Prosecutors have alleged Plamberger left Gurtner “unprotected” to go for help around 2 am, but did not use the available emergency blankets or bivouac sack to protect her from the cold.

Friends and family have established an online memorial page for Gurtner.

The 33-year-old Austrian woman who froze to death on the Grossglockner mountain after being allegedly abandoned by her  mountaineer boyfriend has been identified as Kerstin Gurtner, New York Post reported. She was a Salzburg native who described herself on social media as a “winter child” and a “mountain person”. In January this year, Gurtner was on an ascent of the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest peak, with boyfriend Thomas Plamberger, 39, who was an experienced guide.

What happened?

The couple started the climb two hours later than planned and encountered extreme conditions, including temperatures as low as -20°C and hurricane-force winds. Gurtner became exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented just 150 feet below the summit.

Prosecutors have alleged Plamberger left Gurtner “unprotected” to go for help around 2 am, but did not use the available emergency blankets or bivouac sack to protect her from the cold. He reportedly waited hours to contact rescue services and put his phone on silent after the first call, missing further attempts to reach him. Webcam images captured only one headtorch moving away from the summit hours later.

Rescue teams were unable to reach Gurtner until the next morning due to the high winds, when she was found dead. Plamberger has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence and faces up to three years in prison if convicted. His lawyer maintains it was a “tragic, fateful accident”.

“At approximately 2:00 a.m., the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Grossglockner. The woman froze to death. 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,” a statement from the Innsbruck public prosecutor’s office said.

The case is scheduled to be heard at the Innsbruck Regional Court on February 19, 2026.

Tributes for Kerstin Gurtner

Friends and family have established an online memorial page for Gurtner, where hundreds of tributes have been left, expressing deep shock and sadness. Tributes remembered her as a “wonderful” woman, a “beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law, godmother, granddaughter, partner and friend”. The family requested those visiting the page to “refrain from accusations and assumptions”

“Deeply saddened to learn of this death, I wish to express my condolences. Impossible to find the right words, I send you, though we do not know each other, a heartfelt hug and the hope that the merciful Lord has prepared a wonderful and especially beautiful place for your dear Kerstin in heaven,” one tribute read.