A 39-year-old Austrian man faces charges of grossly negligent manslaughter after allegedly abandoning his girlfriend on the country’s highest mountain peak, where she died from hypothermia in January 2025. Thomas Plamberger has been accused of leaving 33-year-old Kerstin Gurtner to freeze to death on Grossglockner mountain during a climbing expedition that went tragically wrong.
The couple began their ascent on January 18, 2025, using the challenging Studlgrat route to reach Austria’s highest peak at 12,460 feet in elevation. However, their expedition started approximately two hours behind schedule, setting the stage for the deadly encounter with severe weather conditions that would follow.
Weather conditions deteriorated rapidly as the pair climbed higher, with subfreezing temperatures and dangerous wind gusts reaching 45 miles per hour. The hiking party became stranded approximately 165 feet below the summit around 8:50 PM, unable to complete their ascent or safely descend in the harsh conditions.
Critical mistakes allegedly began when rescue teams attempted to contact the climbers at 10:50 PM. Prosecutors claim Plamberger turned off his mobile phone during this crucial communication attempt, cutting off potential assistance from mountain rescue services who were aware of the dangerous situation developing on the peak.
The situation became dire when Plamberger made the controversial decision to leave Gurtner alone at 2:00 AM to seek assistance. Prosecutors allege he failed to provide her with available emergency blankets or protective shelter before departing, despite carrying insufficient emergency equipment for the dangerous conditions.
The tragic events were captured by public webcam footage, which showed the couple’s headlights during their ascent and documented the entire incident. This unusual documentation has generated significant public attention and provided crucial evidence for prosecutors building their case.
Plamberger eventually contacted mountain rescue services at 3:30 AM but then allegedly turned his phone off again, further hampering rescue efforts. Meanwhile, Gurtner remained stranded on the mountain as her headlight battery eventually depleted, leaving her in complete darkness during the freezing night.
Rescue personnel discovered Gurtner’s body at 10:00 AM on January 19, 2025, after helicopter search operations that were also visible in the webcam footage. Forensic examination revealed she had a viral lung infection and ibuprofen in her system at the time of her death.
The case highlights significant experience disparities between the two climbers. Plamberger was considered the expedition’s responsible guide due to his extensive alpine climbing experience, while Gurtner had no prior experience with high-altitude alpine tours of this difficulty level. This experience gap has become central to prosecutors’ arguments about his responsibility for her safety.
Prosecutors have cited multiple safety violations in their charges, including inadequate equipment preparation and poor decision-making under dangerous conditions. The defendant faces a potential prison sentence of up to three years if convicted when his criminal trial commences in February 2026.
This tragic incident occurs against a backdrop of increasing mountain fatalities in Austria. Austrian mountain deaths rose to 309 in 2024, representing a 14% increase from the previous year, highlighting growing concerns about alpine safety and proper preparation for high-altitude expeditions.
The case has raised important questions about responsibility and duty of care in mountaineering partnerships, particularly when there are significant experience differences between climbing partners. As the legal proceedings move forward, the tragic death of Kerstin Gurtner serves as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences that can result from inadequate preparation and poor decision-making in extreme mountain environments.
