Austria - Thomas Plamberger leaves gf, Kerstin Gurtner to freeze to death on Austria's tallest mountain - charged with manslaughter - Jan.19/2025

[beubeubeu]

I think she took it out of the car. When the police started calling it, however, either Thomas took it from her or she was really incapacitated to use it. I suspect, the latter but I am not sure.

Would be enough to make sure she has it well hidden during the climb, justified by attempt to keep it safe and not lose it. More likely than not it would be put on silent to save battery and not get distracted. If he kept forcing her to climb all the time and controlled her movement no chance for her to use it without his knowledge. But would she try? That would likely mean going against him - so realizing that hes putting her in danger and its only gonna get worse. And she went there cause she trusted him and believed in his abilities, unlikely that she'd be quick to start doubting him and farther they got, darker it became, harder the climbing was and more vulnerable she was getting, so accessing phone could pretty literally became impossible.

 

[RedHaus]

According to Thomas's timeline he left Kerstin sometime around 2:00 PM. That means he climbed that lat 50 metres seriously fast. Like maybe 15-20 mins tops. That part of the route isnt significantly easier than it is before. And the weather conditions were horrible. If not for the lights.... what is he saying? That 12 hours on the mountain and 1,5 hours spend with Kerstin not moving much made him more energetic?

RS&BBM
I join many others here who are very troubled by the timeline, the most obvious being the apparent 18 hour climb, from 6:45am until 12:35am when TP supposedly called for help; and for TP, a 21 hour climb as he reached the hut by 3:30am.

We (and LE, prosecutors) can document the locations and progress of TP and KG at night, using their head lamps that are seen on the four different CCTV cameras that point towards Grossglockner. But we have no objective verification of their daytime climb.

So could anything in TP's timeline told to LE be false? Did they start later than 6:45am? Other than their phones' or watches' GPS records, what can prove that? Did they reach the Breakfast spot (the Go / No-Go point on that route) later than 1:30pm? Or, could TP have deceived KG as to how much farther they had to go from the Breakfast Spot before to the summit, or before nightfall?

Could TP have left KG earlier than 2:00am, per your analysis that it would almost be near impossible to scale the last 55m in 20 minutes? Could KG have perished earlier than 2am? earlier than 12:35am? and certainly earlier than then when "last sign of life" was "seen" from a distance? Per an OP, could TP have deceived CCTV with the headlamps - leave two behind to appear as one?.

But I just can't get past that we have time stamps of when TP's headlamp appeared heading down the slope towards the hut.

This many be a nothing burger line of questioning, but I thought it was worth flushing out a bit more.

Did TP lie about anything re: the timeline to LE or to KG?

ET: fix grammar

 

[planet]

Hello all. Older member but my account is defunct. I've created this new one.

I'm following this case closely. I've read the English translations of media reports, NA media coverage, the various Reddit threads, some climbing/moutaineering site posts, and FB posts.

I am a hiker and kayaker, not an alpinist or mountaineer. I'm also a scientist, for what it's worth. Some thoughts:

1. I agree w/ RedHaus that TP's timeline is off. We don't know what happened, of course, but a climb that long in cold weather and high winds would have exhausted anyone before summitting. I suspect he left KG earlier than he claims he did.

2. I suspect that KG was either dead or close to death when he left her. That to me is the only explanation for why he didn't attempt to move her to a more protected location, wrap her in a thermal blanket, and cover her in a bivvy sac. Why would he waste precious minutes and energy doing this if she was already dead? He needed to get himself off the mountain to safety.

3. What challenges this hypothesis is one media report stating she was still showing signs of life at 5:10AM. But how is this even possible? No one was with her at that time, and the rescue team did not arrive until after 10AM. Unless there is clear evidence that KG was still alive at 5:10 AM, my assumption is that she was dead when TP left her. This is an evidence gap that needs to be closed.

4. Which brings me to the hypothesis that this was intentional homicide. While I tend to nod my head in agreement, there are a couple of things that make it very challenging to believe this. One, why go to such extreme lengths to kill her? There are much easier ways to kill a girlfriend or a spouse, both on and off the mountain. On the mountain, he could have pushed her off an edge by pretending to stabilize her and show her how to move her weight with the splitboard. They climbed mountains frequently, and there were many other opportunities to harm her. Two, he put himself in harm's way.This was a strenuous, exhausting climb. I'm guessing he was close to hypothermic. I find it quite incredible that summitted and descended, alive. If he wanted to kill her, why risk his own death? Narcissists usually don't do this.

5. More likely, I think that either (1) the idea of deliberately abandoning her--meaning, consigning her to die--grew over the course of the trip or after a series of arguments during the climb but it was a compulsion not present when they set out, or (2) he was spiteful and immature and abandoned her in the heat of the moment, likely knowing he was consigning her to her death, but not really believing it or intending it. How many times have each of us walked away in exasperation from someone while out together ("why can't you keep up?"), not intending to abandon them or to rupture the friendship, but in fact, doing exactly that? Exasperation, spite, and anger are a potent set of emotions that cause us to act rashly.

The truth of what happened is likely to be complicated. It is possible, as others have suggested, that he set her up to fail, or to test her, or to show his superiority on the mountain and humiliate her, and the situation rapidly escalated/deteriorated. Or perhaps the circumstances and dynamic presented him with the novel (previously unconsidered) opportunity to abandon her to her death and be done with an annoying relationship. I think either explanation is plausible if she was turning out to be an extremely strong climber and he was threatened by her skill. Of course, I am making some assumptions about motive.

There is absolutely no doubt that he was negligent in not telling her to change her boots and leave the splitboard behind. That he didn't strongly suggests that he was trying to humiliate, test, or harm her and not simply that he was an idiot or had suddenly forgotten what the climb was like. I will say, and it is not a popular position, that she had responsibility herself for doing her homework on the climb, the length of time, the appropriate season to climb (not January), and gear to bring. It does not take much Googling to learn that no one climbs this mountain in January. Of course, we know that female trust in men has led to them to their deaths, relentlessly. And perhaps, it was KG who insisted on this climb, TP tried to discourage her but failed, and so he reluctantly accompanied her on a high-risk venture.

I think we'll have to wait for the trial to have further insight into his character, his past behavior with other girlfriends, and a more accurate timeline.

 

[beubeubeu]

RS&BBM
I join many others here who are very troubled by the timeline, the most obvious being the apparent 18 hour climb, from 6:45am until 12:35am when TP supposedly called for help; and for TP, a 21 hour climb as he reached the hut by 3:30am.

What really makes this timelime troubling is his claim that it went somewhat okay.
Cause like realistically, that 6:45-13:30 for Kals-Fruhs is pretty decent timing for Winter. Good one but plausible.

But then we have this:

Maybe they havent left the Breakfast spot at 13:30 but rested for a bit, maybe 15 mins, maybe 20.
That part of route in green circle is the distance they made till 18:10.

So either they started at 13:30 - and it took them 4 hours 40 minutes.
Or they started even later, at maybe 13:50 - and it took them about 4 hours 20 minutes.

Star is where the very characteristic and unique part of the route is. Like youre not gonna mistake it for anything else even if visibility is less than 1m.
Judging by their later progress - no way they got to that spot before sundown.
So what was he doing exactly then? Nevermind timing. NO timing justifies going up anywhere "up" as they havent passed that spot at 15:00 with sundown at 16:49. And even that its stretched as hell.
Ive tried to understand that but at the end it just doesnt matter. They could be at Fruh at 11:00 AM or even 9:00AM (as they should) - it would still be against any voice of reason to keep going and not call for help as they havent got to the star at 14:00. 15:00 at the absolute worst.
Like no matter which way you theorize that Fruh timing may be off - if they were there much earlier and route was so bad it took them forever to climb THEY SHOULD TRY TO TURN BACK OR CALL FOR HELP. If they were there much later, THEY SHOULD TRY TO TURN BACK OR CALL FOR HELP.

We (and LE, prosecutors) can document the locations and progress of TP and KG at night, using their head lamps that are seen on the four different CCTV cameras that point towards Grossglockner. But we have no objective verification of their daytime climb.

So could anything in TP's timeline told to LE be false?

Yes of course it could.
Lights seem to support his timeline when they could support it.

Did they start later than 6:45am? Other than their phones' or watches' GPS records, what can prove that? Did they reach the Breakfast spot (the Go / No-Go point on that route) later than 1:30pm?

Surveillance in Kals can verify that.
I tried to find a car that showed up at any parking there sometime around 6:30, some do. LE should have access to better surveillance & they know where exactly that car was parked.

Or, could TP have deceived KG as to how much farther they had to go from the Breakfast Spot before to the summit, or before nightfall?

Absolutely. 100% yes.
He wouldnt deceive me. Now. As I stared so much at these rocks and pics and vids. No way he would convince me that were almost at the summit as we would be at 3650m.
But like bit over a week ago most likely yes. And even then I was doing it obsessively for hours. Still kept getting lost at times while looking at the pics. Doing so from a comfy chair.
I cant imagine Kerstin analysing everything so much to be able to tell. While climbing youre not able to tell.
... unless you have that thing that I forgot how its called that tells you on what height you currently are. But I doubt she had that. No need for it with climbs she did before.

Could TP have left KG earlier than 2:00am

Yes.

per your analysis that it would almost be near impossible to scale the last 55m in 20 minutes?

For a pretty decent, moderately experienced climber... after that whole ordeal - near impossible.
For very decent, very experienced climber who knows that route and has full mental capacity to think what hes doing - possible.

He's lying. He's 100% lying while trying to paint yourself as oh, just slightly more experienced than Kerstin. But just the fact that he did it and survived that proves that he's lying.
If it took him longer than that - he's lying about the timeline.
If he did it in the time he claims he did it - he's as you said sometime earlier, a BEAST of an alpinist and he wasnt confused, frozen, exhausted or unable to make appropriate decisions. Cause if he was, he would die there.

And they know that exactly cause they had rescuers climbig that in same circumstances as he did + daylight. And they werent doing it alone.

Could KG have perished earlier than 2am? earlier than 12:35am? and certainly earlier than then when "last sign of life" was "seen" from a distance? Per an OP, could TP have deceived CCTV with the headlamps - leave two behind to appear as one?.

I dont think she was dead at 12:35.
Messing with headlamps - I cant tell. Hard to get a grasp on something so strange.
I would say no, cause from where could he get that knowledge when to mess with the lamps? People are not climbing Gross after dark. All that clicking found me a few climbers who were bit late and did last parts of descend after dark. He'd have to do some serious next level analysis to pull something like that off - with no guarantee that another heli wont show up randomly as it once did. Unless he did that before and watched himself on cctv. But even then that's too much sophistication with not much to gain.

But I just can't get past that we have time stamps of when TP's headlamp appeared heading down the slope towards the hut.

There are two or three time stamps from his descent.
And it kinda fits his timeline, but thats beast of a climber timeline.
And that timeline still could be off, theoretically.
But if he had fully functioning garmin watch on, they know exactly when he went back to climbing.

Did TP lie about anything re: the timeline to LE or to KG?

100% yes to both.
Kerstin would have to completely lose her mind to keep going while knowing how much time its gonna take. Possible, of course. But only more incriminating for him if she did.
Cause either she didnt lose her mind and consciously "urged him to go" as he claims... but oh wait, how did she end up there WITH her splitboard still on if she was thinking clearly?
Or she wasnt, and he did nothing to help her. Not only barely tried to save her but kept making sure she will most likely die there.
So - which one of the two?
Third option of him being unable to think clearly got ruled out by Thomas himself cause he climbed up and descended unharmed.

And hes lying to LE cause he claims that he hasnt tried to alert the heli cause they were still able to climb. Long list of options here with timelines that vary all over the place - none of which is gonna support the claim that this expedition appeared okay timewise at literally any point of it.
Seriously, none. So, to the very least he's lying about that.

 

[georgiajean]

Hello all. Older member but my account is defunct. I've created this new one.

I'm following this case closely. I've read the English translations of media reports, NA media coverage, the various Reddit threads, some climbing/moutaineering site posts, and FB posts.

I am a hiker and kayaker, not an alpinist or mountaineer. I'm also a scientist, for what it's worth. Some thoughts:

1. I agree w/ RedHaus that TP's timeline is off. We don't know what happened, of course, but a climb that long in cold weather and high winds would have exhausted anyone before summitting. I suspect he left KG earlier than he claims he did.

2. I suspect that KG was either dead or close to death when he left her. That to me is the only explanation for why he didn't attempt to move her to a more protected location, wrap her in a thermal blanket, and cover her in a bivvy sac. Why would he waste precious minutes and energy doing this if she was already dead? He needed to get himself off the mountain to safety.

3. What challenges this hypothesis is one media report stating she was still showing signs of life at 5:10AM. But how is this even possible? No one was with her at that time, and the rescue team did not arrive until after 10AM. Unless there is clear evidence that KG was still alive at 5:10 AM, my assumption is that she was dead when TP left her. This is an evidence gap that needs to be closed.

4. Which brings me to the hypothesis that this was intentional homicide. While I tend to nod my head in agreement, there are a couple of things that make it very challenging to believe this. One, why go to such extreme lengths to kill her? There are much easier ways to kill a girlfriend or a spouse, both on and off the mountain. On the mountain, he could have pushed her off an edge by pretending to stabilize her and show her how to move her weight with the splitboard. They climbed mountains frequently, and there were many other opportunities to harm her. Two, he put himself in harm's way.This was a strenuous, exhausting climb. I'm guessing he was close to hypothermic. I find it quite incredible that summitted and descended, alive. If he wanted to kill her, why risk his own death? Narcissists usually don't do this.

5. More likely, I think that either (1) the idea of deliberately abandoning her--meaning, consigning her to die--grew over the course of the trip or after a series of arguments during the climb but it was a compulsion not present when they set out, or (2) he was spiteful and immature and abandoned her in the heat of the moment, likely knowing he was consigning her to her death, but not really believing it or intending it. How many times have each of us walked away in exasperation from someone while out together ("why can't you keep up?"), not intending to abandon them or to rupture the friendship, but in fact, doing exactly that? Exasperation, spite, and anger are a potent set of emotions that cause us to act rashly.

The truth of what happened is likely to be complicated. It is possible, as others have suggested, that he set her up to fail, or to test her, or to show his superiority on the mountain and humiliate her, and the situation rapidly escalated/deteriorated. Or perhaps the circumstances and dynamic presented him with the novel (previously unconsidered) opportunity to abandon her to her death and be done with an annoying relationship. I think either explanation is plausible if she was turning out to be an extremely strong climber and he was threatened by her skill. Of course, I am making some assumptions about motive.

There is absolutely no doubt that he was negligent in not telling her to change her boots and leave the splitboard behind. That he didn't strongly suggests that he was trying to humiliate, test, or harm her and not simply that he was an idiot or had suddenly forgotten what the climb was like. I will say, and it is not a popular position, that she had responsibility herself for doing her homework on the climb, the length of time, the appropriate season to climb (not January), and gear to bring. It does not take much Googling to learn that no one climbs this mountain in January. Of course, we know that female trust in men has led to them to their deaths, relentlessly. And perhaps, it was KG who insisted on this climb, TP tried to discourage her but failed, and so he reluctantly accompanied her on a high-risk venture.

I think we'll have to wait for the trial to have further insight into his character, his past behavior with other girlfriends, and a more accurate timeline.

Thank you for adding your thoughts here. You bring up some good points. My hope is that there are many witnesses who will be called to the trial to illuminate what happened and who both Kerstin and TP were, as individuals and together.

I agree with your point about researching in advance. I can't imagine that Kerstin didn't, because she was an accomplished outdoor enthusiast who did lots of different and challenging activities. She wasn't naive or stupid. Which then makes it very hard to understand why she went along with what they did. I wonder, did they plan to go the Normal route, and then as they were climbing up to the Studlehut they changed plans? Somehow the idea of doing a more challenging route appealed? If so, why didn't she leave her split board to pick up later?

As posted upthread by Beubeubeu, there was not enough snow to really need skis/splitboard, so maybe that played into their decision?

And I just reminded myself that the only information we have about the planning of this trip is from TP. (It is possible that the authorities know more about her plans/intentions?) We have no idea what Kerstin actually signed up for. My guess is she didn't know until it was too late to turn back (post the Breakfast Spot).

 

[beubeubeu]

2. I suspect that KG was either dead or close to death when he left her. That to me is the only explanation for why he didn't attempt to move her to a more protected location, wrap her in a thermal blanket, and cover her in a bivvy sac. Why would he waste precious minutes and energy doing this if she was already dead? He needed to get himself off the mountain to safety.

Hello and thank you for the great post. Since my obsession with this isnt going away I cant resist to reply.

But they almost 100% kept moving after 0:00. At midnight they were below the spot she was found at. Not much of a chance to drag her there unconscious without bruising her. So she had to be alive at least very close to that call.
Whenever she actually died - she was with him and he hasnt covered her before. Question: why? remains. People are not dying from hypothermia in blink of an eye. Perfectly fine one sec, dead another.

3. What challenges this hypothesis is one media report stating she was still showing signs of life at 5:10AM. But how is this even possible? No one was with her at that time, and the rescue team did not arrive until after 10AM. Unless there is clear evidence that KG was still alive at 5:10 AM, my assumption is that she was dead when TP left her. This is an evidence gap that needs to be closed.

5:10 AM? Heli flew over there and was above her at 7:10 AM.

4. Which brings me to the hypothesis that this was intentional homicide. While I tend to nod my head in agreement, there are a couple of things that make it very challenging to believe this. One, why go to such extreme lengths to kill her? There are much easier ways to kill a girlfriend or a spouse, both on and off the mountain. On the mountain, he could have pushed her off an edge by pretending to stabilize her and show her how to move her weight with the splitboard. They climbed mountains frequently, and there were many other opportunities to harm her. Two, he put himself in harm's way.This was a strenuous, exhausting climb. I'm guessing he was close to hypothermic. I find it quite incredible that summitted and descended, alive. If he wanted to kill her, why risk his own death? Narcissists usually don't do this.

People arent really dying on the mountains they climbed together at times they were there. If that happened to her, it'd be cause of his mistake.

I will say, and it is not a popular position, that she had responsibility herself for doing her homework on the climb, the length of time, the appropriate season to climb (not January), and gear to bring. It does not take much Googling to learn that no one climbs this mountain in January. Of course, we know that female trust in men has led to them to their deaths, relentlessly. And perhaps, it was KG who insisted on this climb, TP tried to discourage her but failed, and so he reluctantly accompanied her on a high-risk venture.

People do climb that mountain in January.
People do climb that mountain every month of the year.
In winter most (almost all) do that via normal route but some dont.
Ive found pics from people who climbed Studlgrat in January.
And even on the 18th of January theyre people who were climbing Gross via Nordgrad which is even more extreme than Studl.
And guess who (whos name starts with letter T and ends with a letter S) climbed Gross via Studl in early February?
And guess who (same hint as above) climbed Gross climbed Gross via normal route in March and used ski on his way back.

ET. And her only sure winter climb experience was with Dachstein. Which is not significantly harder to climb with snow than without. Studlgrat is very challenging in summer months, can turn into hell in winter.

Two weeks ago quick googling told me thats "rather easy" climb or something like that.
I can click 2-3 websites and find no emphasis on the dangers of climbing Studl in Winter. Some are so "smart" that they assume that climbing Gross means that person wants to go via normal route and say literally nothing about other ones.

Oh, and about the lenght of time. They were pretty well in time as they allegedly were at Fruh's at 13:30. If anything, they were even faster than the online estimates of moderate speed. Then it say its about three hours to summit. While on the route you dont see where the summit is.
She might as well do her homework about it pretty decently and still end up there.

 

[georgiajean]

This is a helpful read about hypothermia, in conjunction with this case. https://www.ndtv.com/health/hypothe...cold-exposure-really-does-to-the-body-9770207

Risk factors include:

• Exhaustion (which reduces body heat production)
• Dehydration
• Wet clothes
• Inadequate clothing or gear
• Being in a windy, cold, icy environment

In mountaineering or high-altitude climbing, like the fatal Grossglockner attempt, the combination of sub-zero temperatures, strong winds, delayed rescue, and inadequate insulation can prove lethal.

Because the decline can be gradual and disorienting, victims may not realize how dangerously cold they are, losing the ability to make rational choices, seek shelter or call for help. This silent progression makes hypothermia particularly insidious, especially during long climbs or in remote, windy and cold environments.

 

[Ghostwheel]

I have a couple of questions. Is phone coverage 100% and 100% of the time for all phones/brands on that mtn? I go traveling with my friend. One place I have coverage. .25 miles down the road or up a hill I don't, but she does. And when I don't have coverage, my phone drains like no one's business. I keep mine on energy saving mode, which is silent, so I get more life out of it. Did either phone run out of power?

Second question. Have we seen Thomas' statement, the whole thing? Like where he said he left her without cover? Or maybe he left her and she said she'd said she'd get herself covered? Or he had covered her and the cover blew away (because they can if someone is freezing and feels hot and uncovers themselves)

If there was some kind of sign of life at 5:10am, did she have an apple watch or the like? Is that in an article anywhere?

Is it possible this was her trip? Her idea? He might have told her snow boots and split board bad and she was going to do it anyway? That when she was getting tired or close to exhaustion, she figured she'd just "push through it" and he didn't notice until it was too late? I haven't seen anything that makes that not possible. If someone insists they will continue without the other person, what are the choices? Call for emergency help when there is not yet an emergency? Postulating an alternative scenario. I've known people like that. Do stupid things and no one can stop them. Does anything 100% rule this out?

I'm trying to sort this in my mind. Some things are missing.

 

[georgiajean]

I just realized that the time frame that is being put out by the prosecution is the timeframe we can likely count on. This timeframe is based on all the evidence they collected, including the phones and smart watches they wore. From this article: Autriche : accusé d’avoir laissé sa compagne mourir seule en montagne, un guide expérimenté arrêté

He left her around 2 am. That means it took him about 90 min. to reach the Hutt.

 

[georgiajean]

From Austrian news source. June 2025 Tod am Großglockner: Überlebender bricht sein Schweigen | Heute.at

A detail in the forensic doctor's report makes people sit up and take notice: The deceased had apparently suffered from a viral infection in the lungs. The anti-inflammatory agent ibuprofen was detected in her blood - her partner claims to have known nothing about it.

 

[beubeubeu]

I just realized that the time frame that is being put out by the prosecution is the timeframe we can likely count on. This timeframe is based on all the evidence they collected, including the phones and smart watches they wore. From this article: Autriche : accusé d’avoir laissé sa compagne mourir seule en montagne, un guide expérimenté arrêté

He left her around 2 am. That means it took him about 90 min. to reach the Hutt.

View attachment 632872

Jesus Christ. If they state that she was disoriented, they must have something more than their educated guess, as a thing that comes somewhat naturally due to hypothermia.

 

[beubeubeu]

If someone insists they will continue without the other person, what are the choices? Call for emergency help when there is not yet an emergency?

If that "continue" means trying to climb alone, in bad boots, on snowy, icy, windy, III+, long route on a mountain they dont know, going straight into the darkness of night than how on Earth its not an emergency yet?
That would 100% BE an emergency. What are you talking about?
Like hearing that someone is gonna kill themselves by jumping off bridge will become an emergency only as we join them and make sure that theyre actually jumped off that bridge?

 

[georgiajean]

Jesus Christ. If they state that she was disoriented, they must have something more than their educated guess, as a thing that comes somewhat naturally due to hypothermia.

Agreed. In order to charge him, they have a lot more than we can know!

 

[RedHaus]

5:10 AM? Heli flew over there and was above her at 7:10 AM.

I'm with @planet recalling that it was reported KG exhibited "signs of life" at 5:10am.... I think it came from that Climbers.com article we digested ^^. And I believe that sighting was from a CCTV camera... something along the line of the single head lamp fading, perhaps synonymous with KG's life fading. But IIRC, that sighting had more to do with movement by KG, not just a fading lamp.

Later we saw reference to the last "sign of life" from your research, @beubeubeu, at 7:10am? That I think was a helicopter sighting as you've reported. All that said, what defines "sign of life" from a helicopter doing surveillance before a ground recovery or from a CCTV far away? Could wind move a limp limb or ruffle an outer garment that looks like life? Or are they the same sighting just with a time zone difference in reporting?

Whether at 5:10am or 7:10am I am dubious about those "signs of life". Once again, I'm hoping the ME can narrow down a time frame for KG's TOD.

 

[RedHaus]

I just realized that the time frame that is being put out by the prosecution is the timeframe we can likely count on. This timeframe is based on all the evidence they collected, including the phones and smart watches they wore. From this article: Autriche : accusé d’avoir laissé sa compagne mourir seule en montagne, un guide expérimenté arrêté

He left her around 2 am. That means it took him about 90 min. to reach the Hutt.

RSBM
From this 'new' article you found, thank you!, this segment got my attention.

"It wasn't until 1:30 a.m. that he alerted mountain rescue services, before putting his phone on silent. About half an hour later, he left his partner to die on the icy mountain, forgetting, according to the prosecutor, to cover her with the available emergency blankets." [emphasis by me]

> 1 30am, not 12:35am, TP alerted rescue?

> TP FORGOT to wrap KG in blankets?

IMO, the prosecutors may have a lot more evidence about what really happened on Glossglockner 18-19/1/2025 than we will ever be privy to. But clearly, they don't have enough to pursue murder charges.

 

[Ghostwheel]

If that "continue" means trying to climb alone, in bad boots, on snowy, icy, windy, III+, long route on a mountain they dont know, going straight into the darkness of night than how on Earth its not an emergency yet?
That would 100% BE an emergency. What are you talking about?
Like hearing that someone is gonna kill themselves by jumping off bridge will become an emergency only as we join them and make sure that theyre actually jumped off that bridge?

No, it's like someone hiking up a mountain and they are PERFECTLY fine until they get to a point where they aren't. Unless you are saying that he could physically stop her from going when she said she was perfectly fine if he wanted to but then in the US, that would be assault. I don't know if it would be assault in Austria.

Maybe to a seasoned winter Austrian mtn climber how she was outfitted made no sense. And yet she got how far dressed like that? It couldn't have been too wrong if she made it all that way, but maybe just wrong enough and she thought she was good. And if she was doing fine, he thought she was good enough. Until she wasn't.

So, if a girlfriend were to say, "I'm going with or without you", would the boyfriend say "See ya." Or might he go if he could not convince her to turn around if HE thought it too dangerous, but she appeared just fine? Unless we have a full statement, we cannot possibly know. So that is an open possibility to me until I find something that says "Nope, not possible". That is what I am looking for.

I'm not saying he wasn't negligent or was. I don't have enough information to say. I traveled with five emergency blankets. If I left someone wrapped in three and returned with two and for whatever reason the blankets were no longer with the person I left, It would look like I didn't use any unless you know I traveled with five. That is what I mean about missing information.

 

[RedHaus]

If I left someone wrapped in three and returned with two and for whatever reason the blankets were no longer with the person I left, It would look like I didn't use any unless you know I traveled with five. That is what I mean about missing information.

RSBM
Oh, rest assured that is not missing information.

Article after article and interview after interview with alpine experts familiar with the case, posted across these 20 pages, cite a consistent fact: TP and KG had Emergency Thermal Blankets AND a Bivvy Wrap that were NOT deployed to save KG. Further, some reporting states TP took that equipment with him when he left KG.

 

[beubeubeu]

Later we saw reference to the last "sign of life" from your research, @beubeubeu, at 7:10am?

Yeah, it was in one of the articles as the info still was all around the place and it striked me as very odd that they could observe some faint/subtle/slight (I dont remember the words) signs of life but it was added that it was observed by someone.
Makes so much more sense if it was data from her watch.

 

[Charlot123]

I have a couple of questions. Is phone coverage 100% and 100% of the time for all phones/brands on that mtn? I go traveling with my friend. One place I have coverage. .25 miles down the road or up a hill I don't, but she does. And when I don't have coverage, my phone drains like no one's business. I keep mine on energy saving mode, which is silent, so I get more life out of it. Did either phone run out of power?

Second question. Have we seen Thomas' statement, the whole thing? Like where he said he left her without cover? Or maybe he left her and she said she'd said she'd get herself covered? Or he had covered her and the cover blew away (because they can if someone is freezing and feels hot and uncovers themselves)

If there was some kind of sign of life at 5:10am, did she have an apple watch or the like? Is that in an article anywhere?

Is it possible this was her trip? Her idea? He might have told her snow boots and split board bad and she was going to do it anyway? That when she was getting tired or close to exhaustion, she figured she'd just "push through it" and he didn't notice until it was too late? I haven't seen anything that makes that not possible. If someone insists they will continue without the other person, what are the choices? Call for emergency help when there is not yet an emergency? Postulating an alternative scenario. I've known people like that. Do stupid things and no one can stop them. Does anything 100% rule this out?

I'm trying to sort this in my mind. Some things are missing.

Yes, a lot of things are missing or make no sense.

And the split board that @beubeubeu has mentioned is on my mind, too.

Has anyone toyed with the idea that initially:

Either they planned to go elsewhere or

Kerstin thought they were going elsewhere?

A smaller mountain with a (track?piste?) for skiing?

That could explain her skateboarding boots, and dressed not up for the weather, and no emergency kit. It is as if they were going to a well-known place where Thomas could climb and she, ski? Or climb a tad and ski but other people do it there, too?

And then, either the parking is the same for a few mountains or he saw that the weather was good and decided to climb Grossglockner or maybe he planned from the morning but she didn’t know?

“Look, I’ve been here 20 times, it’s a great day, let’s do it!”

Is it possible?

 

[georgiajean]

Yeah, it was in one of the articles as the info still was all around the place and it striked me as very odd that they could observe some faint/subtle/slight (I dont remember the words) signs of life but it was added that it was observed by someone.
Makes so much more sense if it was data from her watch.

I searched the articles, and all I could find was a reference to the rescue crew had signs of life when they went up that morning (no actual time given) but they could not land close to her, had to deploy crew onto the glacier area so they could hike up. They reached her after 10 am, and there was reference that it took them 5 hours to get to her. So I think that is where the "5 am" time came from. But I have not found the actual time.