An experienced mountaineer has been convicted of gross negligent manslaughter after leaving his girlfriend to perish from the cold at the summit of Austria’s tallest mountain. Despite the conviction, he will not face immediate imprisonment.
Thomas Plamberger, aged 37, received a five-month suspended sentence and was fined $11,300. This verdict came after a one-day trial on Thursday concerning the tragic death of his 33-year-old girlfriend, Kerstin Gutner.
The incident occurred when Plamberger, who is well-versed in climbing, led Gutner on a challenging ascent of Grossglockner in January of the previous year. He left her just 164 feet below the mountain’s 12,460-foot peak amidst harsh conditions.
Gutner succumbed to hypothermia as Plamberger made his way to safety, later asserting that she had urged him to go ahead for help.
Judge Norbert Hofer clarified that Plamberger did not intentionally abandon his girlfriend. He highlighted the vast difference in their climbing experience, stating that Plamberger’s skills were “galaxies” ahead of Gutner’s. The judge also criticized Plamberger for inadequate preparation and misjudgment of the climbing conditions.
“I don’t see you as a murderer or a cold-hearted man,” Judge Hofer remarked, referencing public opinion on social media. “I see you as someone who ultimately tried to seek help and support his girlfriend.”
Plamberger failed to take his “leadership responsibility,” the judge said, noting that Gutner would have survived “if the appropriate measures had been taken, such as turning back or placing an emergency call for help earlier.
The mountaineer told the court he was “endlessly sorry” and said they planned all their trips together.
Plamberger’s defense attorney maintained he only left Gutner alone after she told him to “go” when she was too exhausted to continue that night, when temperatures plummeted to -17 amid 45 mile per hour wind gusts.
He argued that he himself had no formal Alpine training and said Gutner had about as much knowledge of mountain climbing as he did.
She had been in good condition when a police helicopter flew by hours before he abandoned her before her condition suddenly deteriorated rapidly, he said.
Plamberger was facing a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
The verdict can be appealed.
With Post Wires
