Man who left girlfriend 'to freeze to death on' mountain summit claims couple made pact before separating
The man accused of leaving his girlfriend to 'freeze to death' on a mountain has claimed they had made a joint agreement before her passing.
Climber Thomas Plamberger is accused of leaving his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, alone on Austria's Großglockner mountain during a hike back in January.
On 19 January, Plamberger, 39, and Gurtner, 33, had been ascending the 12,460-foot tall mountain when they ran into difficulties just 50 metres away from the summit.
Plamberger left Gurtner in -20C conditions and descended down the mountain in an attempt to seek help. When he returned to the location hours later, he discovered that his girlfriend had frozen to death.
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"At approximately 2am, the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Großglockner," prosecutors said in a statement regarding Gurtner's death. "The woman froze to death."
Following an 11-month investigation into Gertner's death, Plamberger has now been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence after it was argued he made 'nine key mistakes' when leaving his partner on the mountain.
He now faces up to three years in prison for her death.
Plamberger has since shared his version of events, saying the entire situation was 'hopeless'.
According to a copy of the statement, obtained by the New York Post, Plamberger claimed the couple first ran into trouble early on in the day on early on January 18 when it became apparent that Plamberger was struggling with serious exhaustion.
He claimed that he'd called for a helicopter rescue at 12:35am, and was told that it was not possible to send one at that time.
The couple then decided to continue trekking in order to stay warm before they jointly decided that he should try and seek help alone.
"However, the situation was hopeless: The woman was so physically exhausted that she could no longer continue the ascent," the statement continued.
Plamberger’s lawyer added that Gertner's death was a 'tragic, fateful accident' and disputed claims made by prosecutors that he'd failed to make an emergency call or give off distress signals when a helicopter flew overhead earlier in the night.
It's understood the statement was made before Plamberger was charged in connection to his partner's death, with prosecutors alleging that he was responsible for guiding the tour.
"At approximately 2am, the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Großglockner," a statement from the public prosecutor’s office.
"The woman froze to death. 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."
What are the 'nine mistakes' Plamberger is said to have made?
According to the prosecution, Plamberger made the following mistakes in regards to Gertner's death. These are:
- Starting the hike two hours late
- Not carrying enough emergency equipment
- Letting his girlfriend wear non-adequate footwear 'unsuitable for a high-alpine tour in mixed terrain'
- Waiting too long to turn back
- Not making an emergency call before midnight
- Making no attempt to flag down a police helicopter, which flew across the mountain at 10:50pm
- Not answering his phone
- Not sheltering his girlfriend when her legs gave way
Topics: World News
Brenna Cooper