Climber Charged With Manslaughter After Leaving Girlfriend on Peak

December 8, 2025

A male climber is facing manslaughter charges after leaving his girlfriend alone on Austria’s highest peak, where she later died, according to German media reports.

That climber was identified Monday as 36-year-old Thomas Plamberger, who attempted to scale the peak of Grossglockner with his girlfriend, 33-year-old Kerstin Gurtner, back in January.

Gurtner became unable to continue and died about 160 feet below the summit of the mountain, which rises to 12,641 feet. She perished after Plamberger, an experienced mountaineer, left her alone in the freezing conditions. Though Plamberger left to find help and alert rescue crews, he allegedly silenced his phone. GearJunkie