The experienced climber who allegedly abandoned his girlfriend to freeze at the top of Austria’s highest peak posted—and later deleted—a tribute to her just days after her body was recovered.
Thomas Plamberger was charged last week with grossly negligent manslaughter following a months-long investigation into the tragedy that claimed the life of his 33-year-old girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner.
Plamberger, an experienced mountaineer, is accused of leaving Kerstin behind approximately 160 feet (50 m) from the summit of Grossglockner mountain when she struggled to continue on January 19.
Image credits: Facebook/Thomas Plamberger
He reportedly called Alpine police officers at 1:35 a.m. and left about 30 minutes later in search of help.
At 2:30 a.m., he was captured on a mountain trail camera descending from the peak alone, while his girlfriend remained stranded with -17°F (-27 °C) temperatures and winds of up to 45 mph.
The following day, rescuers found Gurtner’s frozen body.
Image credits: Getty/Jan Hetfleisch
According to German newspaper Bild, Plamberger posted a tribute for Gurtner on Instagram that he later deleted.
“I miss you so much. It hurts so incredibly much,” he wrote shortly after the tragedy. “Forever in my heart. Without you, time is meaningless.”
The 36-year-old also co-signed the obituary written by Gurtner’s parents.
Investigators say Thomas Plamberger left Kerstin Gurtner roughly 160 feet below the peak before descending the mountain alone
Image credits: Tomáš Toček
The couple became stranded before 9 p.m, but Plamberger did not make an emergency call or give off any distress signals when they spotted a police helicopter flying nearby two hours later, as per local outlet Heute. Instead, he waited hours before calling Alpine police officers and eventually left on his own.
“At approximately 2:00 a.m., the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Grossglockner. The woman froze to d*ath,” read a statement from the Innsbruck public prosecutor’s office.
Image credits: Kerstin Gurtner Memorial
Image credits: TommySingo
“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.”
The public prosecutor’s office accused Plamberger of a total of nine errors, including starting the tour too late, failing to carry sufficient emergency equipment, and not making an emergency call in time before nightfall.
Plamberger has been charged with grossly negligent manslaughter
Image credits: Facebook/Thomas Plamberger
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He is also accused of putting his phone on silent after his call to Alpine Police, making it impossible for rescuers to reach the couple. The content of their only conversation remains unclear, and Plamberger did not contact the rescue services again, as per Heute.
“Despite the woman’s inexperience, as 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 with her in winter,” the statement continues.
Prosecutors accuse him of nine critical errors, including starting the climb too late and waiting hours before making an SOS call
Image credits: Kerstin Gurtner Memorial
Image credits: Kerstin Gurtner Memorial
The experienced climber allegedly failed to use emergency blankets to protect his late girlfriend from the cold or remove her heavy backpack.
Plamberger’s lawyer maintained that the incident was a “tragic, fateful accident.”
In a statement, Plamberger reportedly insisted that the entire “situation was hopeless” and blamed rescuers, offering a different account of what happened.
Authorities say Plamberger ignored a nearby police helicopter and left his phone on silent
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He argued that he first contacted emergency crews at about 12:35 a.m. to try to arrange a helicopter rescue when his girlfriend “suddenly showed increasing signs of exhaustion.”
“A return was absolutely out of the question at that point,” he stated.
Plamberger claimed that the officer he reached by phone told him a helicopter rescue was not possible, so the couple decided to keep moving to stay warm.
“However, the situation was hopeless: The woman was so physically exhausted that she could no longer continue the ascent,” the statement read.
Image credits: Facebook/Thomas Plamberger
He claimed that he and Gurtner jointly decided he should seek help on his own. He said that, at 3:30 a.m, he informed the officer that he had to leave his girlfriend behind and again requested a helicopter.
Additionally, he alleged that the couple began experiencing difficulties during the trek later than prosecutors stated. At 10:30 p.m, the time when prosecutors said a helicopter flew overhead and shone lights on them, they had not yet encountered any problems, Plamberger said.
Plamberger is accused of leaving Gurtner alone in -17°F temperatures
Image credits: Facebook/Thomas Plamberger
Image credits: Kerstin Gurtner Memorial
Plamberger is scheduled to go on trial in February at the Innsbruck Regional Court. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
People debated whether Plamberger intentionally left his girlfriend alone near the summit of Grossglockner
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