In a case that has captured international attention, a 36-year-old mountaineer from Salzburg is set to stand trial for manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of his girlfriend on Grossglockner, Austria’s highest peak, which reaches an elevation of 12,460 feet. The trial, scheduled for February 19, 2026, at the Innsbruck Regional Court, comes after a detailed investigation into the January incident by the public prosecutor's office.
The 33-year-old woman succumbed to hypothermia after her boyfriend left her on the mountainside to seek assistance. Prosecutors allege that the boyfriend, an experienced alpinist, failed to adequately prepare and protect his partner, who was inexperienced with high-altitude climbs. The couple had embarked on their ascent later than planned and were ill-equipped for the expedition, lacking sufficient emergency gear.
Webcam footage from the mountain on January 18th shows the couple’s progress and the eventual tragedy. Initially, their emergency lights are visible as they approached the summit. However, six hours later, the lights dimmed, indicating the depletion of their batteries and the deteriorating condition of the woman. Around 2:30 a.m., the boyfriend is seen descending alone. His girlfriend was left with minimal gear in freezing conditions, with temperatures reaching minus eight degrees and wind speeds of 46 miles per hour.
Despite the woman's dire state, the boyfriend reportedly did not place an emergency call before nightfall, nor did he signal for help when a police helicopter was overhead later that evening. After finally speaking with an officer around 12:35 a.m., he did not reach out again and silenced his phone, missing further communication attempts by the Alpine Police.
The rescue mission was fraught with difficulties. Early in the morning, a helicopter attempted to reach the stranded climber, but was forced to abandon the effort due to hazardous wind conditions. It was not until nearly three hours later that rescue workers reached the woman, but by then, she had already died from exposure to the extreme cold.
The prosecution's statement detailed the boyfriend’s alleged errors, including not moving his girlfriend to a wind-protected location, providing her with a bivouac sack, or aluminum rescue blankets. The boyfriend's attorney, Kurt Jelinek, expressed his client's regret over the incident, describing it as "a tragic, fateful accident."
This case raises significant questions about the responsibilities of climbers, particularly when it involves less experienced partners. It also underlines the extreme dangers of high-altitude mountaineering, where the margin for error is often razor-thin.
