Overview
- The indictment alleges nine failures, including taking an inexperienced partner on a winter high‑alpine route and starting the climb about two hours late.
- Prosecutors say the woman used unsuitable gear such as snowboard soft boots and that required bivouac emergency equipment was missing.
- Given winds up to 74 km/h and temperatures near −8 °C with windchill around −20 °C, investigators argue the pair should have turned back by the ‘Frühstücksplatzl’.
- The man allegedly left his partner near the summit around 2 a.m. without moving her to shelter, using a bivy sack or rescue blankets, or removing her heavy pack.
- Authorities cite delayed emergency actions, including no early distress call, a silenced phone that missed Alpine police attempts, no signals to a helicopter around 22:50, and rescue contact only at about 3:30 a.m.; evidence includes autopsy findings, device and media analyses, and an alpine expert report, while the defense denies wrongdoing and the trial is set for February 19, 2026 in Innsbruck.