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Last Updated:December 08, 2025, 07:26 IST
Thomas Plamberger, 36, and his girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner, 33, set off to climb Austria's tallest mountain - the 12,460ft Grossglockner mountain - on January 18, 2025.
Thomas Plamberger, 36, and his girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner, 33, set off to climb Austria's tallest mountain in Jan 2025. (Photo: X)
A 33-year-old woman’s body was found on Austria’s highest peak. She froze to death after her boyfriend, an experienced mountaineer, allegedly abandoned her. The woman is identified as Kerstin Gurtner, a Salzburg native.
According to a report by New York Post, the woman was found dead roughly 160 feet from the summit of Grossglockner mountain in January 2025. She was accompanied by her 36-year-old boyfriend on the fatal trek.
The couple were nearing the peak on January 19, 2025. At about 2 am Kresting reportedly started struggling and couldn’t go any further. Webcam visuals show the couple’s headlights on the side of the mountain during their ascent.
Despite being a more experienced climber, the boyfriend allegedly left to seek help without protecting his partner from the wind or wrapping her in aluminium rescue blankets to shield her from the freezing temperatures.
The matter reached court where prosecutors charged the boyfriend with murder.
“The defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 metres [160 feet] below the summit cross of the Grossglockner. The woman froze to death," prosecutors said on Thursday while charging the boyfriend with manslaughter.
“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 boyfriend eventually made contact with emergency crews at 3:30 a.m., but then was unreachable, the prosecutors alleged.
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First Published:
December 08, 2025, 07:18 IST
News world Austrian Woman, Who Was Left To Freeze On Mountain Peak By Boyfriend, Identified
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