

“Since the defendant, unlike his girlfriend, was already very experienced with alpine high-altitude tours and had planned the tour, he was to be considered the responsible guide of the tour.

“Despite the woman’s inexperience – she had never undertaken an alpine high-altitude tour of this length, difficulty, and altitude – and despite the challenging winter conditions, the defendant undertook the alpine high-altitude tour to the Grossglockner via the Studlgrat with her in winter.”

The Telegraph, London