A man is facing a manslaughter charge after allegedly abandoning his girlfriend on a mountain.
Earlier this year, an unidentified man ascended Grossglockner, Austria’s tallest mountain, with his girlfriend.
The 39-year-old man is said to be an experienced climber, whereas his 33-year-old partner had no climbing experience.
Near the summit of the 12,460-foot peak on January 19, the woman reportedly became unable to continue the climb.
Instead of immediately contacting emergency services, the man allegedly left her behind to seek help, but she tragically ‘froze to death’.
He has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, according to Heute.
A statement from the public prosecutor’s office via the German news channel stated: “At approximately 2:00 a.m., the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Grossglockner.”
The statement continues: “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.”
He is accused of making nine significant errors, with the primary one being the decision to undertake the climb given the ‘difficulty and altitude’ and his partner’s inexperience.
Prosecutors also criticize him for starting the tour two hours later than planned and not preparing for emergencies during the tour planning, leaving him without emergency gear when his girlfriend began struggling.
Additionally, he reportedly allowed his girlfriend to use equipment ‘unsuitable for a high-alpine tour in mixed terrain.’
The man is further accused of not making an emergency call before nightfall, failing to turn back despite worsening weather, and not signaling distress when a police helicopter flew overhead at around 10:50 p.m. that day.
Finally, he did not ensure his girlfriend had the best chance of survival when he left to seek help.
Prosecutors assert, according to Heute: “The defendant failed to move his girlfriend to a sheltered spot to protect her from heat loss. 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.”
The trial is set to commence on February 19, 2026.