Article by Oana Duşmănescu – Published Friday, February 20, 2026, 11:58 / Updated Friday, February 20, 2026 11:59
The court in Innsbruck sentenced the Austrian citizen Thomas P. to 5 months of suspended prison and a fine of 9,400 euros for the death of the woman identified as Kerstin G. What actually happened in a case that made the rounds of the media in Europe?
The 33-year-old woman and her boyfriend, now 37, had climbed the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain, in January 2025. The woman, completely exhausted, died during the night from the freezing wind just below the 3,798-meter peak, while the man turned around and tried to call for help. But the case has more facets than that.
“All of a sudden, it was gone. It was midnight, my headlamp went out, I was at my wits end”
The prosecutor accused the man of leaving his partner “unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic and disoriented” just below the 3,798-meter peak during the night. Thomas P. was accused of poorly planning the climb and having inadequate equipment, and the fact that rescue services were alerted far too late in the night.
According to Der Spiegel, a former girlfriend of the defendant testified that he had left her alone on another occasion on another route on the Grossglockner because she was going too hard and because the two had argued about the route. “Then all of a sudden it was gone,” she said. “It was midnight, my headlamp went out, I was at the end of my strength,” the witness said.
Why didn't he even cover her with the emergency blanket?
On the other hand, the amateur mountaineer pleaded not guilty and told the court that he was “deeply sorry” for the death of his girlfriend and that the ascent was “very stressful”. His lawyer described the incident as a “tragic accident”.
Thomas admitted that he left Kerstin G. on a ridge exposed to strong winds to go get help. He could not explain why he did not wrap her in either the emergency blanket she had with her or a sleeping bag. When her body was later recovered, this equipment was found in her backpack.
The accused, a climber with much more experience on the mountain than his deceased girlfriend, received a five-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay a fine of 9,400 euros, although the offense of gross negligence is punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
Judge Norbert Hofer, himself an experienced climber, ruled that the accused was negligent because he should have realized much earlier that his partner would not be able to complete the ascent. “I don't consider you a criminal. I don't consider you a heartless man,” he told her when the verdict was read.
The case may change the rules
Guadian notes that the trial, which lasted just one day at the court in Innsbruck, western Austria, captured the attention of the international climbing community as an extremely rare case of prosecution following a mountain accident. Experts believe that this case sets a precedent and will influence international liability standards in mountain sports from now on.
