A MAN who allegedly left his girlfriend to freeze to death on Austria’s highest peak is being charged with manslaughter.
The 33-year-old woman was a novice at high-altitude climbing and died after being left “unprotected, exhausted and hypothermic” atop the gruelling 12,460ft Grossglockner during a brutal January night.
The Grossglockner is Austria’s highest peakCredit: AFP
The daunting mountain stands at over 12,000ftCredit: AFP
It straddles Austria’s Tyrol and Carinthia regionsCredit: AFP
The woman froze to death around only 150ft from the summit.
Prosecutors say her boyfriend, an experienced mountaineer from Salzburg, abandoned her for six and a half hours in deadly cold while he went for help.
One added: “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 36-year-old is now charged with manslaughter by gross negligence and faces up to three years behind bars.
Investigators say the pair battled winds up to 46mph and bone-chilling temperatures that felt like minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Despite that, the woman was allowed to attempt the final stretch with a splitboard and soft snow boots, gear climbers call totally unsuitable for a high-alpine tour in mixed terrain.
Prosecutors claim the couple had already started the ascent around two hours late and carried no proper emergency kit.
A forensic probe followed the tragedy, including analysis of phones, sports watches, photos, videos and expert alpine assessments.
Investigators say the man ignored his partner’s inexperience and failed to turn back long before darkness set in.
He is also accused of not calling emergency services before nightfall and of staying silent even when a police helicopter flew overhead at 10.50pm.
Officers tried repeatedly to reach him, finally getting through at 00.35am.
After that, he allegedly placed his phone on silent and missed further calls.
A rescue alert did not go out from him until 3.30am.
By the time mountain teams reached the woman shortly after 10am, she was already dead.
High winds further prevented a helicopter rescue at dawn.
The man’s lawyer, Kurt Jelinek, said: “My client is very sorry about how things turned out.”
He added that the defence “still assumes it was a tragic, fateful accident .”
The case will go before the Innsbruck Regional Court on February 19, 2026, just over a year after the event.
A view of the peak from the roads belowCredit: AFP
Motorists drive on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road during summerCredit: AFP
It follows and was trapped on the 25,000ft Pobeda Peak in Kyrgyzstan.
Natalia Nagovitsyna, 47, died after ten days of failed rescue attempts and horrendous weather that forced teams to abandon the mission.
Rescuer Luca Sinigaglia, 49, sadly passed while trying to help his friend after scaling the mountain twice to take her essential supplies.
His death occurred on August 15 from low oxygen and hypothermia in the Tian Shan mountain range on the border with China.
He was taking up essential supplies including a tent, sleeping bag, water, food and a small gas cooker.
Natalia fell and broke her leg while scaling Victory Peak on August 12.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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