A year after the tragic death of Kerstin Gurtner, 33, on Grossglockner, Austria’s highest peak, her companion and climbing partner now faces a charge of negligent homicide.
The tragic story, revealed in particular by the Daily Mailraises serious questions about the circumstances of this freezing night, at the end of which the young woman was found lifeless on January 19, 2023, just 50 meters from the summit, when the temperature felt was around –20°C.
According to prosecutors, her boyfriend, Thomas Plamberger, 39, left her “exhausted, disoriented and hypothermic” before going back down alone in the darkness, reports the British media.
Images captured by a mountain cyber camera also show two headlamp beams rising towards the summit, then a single beam coming back down several hours later.
Investigators say the couple was ill-equipped for a winter climb and failed to make an emergency call in time, despite a helicopter flying overhead.
They also accuse the suspect of having left his partner without protecting her from the violent wind and of having delayed in contacting emergency services.
Mr. Plamberger, an experienced mountaineer, denies responsibility and maintains that he was trying to get help, calling it a “tragic accident.”
His trial is scheduled to begin in February 2026. Plamberger faces up to three years in prison.