Overview
- Innsbruck prosecutors have filed manslaughter by gross negligence charges against Thomas Plamberger, 39, over the January death of his partner, Kerstin Gurtner, 33, on Austria’s highest peak, carrying a maximum three-year sentence.
- The indictment says Plamberger acted as the responsible guide and left Gurtner about 50 meters below the summit for roughly six and a half hours in severe winter conditions before rescuers found her dead the next morning.
- Webcam and trail‑cam images, plus data from phones and sports watches, were used to map the ascent and his solo descent around 2:30 a.m., with aerial rescue delayed by high winds until daylight.
- Prosecutors allege multiple failures: a late start, insufficient emergency kit, unsuitable equipment such as a splitboard and soft boots, no wind‑sheltered placement or thermal protection, no signal to a police helicopter at 10:50 p.m., and a delayed 3:30 a.m. call after he muted his phone.
- Plamberger denies wrongdoing through his lawyer, who calls the death a tragic accident, and a trial is scheduled for February 19, 2026, at the Innsbruck Regional Court.