Kerstin Gurtner was not the first woman left behind on a mountain by the experienced climber convicted this week over his girlfriend’s death
The ex-girlfriend of an Austrian climber, who was found guilty this week after leaving his inexperienced partner to freeze to death on a mountainside, has now spoken about her own frighteningly similar experience.
Thomas Plamberger, 39, was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter by a court in Innsbruck on Friday, February 20. The charge related to the January 2025 incident on Grossglockner mountain, where he left his 33-year-old girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner behind despite a brutal -4F windchill.
The seasoned climber pleaded not guilty. He claimed that he had left Gurtner in order to get help after she struggled during the ascent and eventually collapsed just 150 feet from the 12,460-foot summit of Grossglockner.
However, his former partner told the Austrian court that something very similar had happened to her in 2023. She said Plamberger had taken her on a dangerous winter climb up the same mountain, which is the highest peak in Austria.
Identified as Andrea B, the ex-girlfriend submitted a letter to the court explaining that the experienced climber had also left her behind when conditions became difficult, according to reports by the Sun.
She stated that he walked away when she reached her limit. At the time, her head torch had stopped working and she felt dizzy while thousands of feet up the mountain. The letter also described a heated argument between the two about how tough and risky the climb had become.
Andrea wrote that she began crying and screaming after she realized Plamberger had vanished from sight. He had walked ahead and left her alone in what she described as a desperate situation on the mountainside.
In court, Plamberger said that he and Gurtner, whom he acknowledged was an amateur climber, had planned the nighttime expedition together. Despite this, they began their climb two hours later than intended, facing harsh alpine weather and without standard emergency equipment.
Webcam footage aimed at the mountain captured the pair making their way up Grossglockner. Their head torches could be seen cutting through the darkness of the winter night. Throughout the ascent, they faced freezing temperatures and powerful winds.
An autopsy later revealed that Gurtner had viral pneumonia at the time of the climb. However, the coroner could not determine whether the illness directly contributed to her difficulties on the mountain.
Kerstin Gurtner died in January 2025 after climbing a mountain at night when it was -4 degrees fahrenheit Kerstin Gurtner Memorial
Several other aspects of the tragic climb were examined closely during the trial.
These included questions about why Plamberger did not attempt to signal a police helicopter that flew overhead at 10:30 p.m., and why he waited until 12:35 a.m. to contact the police.
The phone call itself also raised questions. The defense rejected earlier reports that Plamberger had told authorities that everything was fine, leaving uncertainty around what was actually communicated that night.
At around 2 a.m., he left his girlfriend on the mountain. He claimed she had told him to ‘go’. Webcam images later showed his head torch as he continued up to the summit and then descended the other side of the peak.
Judge Norbert Hofer, who is also an experienced climber, challenged Plamberger’s explanation for leaving Gurtner behind. He based his concerns on photographs taken of the position in which rescuers found her body the following morning.
Although Plamberger maintained that she had become too unwell to continue, the mountain rescue team discovered her lying upside down on a rock face. This location was not where he said he had left her.
The rescue team stated that they were amazed she remained in that position despite strong winds that night, with gusts reaching up to 45 mph. They suggested that her final position indicated she may have tried to descend the 12,000-foot mountain on her own after being left behind.
Thomas Plamberger received a five-month suspended sentence and was fined €9,600, which is approximately $11,310. The judge considered his previously clean record as a factor when deciding the sentence.
Content retrieved from: https://www.thatviralfeed.com/austrian-climber-guilty-manslaughter-mountain-abandonment/109673.
