A mountaineer who left his girlfriend to freeze to death on Austria’s highest mountain abandoned an ex-partner on the same peak just two years before, a court heard.
Thomas Plamberger, 39, was given a five-month suspended sentence on Thursday after he was found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter over the death of Kerstin Gurtner in Jan 2025.
They were just 150ft from the Grossglockner’s 12,460ft summit in the Austrian Alps when Ms Gurtner, 33, collapsed from exhaustion at around 8.50pm with temperatures as low as -20C.
Plamberger decided to leave her and climb back down the mountain to seek help. But in the six hours he was gone, Ms Gurtner died from extreme cold.
In a case that has drawn global attention, Plamberger’s lawyer described her death as a “tragic accident” and said his client had left the mountain by “mutual agreement”.
Kerstin Gurtner died from extreme cold near the summit of Grossglockner mountain
But it was alleged during the trial at Innsbruck regional court in Tyrol, western Austria, that Plamberger had left a former girlfriend, Andrea B, on the same mountainside just two years earlier.
Andrea, who was in a relationship with the defendant from May to September 2023, told the court he had abandoned her during a nighttime descent because he thought she was too slow.
“The atmosphere was bad. And then he was suddenly gone,” she said. “My headlamp had gone out, I was alone, crying and screaming.
“He just left me there, completely alone. He went ahead. That was our last mountain hike,” she said.
Andrea added that he had told her not to “make a big deal out of it” and that he could be short-tempered when she expressed fear.
“When I was scared, he tended to be grumpy. ‘Don’t be such a baby,’ he would say, for example,” she told the court.
The couple had taken part in several mountain tours together during their brief four-month relationship.
On the fatal climb with Ms Gurtner, the court heard the pair were around 50m below the summit and were underprepared for the extreme freezing conditions.
A helicopter had to call off its rescue attempt
The ruling noted that the ascent was “1,000 leagues beyond” Ms Gurtner’s experience and that she had placed herself “under the responsibility” of her more-experienced partner.
The defendant pleaded not guilty, claiming the situation spun out of control mid-climb.
Webcam footage clearly shows the couple’s emergency torches as they ascend the mountain from 6pm. But six hours later, the light slowly fades as they lose power.
Rescuers attempted to make contact with Plamberger by phone but he allegedly had it switched off before contacting Alpine Police at 12.35am.
He left Ms Gurtner at 2am and made his way down the other side of the mountain, contacting mountain rescue at 3.30am.
A helicopter attempted a rescue at 7.10am but it had to be called off because of strong winds.
Rescuers were seen climbing the mountain at around 10am but by the time they reached Ms Gurtner, she was dead.
She had died of hypothermia, with lab analysis later detecting a viral infection.
The court also imposed a fine of €9,400 (£8,000) on Plamberger. The climber can appeal the verdict.
