More than a year after a 33-year-old woman froze to death on Austria’s highest mountain, her boyfriend goes on trial on Thursday accused of gross negligent manslaughter.
Kerstin G died of hypothermia on a mountain climbing trip to the Grossglockner that went horribly wrong. Her boyfriend is accused of leaving her unprotected and exhausted close to the summit in stormy conditions in the early hours of 19 January 2025, while he went to get help.
The trial has sparked interest and debate, not just in Austria but in mountain climbing communities far beyond its borders.
I think the combination of his refusing to continue communication with emergency services and waiting nearly 3 hours before requesting emergency aid is what makes this criminal negligence.
The stupidity on display, while impressive, I dont think is criminal in and of itself. A certain amount of risk and consequence can be expected of such an excursion.
That “refusing to continue communication” might have even just been “couldn’t hear or feel vibrations from incoming calls”. It’s also possible he thought they weren’t being helpful and decided it was a waste of time to rely on them (all depends on how that initial call went, though the fact that they say he didn’t ask for help but he says he did could suggest a communication breakdown or tone mismatch).
It did sound like he was unprepared for how to handle such an emergency if they didn’t even use the warming gear they had. But the question is at what point does unpreparedness become criminal and did he really have extra responsibility for her safety even if he thought they were equally experienced, or that she was at least experienced enough to handle her own safety? Unless the defense is lying completely, it sounds like the prosecution isn’t approaching this in good faith and might be seeking revenge instead of justice.
I dont really have a good argument one way or the other. Im just glad I’m not part of deciding it
They had a helicopter overhead and he refused help and pushed upwards (which He had direct communications with a mountain policeman and turned help down.
There are multiple warning signs to turn back if you haven’t passed this point by X time. They were multiple hours late AND in adhorent conditions.
And yes, if there is a criminal law provision in Austrian (as well as German law), that gives people a duty to protect the ones with lesser ability to protect themselves in certain situations.
So the sentencing is totally right
What is weird is the phone in silent and him not trying to contact for help. Mobile coverage maps shows that this area is under coverage. From a personal experience, when It’s really cold I usually put on every piece of clothes I can once I stop moving. Even get in my sleeping bag if necessary.
Yes. What was the point of him putting his phone on silent? What was the reasoning behind that?
Probably made the murder easier.
Trying to save battery? Mobile works poorly in mountains.
Airplane mode would save battery. Silent vs loud ringing isn’t a significant battery drain.
Silencing a phone does not save battery.
I’d be curious to hear the other side of the story. The phone on silence is what “police allege”, and mobile coverage maps are often exaggerated for marketing, not to mention being in a big storm could affect service.
It’s possible his phone was not working, and he kept going until he got service.
Look, I don’t live in Austria, I live in Switzerland, but I’m pretty sure it’s similar in our neighbour. The coverage might be true, there aren’t actually a lot of places without basic coverage, keep in mind we are both much smaller counties than the US for example. Him not noticing calls seems to me the more likely (good-faith) reason.
Yeah in altitude I rarely had no coverage. I’m usually offline when you’re between mountains deep in a valley. Also even I that usually don’t go much more than 1400m altitude I have a garmin GPS with the inreach thing with the sos button. It’s because I usually go alone. So just in case
Arctic mountains… unexplored deep caves… diving into oceanic trenches… I feel like if you do any of these things, you are solely responsible if you get hurt or die, and that people do these things because they are so dangerous.
Either she was an experienced climber and made the decision to enter a dangerous, life-threatening situation, or she wasn’t, and he dragged her into it. It seems like everyone is saying she’s the former except these prosecutors who are looking to paint her as a victim, when she had the skill and experience to make that decision, and chose poorly.
Her footwear selection (light snowboarding boots) might indicate she’s on the wrong side of the knowledge curve. Dunning Krueger is a bitch sometimes. But I read elsewhere that her family is standing by him, and I assume there’s a reason for that.
he left her there, his intention of getting rid of her one way or another. on the same post on reddit, people mentioned how he couldve bundled her up, or hid in a place with shelter but he just dumped in her in the middle of the cold and left. he also turned off his phone at some point too.
He also “allowed his girlfriend to use… snowboard soft boots, equipment that is not suitable for a high-altitude tour in mixed terrain”, say prosecutors.
That … is wonderfully placed. I can see the prosecutor saying it, stopping to check notes, and then continuing.
Allowed her to wear? Does he control her wardrobe?
He was considerably more experienced as a climber. And even I could tell you not to go mountain climbing in snowboarding boots.
If I were to take someone mountain climbing I wouldn’t allow them to wear life threatening clothing.
‘Her social media feed suggests she was a keen mountaineer and her mother has told German media that she loved mountain hiking at night.’
He cannot force her to wear anything, but as the experienced climber he can deny the tour/guidance. If you have the skill, but neglect to use them in human fashion, that makes it more than an accident.
Formalizing an outing with a social/romantic partner to the same degree as a professional guide/tour giver is a disastrous precedent to set
Yeah I was wondering about that too, it only makes sense in a context where he’s much much more knowledgeable about mountaineering than her.
If you climb on the back of my motorcycle with a paper hat instead of a helmet, I will not allow you to ride with me
no, but its extremely negligent to not suggest proper boots and gear for the hike. him being an experience hiker/climber should know that. since his intention is likely malicious its more than likely he allowed that.
You can’t charge someone for lack of advice. The woman has responsibility for her own stupid decisions.
Kind of a grey area, though.
If you see someone out picking mushrooms and they pick a poisonous one and you don’t say anything, sure, its not your responsibility.
If you take someone out to pick mushrooms and they pick a poisonous one and you know its poisonous and you let them eat it anyway, that’s criminal.
You can’t argue that someone that hosts free mushrooms hunting tours into dangerous territory and allows a bunch of amatuers to pick and eat deadly mushrooms isn’t liable.
Agreed, but it appears to me that they were equally experienced. He indeed was at risk as well. It appears like a case of unconsciousness and inability to evaluate risk. I brought people picking mushrooms on several occasions and indeed I’d monitor what they’re picking. But if I go with a friend who knows as much as I do it is unlikely I will ask regarding them picking a mushroom I don’t know. I had friends picking mushrooms which are known poisonous and they had their reasons for doing that which were completely valid and did not endanger anyone.
From the article it does not appear that the boy was much more experienced than the girl, it may be incorrectly described in the article as I have not read more information about this. If that is the case I would not see the reason to consider this a crime, as he was not in the conditions to understand the repercussions of those decisions. The fact that he didn’t call for help could indeed be criminal conduct, but it also be that he was under shock and couldn’t handle the situation or that there was no coverage. While this being a crime is understandable, it is probably hard to prove this was a crime.
That’s like driving around with someone that doesn’t use their seatbelt. Yes, it’s stupid not to wear one, but you as the experienced person (the driver) are required to inform and check that everyone is wearing a seatbelt. So yes, you absolutely can charge someone for lack of advice. It’s called negligence.
“Are you really going to wear THAT?” is a question that men learn to never ask.
“Are you sure you don’t want to bring a jacket?” almost never succeeds.
Always keep an extra in the car.
Damn, why did i never think of that. Brilliant.
That tidbit right there takes in a darker direction.
Otherwise, I’d say just leaving someone when you’re both freezing to death is scummy, but understandable.
Fun fact: … is called an ellipsis.
Never understood that name. What’s so elliptical about it?
Etymology: Latin, from Greek elleipsis ellipsis, ellipse, from elleipein to leave out, fall short, from en in + leipein to leave
Oh!
Well that makes sense. Thank you.So an elliptical trajectory is also called that because it “falls short” of a circular one?
ellipse(n.) 1753, from French ellipse (17c.), from Latin ellipsis “ellipse,” also, “a falling short, deficit,” from Greek elleipsis (see ellipsis). So called because the conic section of the cutting plane makes a smaller angle with the base than does the side of the cone, hence, a “falling short.”
https://www.etymonline.com/word/ellipse
Edit: yes
That’s a tough call. Sounds to me that it was reckless to climb the mountain under those conditions but both decided to go ahead. Nevertheless, the reaction of the accused to the emergency is bad. Calling the police and then putting his phone on silent makes little sense. Leaving her to “get help” is of course futile.
Arguably the extreme weather could have altered his mind and he made irrational decisions because of hypoxia. But you take responsibility of the actions you take after you chose to drink alcohol, so I presume atleast to some extent for known and consistent conditions that should have been accounted for you take responsibility for the potential altered mind state.
Yes, I think it’s important to consider how extreme the situation was. You mentioned the external conditions. It’s also fair to say that it’s difficult to do the right thing in an emergency of this magnitude. We know he handled it badly but we’re not freezing on a mountain at midnight with our exhausted girlfriend.
The article states, that they passed a place called Frühstücksplatz, that literally translates to “breakfast point” at 13:30.
To me, that alone would be a red flag. But then again, it was stated, that going for a night climb, was the intent of the trip. And of course a night climb to the Grossglockner in the midst of winter is a reckless ordeal in the first place. That should have been obvious for both of them.
It’s an interesting question who is responsible over another and there are some details in this story, that really make you wonder what was going on there. But not nearly enough detail to judge any of it.
During the court trial, a witness testified that he had essentially done the same thing to her. He took her on excessively difficult hikes with inadequate equipment, then talked her into continuing, only to leave her crying and distressed in the middle of the night on the Grossglockner.
Ye olde question is : did he recently take out a life insurance policy on her?
Snowboard boots…for winter mountain climbing. Scarpa, Mammut, Lowa, etc…Prosecute the dumbfuck.
I misread it as Australia’s highest mountain. Was thinking it would be a bit awkward when you can still see her from the car park…
At one point the article calls her his client but never explicitly states if he was acting in any professional sense or not (it seems not).The case against him seems to mostly be that apparently she had no responsibility for herself?If he was acting in a professional capacity that might hold but otherwise seems flimsy.The article doesn’t call the dead woman the client of her boyfriend, it calls the boyfriend the client of the defence attorney.
Ahh thanks, my bad, misread that.
deleted by creator
Mountaineering is dangerous and expensive.
I don’t have much sympathy for the people that use their excess wealth for thrills while children go without food and education.
I can sort of see your point, but it also sounds a little like “oh you enjoy any hobby or activity not strictly related to your survival? Well fuck you then, there are people starving”.
The original comment has been deleted but I can guess what was said.
People like this have no concept of what being wealthy truly means. They think that people who have a well paying job, some money in the bank, and can afford some nice things, are somehow the 1%.
They’re cooked, and not worth replying to.
Nah. The amount of money being spent coupled with it being dangerous is what leads to my apathy.
It would be different if the money wasted on this venture couldn’t drastically change the life of someone living in poverty, especially children.
How much money was spent?
at least three!
This is honestly something that you should speak to a therapist about.
You are posting this from a computer or smart phone, a device that costs a significant amount of money. You are wasting your leisure time that you have because of your comfortable wealth and status in society to post to an online platform which doesn’t contribute anything to the world. You are richer than most people on the planet. You are wasting the opportunities given to you as a rich person. You could sell your electronic devices and give the money to the poor. You could be volunteering right now helping less fortunate people. Instead you comment on social media that people who are slightly richer than you don’t deserve sympathy for their deaths. People who are actually out in the world living their lives exploring the world and enriching themselves.
Is it really right to be judging someone in this way? In the way that I have just judged you?
From the beginning you dismiss the argument as a mental health problem. This is something a disingenuous asshole does.
Comparing the ridiculous amount of money people waste on mountain climbing to someone’s personal computing device you must have to participate in modern society has to be one of the stupidest nonsensical arguments I have ever seen.
Then, on social media yourself no less, you try to play the morally superior one by pointing out supposed hypocrisy. Weak sauce garbage.
You didn’t judge anything, but you did show you act like a dishonest bullshitter.
I’m not morally superior, I was showing how stupid of an argument it was by making the same argument.
That person’s comment is a mental health issue.
I am an asshole.
Go outside or read a book at least.
Idk what the original post was because it’s deleted by now, but having internet connection doesn’t make you “rich” in 2026. A lot of homeless people have smart phones. A cheap smartphone is a minuscule one-time expense compared to the ongoing costs of food and housing. There are often plenty of sources of free WiFi so you don’t even need to pay a phone bill.
You’re upset that I criticized how wealthy people waste their wealth on vain endeavors while children live in poverty.
No, man. Introspect a little.
No, I said that you should speak to a therapist. You seemed like you are jealous of others and insecure about the impact that you have on the world. Compared to most people on this planet you are almost certainly a wealthy person , or else you wouldn’t have the luxury to be wasting your time making these comments in this place.
Your comments are literally a vain endeavour.
You’re the one who needs a therapist. Look at how upset you’re getting and how much nonsense you need to make up because someone else criticized how wealthy people waste their money.
I’m missing the part where I’m upset 🤣.
You are deep in denial, deflecting and refusing to engage with the things that I wrote. Calling it nonsense rather than reflecting on yourself.
It does not cost me emotional energy to dismantle your argument.
Ok, buddy.
deleted by creator
There is value in exploring hobbies and building skills. For example, during natural disasters in remote areas, people with experience are better suited to go in and help. People with climbing experience might be going down into a collapsed mine to rescue survivors.
Thanks for this. I now feel less guilty about buying a guitar because I could one day use it to soothe the minds of trapped miners.
Yeah, think about that while fingering A minor or picking a G-string.
Don’t fret. When I want to switch to A minor, I keep my finger firmly in place on a very thin nylon G string.
Someone enjoying the outdoors, even if they paid money to do it, is not the cause of poverty. The rich stealing from us is. In a million ways, but the biggest way, viturally unreported, is that since the 1970s the US led the way in changing the way the CPI was calculated, several times, to understate it. It’s averaged 2-3% a year just by 2008 under the new metrics, while the old metric it was 5-8%. The changes were obviously not in good faith, although you all mostly assume it is still.
Giving the benefit of the doubt to these people, seeing where following their lead has brought us, just astounds me, truly an indictment of the population in trusting the wrong people and never admitting they made a mistake in doing so. Tribal loyalties may play a part, even as your tribal leaders have nothing but contempt for you and are turning you into a slave.
But that’s neither here nor there, the inflation understated by some 5% for half a century is compounded, just by 2008 social security checks would’ve been worth 1,300 more a month on average under the old standard.
Our buying power has never been higher, on paper, the economists tell us. As rent, healthcare, energy, drugs, are all obscenely overpriced. Often the costs hidden under employer based systems as with drugs and healthcare, making people think it’s just a problem of the others even as their employers, and themselves, pay more for less to profit parasites that add no value.
We meekly trust the authorities as they’ve for 50 years given us a real pay cut in value, and now even good college requiring jobs don’t pay for what a single minimum wage job could provide back in the 1950s to the 1970s, while the ivy league that runs business and government in all the top positions puts on their suits as the representative of your tribe and blows smoke up your ass about it.
