Grossglockner, mountain in Austria
An amateur climber has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter after his girlfriend froze to death on Austria’s highest peak. He had left her alone while he sought help.
An amateur climber in Austria has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend.
She froze to death near the peak of Grossglockner, the highest peak in Austria, after he left alone to seek help.
The court in the Austrian city of Innsbruck sentenced Thomas P. to five months suspended prison sentence on Thursday and fined him 9400 euros for gross negligence.
The case is unusual because, although climbing accidents are common, legal action against them is rare.
Series of mistakes on the mountain ended with the death of his girlfriend
The court heard how the couple had fallen behind their schedule when climbing the Grossglockner in January 2025.
The woman was exhausted and couldn’t continueabout 50 meters from the summit.
After midnight, Thomas P. left the 33-year-old woman alone to seek help, and she frozen to death in adverse weather conditions, even below the 3798 meter summit.
Prosecutors said the man committed a series of serious errors.
The woman stayed exposed to strong windss, and he did not wrap her in an emergency blanket or sleeping bag, which she had in her backpack.
When asked why he did not do so, he told the court that the situation had been particularly stressful.
In a call to mountain police, Thomas P. also did not make it clear that the couple needed to be rescuedaccording to the court. He then did not answer calls or respond to messages asking if they needed help, police said.
The defendant, aged 37, said that his phone was in airplane mode to save battery.
Liability issue: The risk of being an expedition leader
During the trial, questions arose about the extent of legal liability in high mountains and whether climbers generally explore at your own risk.
In this trial, the prosecution argued that the defendant was, in practice, acting as mountain guide due to their higher level of experience.
This meant he owed a special duty of care.
The presiding judge, Norbert Hofer, an experienced climber, said Thomas P. should have realized that his girlfriend I wouldn’t be able to complete the climb long before they encounter difficulties.
“I don’t see him as a killer. I don’t see him as a cold, calculating person,” Hofer told the defendant as he read his sentence, accepting that Thomas P. had indeed gone to get help. He added, however, that the defendant was a much better climber than his girlfriend, “by a galaxy,” and that she had placed herself in his care.
“What I want to say is I’m really sorry,” Thomas P. told the court.
Around 8400 accidents occur on average every year in the Austrian mountains, resulting in around 250 to 300 deaths, according to the Austrian Alpine Safety Council.
