Why This Climber Let His Girlfriend Freeze to Death

January 18, 2024. Thomas Plamberger hears a faint cry from his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner. He turns to see her on the ground. They are high on the snow-covered peaks of Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain, over 12 thousand feet above sea level, and hours from safety.
Then comes a loud thud. Kerstin’s weak body flinches. The wind howls, biting through her gear and numbing her face until it is hard to feel anything at all. She is completely exhausted, she can’t continue… she can’t even take one more step.

The temperature keeps plunging below freezing. If Thomas wants to save Kerstin, he needs to act quickly. The night is coming fast. He now faces an impossible choice. If he stays, they could both freeze to death. If he leaves to find help, he will abandon her on the mountain. Each choice is worse than the other.

What began as a romantic hike would spiral into tragedy, followed by accusations and unanswered questions. This is the heartbreaking story of a man who walked away, leaving his girlfriend to die alone on a frozen mountain.

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