Austrian climber guilty of manslaughter after leaving girlfriend on Alpine peak

DW News · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A 37-year-old amateur mountaineer was on Thursday given a five-month suspended sentence and a €9,400 fine ($11,100) for gross negligence that resulted in his girlfriend freezing to death on Austria's highest mountain. The incident took place in January 2025, when the couple climbed the peak of the Grossglockner mountain. Series of mistakes ended in tragedy The court heard how the couple had fallen behind their climbing schedule and how the woman became exhausted and was unable to continue, around 50 meters (54 yards) beneath the summit. After midnight, the man left the 33-year-old woman alone to find help, and she froze to death in bad weather just below the 3,798-meter (12,460-foot) summit. Prosecutors said he made a series of serious mistakes. The woman was exposed to strong winds and had not been wrapped in an emergency blanket. The man also didn't make clear that a rescue was needed and failed to answer return calls or messages asking if help was needed, police said. The defendant said his phone had been on airplane mode in order to save battery power. "What I want to say is that I am so terribly sorry," the man, who pleaded not guilty, told the court. He faced a maximum sentence of three years in prison. During the trial, questions arose about the extent of legal liability in the high mountains and whether climbers generally explore at their own ‌risk. The case was unusual because while ‌climbing accidents ⁠are common, ⁠prosecutions of them are rare — even in situations where various mistakes were made. The Austrian Alpine Safety Board says that each year around 8,400 accidents occur on average in the Austrian mountains resulting in around 250 to 300 deaths.. Edited by: Sean Sinico