Man accused of leaving girlfriend to freeze on Austria’s highest peak - he’s now facing prison

A man has been charged with manslaughter after 'leaving his girlfriend to freeze' on Austria’s highest peak.

Back in January of this year, the man and his girlfriend, a 33-year-old woman from Salzburg who has now been named as Kerstin Gurtner, were climbing the 12,460-foot Grossglockner mountain together.

She tragically died, however, after being left 'unprotected, exhausted, and hypothermic' in severe winter weather, with investigators saying that the pair were battered with winds up to 46mph, with the conditions feeling like -20C.

Prosecutors say her partner, a 39-year-old experienced alpinist, left her on the ridge while he went for help. Gurtner was found dead the following morning.

Kerstin Gutner has since been identified as the woman who died on the mountain (Kerstin Gurtner Memorial)

An investigation into Gurtner's death has now been completed, and her boyfriend has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, and he is reportedly facing up to three years in prison for the tragic turn of events.

A statement from the public prosecutor’s office on this case reads: "At approximately 2 am, the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Großglockner.

"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."

The investigation looked at forensic reports, phones, watches, images, videos and an alpine technical assessment, with prosecutors saying the boyfriend misjudged his girlfriend's experience, set off too late, allowed unsuitable equipment and carried no proper emergency bivouac kit.

The Grossglockner is Austria's highest mountain (KERSTIN JOENSSON / Contributor / Getty Images)

"The defendant failed to move his girlfriend to a sheltered spot to protect her from heat loss," prosecutors claimed.

"Before leaving his girlfriend at around 2:00 a.m., he neither used her bivouac sack nor the available emergency blankets to protect her from further cooling, nor did he remove her heavy backpack and splitboard."

They also argue he missed the moment to turn back, delayed calling for help before dark and failed to signal when a police helicopter passed overhead.

Rescue teams tried to reach them after contact attempts late on 18 January and again at night. Despite the helicopter flying over at 10:50 pm, he did not notify services until 3:30 am.

Weather blocked an immediate air rescue, and when teams arrived just after 10 am, she was already dead.

The boyfriend's trial is set to take place next year, as his defence attorney 'still assumes it was a tragic, fateful accident'.

"My client is very sorry about how things turned out," the lawyer added.

The case will go before the Innsbruck Regional Court on February 19, 2026, just over a year after the event.