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

[beubeubeu]

It would be very strange if Kerstin hasnt used her phone at all IF she had it on her.
One of the sources claimed that heli at 7:10 saw faint or slight (hovewer it was phrased) signs of life, which may or may not be accurate.

Oh, and arent we conveniently for Thomas all forgetting that it was mentioned in at least two (I have memory but I dont have receipts) that Thomas works in healthcare?
Nursing home was mentioned? Or something like that.
Also first aid courses are mandatory to get even a drivers licence in Austria (I just recalled that they generally are in Europe and checked).

Lookin great. Just awesome. I dont know how this guy could possibly give me more rage strokes, but Im sure he will if/as more will come out.

Hes no random dude who just happened to climb slight more than Kerstin who seem to do just few climbs.
And hes not only experienced climber but hes highely experienced climber.
And not only that, hes highely experienced with this specific mountain.
He changed details in his story.
He lied.
And hes no random dude who worked as a clerk, waiter, programmer or cook so it might happened to be that he never witnessed a person in medical emergency and could understandably freak out or make an unfortunate decisions.
People who work in healthcare, childcare, nursing care are either changing the way of their career to something less demanding or, almost all able to endure immense pressure and are not losing their sanity over extreme circumstances cause they're experiencing it every day.

Any of these decisions he've made could be explained in so many ways. Even a combo of a few could be explained.
But all that combined, the totality of this quit suggesting me ill will. Now it screams murder.

 

[ex-stat]

The more I read about this the more I'm shocked at his negligence. Re the phone calls, I don't understand why on earth someone wouldn't phone back after half an hour, an hour, if no rescue had showed up in such a dire situation. Or even phoning before he left her to get an update. The first thing I'd do in this situation having contact with rescue is to put my phone on the loudest setting possible (outdoor setting) in order not to miss calls, not put it on silent which seems nuts.

- Also when leaving someone, I would put them in the available pouch they had, wrap them in the blanket, take off their backpack and snow skies and try to shelter them as much as possible from the wind.

- The lack of phone calls is truly crazy. This was obviously a severe emergency situation - the extreme weather, at night, and the fact she could not walk/move any further, being trapped in the place that they were for that length of time. It's inconceivable to think that during this he didn't phone for a few hours when he must've known just how bad the situation was. I would've phoned before I left her, stressed just how bad the situation was, and checked for updates. Not put my phone on silent which just is insane given the situation. Why on earth would you do that?

- The timeline is just horrible. So many missed opportunities to get help.

- I wonder if he was angry with his climb being affected/interrupted and that influenced his decisions. A kind of stubborn anger.

- I can't imagine leaving someone alone in the dark in those conditions in that state. He sounds ultra experienced so surely he would've recognised the gravity of the situation and the potential risks that they were facing?

- Not using the emergency blankets or pouch is shocking and I can't see ANY reasonable explanation for that at all.

- Why on earth wait three whole hours in this situation without calling anyone? (12:35am to 3:30am).

- If they'd sought help at 10:50pm when the helicopter was looking for them it may well have had a different outcome. I can't imagine just sitting there in that weather, not moving, and not realising how dire things were.

- Did he ever phone her to see how she was while he was descending?

- If someone couldn't move/carry on for even half an hour I'd be seriously concerned in those conditions.

- The people in the article who left their friend 'to die' on Everest thought that he was dead and even poked him in the eye to check responses. That's a completely different situation to this.

- It just doesn't seem likely that he didn't recognise the seriousness of the situation, especially given his experience. It's the lack of trying to seek help for that length of time that really gets to me. Given that it took them about nine hours to travel about 150m they must've been struggling severely for a long time. Why, just why, did he not phone when he left her? I can't imagine being in this emergency situation and not answering/ignoring calls from helpers. Why do nothing?

- The whole thing is just shocking and sad. A tragedy that could've been avoided. Awful. RIP.

 

[beubeubeu]

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... what are the odds that its not a duck?

 

[Charlot123]

I can’t figure out how to translate the captions to English- any tips?

Sure.

First, push on YouTube to get to YouTube site with the movie.

Activate CC. Then, next to CC sign to the right of it, there is a control sign. (Looks like a “ball-bearing screw”, no better word in my vocabulary for it.) Hit it, choose Closed Captions and choose “auto translate.”

 

[Charlot123]

My eyes hurt so I really dont want to do this frame by frame, but this is the progress seen via Luckner's cam:

View attachment 631067

18:10 vs 22:30, so 30 mins before heli showed up.
This is how much they've climbed.

View attachment 631069

For better context, bigger picture.
That red dot is how much progress theyve made in FOUR HOURS and TWENTY MINUTES.
Thats 260 minutes.

View attachment 631070

For Thomas that still meant everything is fine.
Well enough to ignore the heli.
Thanks to cams and excellent weather data we know that visibility at some hours went non-existent, then it cleared slightly for a bit so heli went there later.

And that red line visible here may be the first heli that passed them earlier:

View attachment 631071

I can’t guess what he planned to do, but one of the explanations for their poor progress could be trying to make a movie? Everyone seems to make a movie about own ascent, perhaps they were trying to do the same as they went up and hence, were distracted and slow?

 

[RedHaus]

Ehm... how confident we are that it was just Thomas and Kerstin and not more people, some of which at some point decided to try go down... or started going down after something happened?

ETA: RSBM
Excellent question! While not mentioned anywhere in public documents (or even SM for that matter), what if the climb started as a foursome or six pack? And the others bailed at the Breakfast Place.

 

[JennieM]

The more I read about this the more I'm shocked at his negligence. Re the phone calls, I don't understand why on earth someone wouldn't phone back after half an hour, an hour, if no rescue had showed up in such a dire situation. Or even phoning before he left her to get an update. The first thing I'd do in this situation having contact with rescue is to put my phone on the loudest setting possible (outdoor setting) in order not to miss calls, not put it on silent which seems nuts.

- Also when leaving someone, I would put them in the available pouch they had, wrap them in the blanket, take off their backpack and snow skies and try to shelter them as much as possible from the wind.

- The lack of phone calls is truly crazy. This was obviously a severe emergency situation - the extreme weather, at night, and the fact she could not walk/move any further, being trapped in the place that they were for that length of time. It's inconceivable to think that during this he didn't phone for a few hours when he must've known just how bad the situation was. I would've phoned before I left her, stressed just how bad the situation was, and checked for updates. Not put my phone on silent which just is insane given the situation. Why on earth would you do that?

- The timeline is just horrible. So many missed opportunities to get help.

- I wonder if he was angry with his climb being affected/interrupted and that influenced his decisions. A kind of stubborn anger.

- I can't imagine leaving someone alone in the dark in those conditions in that state. He sounds ultra experienced so surely he would've recognised the gravity of the situation and the potential risks that they were facing?

- Not using the emergency blankets or pouch is shocking and I can't see ANY reasonable explanation for that at all.

- Why on earth wait three whole hours in this situation without calling anyone? (12:35am to 3:30am).

- If they'd sought help at 10:50pm when the helicopter was looking for them it may well have had a different outcome. I can't imagine just sitting there in that weather, not moving, and not realising how dire things were.

- Did he ever phone her to see how she was while he was descending?

- If someone couldn't move/carry on for even half an hour I'd be seriously concerned in those conditions.

- The people in the article who left their friend 'to die' on Everest thought that he was dead and even poked him in the eye to check responses. That's a completely different situation to this.

- It just doesn't seem likely that he didn't recognise the seriousness of the situation, especially given his experience. It's the lack of trying to seek help for that length of time that really gets to me. Given that it took them about nine hours to travel about 150m they must've been struggling severely for a long time. Why, just why, did he not phone when he left her? I can't imagine being in this emergency situation and not answering/ignoring calls from helpers. Why do nothing?

- The whole thing is just shocking and sad. A tragedy that could've been avoided. Awful. RIP.

Do you think it is just negligence or was there malicious intent?

 

[Mauig’ma]

Do you think it is just negligence or was there malicious intent?

I think both

 

[Charlot123]

The more I read about this the more I'm shocked at his negligence. Re the phone calls, I don't understand why on earth someone wouldn't phone back after half an hour, an hour, if no rescue had showed up in such a dire situation. Or even phoning before he left her to get an update. The first thing I'd do in this situation having contact with rescue is to put my phone on the loudest setting possible (outdoor setting) in order not to miss calls, not put it on silent which seems nuts.

- Also when leaving someone, I would put them in the available pouch they had, wrap them in the blanket, take off their backpack and snow skies and try to shelter them as much as possible from the wind.

- The lack of phone calls is truly crazy. This was obviously a severe emergency situation - the extreme weather, at night, and the fact she could not walk/move any further, being trapped in the place that they were for that length of time. It's inconceivable to think that during this he didn't phone for a few hours when he must've known just how bad the situation was. I would've phoned before I left her, stressed just how bad the situation was, and checked for updates. Not put my phone on silent which just is insane given the situation. Why on earth would you do that?

- The timeline is just horrible. So many missed opportunities to get help.

- I wonder if he was angry with his climb being affected/interrupted and that influenced his decisions. A kind of stubborn anger.

- I can't imagine leaving someone alone in the dark in those conditions in that state. He sounds ultra experienced so surely he would've recognised the gravity of the situation and the potential risks that they were facing?

- Not using the emergency blankets or pouch is shocking and I can't see ANY reasonable explanation for that at all.

- Why on earth wait three whole hours in this situation without calling anyone? (12:35am to 3:30am).

- If they'd sought help at 10:50pm when the helicopter was looking for them it may well have had a different outcome. I can't imagine just sitting there in that weather, not moving, and not realising how dire things were.

- Did he ever phone her to see how she was while he was descending?

- If someone couldn't move/carry on for even half an hour I'd be seriously concerned in those conditions.

- The people in the article who left their friend 'to die' on Everest thought that he was dead and even poked him in the eye to check responses. That's a completely different situation to this.

- It just doesn't seem likely that he didn't recognise the seriousness of the situation, especially given his experience. It's the lack of trying to seek help for that length of time that really gets to me. Given that it took them about nine hours to travel about 150m they must've been struggling severely for a long time. Why, just why, did he not phone when he left her? I can't imagine being in this emergency situation and not answering/ignoring calls from helpers. Why do nothing?

- The whole thing is just shocking and sad. A tragedy that could've been avoided. Awful. RIP.

Everest and other mountains have their issues, too. They are harder to interpret. One famed alpinists criticized Thomas, but when I decided to read about his own life, I opened a Pandora’s box. But at least, we are dealing with much smarter people and certain leadership qualities.

 

[Charlot123]

That thing is visible there only once, at 4:00 PM, on that day, it doesnt show up any other day or any other time of that day.

I cant see a person anywhere.

RSBM

So if you look at this “odd chemtrail” and trace it to the “base” which is probably a rock on the mountain and then trace down the slope, you’ll see a head of a lying person - the shape and size at least. I see it. It is on the mountain slope, 1-2 stones down from the chemtrail base. I blew it up. Chemtrail - trace down - base that is a stone lying on the mountain - next stone to the left - the third one is a head and I think I see the upper part of a tall body.

 

[Charlot123]

It would be very strange if Kerstin hasnt used her phone at all IF she had it on her.
One of the sources claimed that heli at 7:10 saw faint or slight (hovewer it was phrased) signs of life, which may or may not be accurate.

Oh, and arent we conveniently for Thomas all forgetting that it was mentioned in at least two (I have memory but I dont have receipts) that Thomas works in healthcare?
Nursing home was mentioned? Or something like that.
Also first aid courses are mandatory to get even a drivers licence in Austria (I just recalled that they generally are in Europe and checked).

Lookin great. Just awesome. I dont know how this guy could possibly give me more rage strokes, but Im sure he will if/as more will come out.

Hes no random dude who just happened to climb slight more than Kerstin who seem to do just few climbs.
And hes not only experienced climber but hes highely experienced climber.
And not only that, hes highely experienced with this specific mountain.
He changed details in his story.
He lied.
And hes no random dude who worked as a clerk, waiter, programmer or cook so it might happened to be that he never witnessed a person in medical emergency and could understandably freak out or make an unfortunate decisions.
People who work in healthcare, childcare, nursing care are either changing the way of their career to something less demanding or, almost all able to endure immense pressure and are not losing their sanity over extreme circumstances cause they're experiencing it every day.

Any of these decisions he've made could be explained in so many ways. Even a combo of a few could be explained.
But all that combined, the totality of this quit suggesting me ill will. Now it screams murder.

Anyone planning to be a professional guide takes a lot of medical courses.

If he works in the medical field, then one potential defense, “I panicked”, won’t work. He had seen comatose (or worse) people!

Also, a huge difference between K who was not moving and frostbitten and hypothermic and him being fine makes one wonder. It just can’t be so if both were not moving.

Is it possible that he left her earlier and just left two headlights on? And later, came back? If you look at webcam, at 10-10:30 the helicopter had to light up the whole mountain to look for them. Were they even seen where the headlights were? So one headlight doesn’t move and later, fades out. And the other, moves around in a small radius? Is this what we see?

 

[RedHaus]

- The whole thing is just shocking and sad. A tragedy that could've been avoided. Awful. RIP.

RSBM
Well done!
Sounds like you just wrote the opening statement by prosecution for his upcoming February trial. I just wish they were able to charge TP with first degree murder, as I believe this was intentional.

IMO.

 

[Queen of the Winter Night]

Fantastic finds with the trailcams!

The more we discover, the more I am confused on how they used their time up on the mountain. I am extremely curious to hear TP's version of events on the hours and hours they spent doing almost nothing.

 

[RedHaus]

RSBM

So if you look at this “odd chemtrail” and trace it to the “base” which is probably a rock on the mountain and then trace down the slope, you’ll see a head of a lying person - the shape and size at least. I see it. It is on the mountain slope, 1-2 stones down from the chemtrail base. I blew it up. Chemtrail - trace down - base that is a stone lying on the mountain - next stone to the left - the third one is a head and I think I see the upper part of a tall body.

I don't see what you see.

But I'll share I spent months searching HD images that Yellowstone SAR took from a helicopter when searching for Austin King after he vanished from the Eagle Peak summit September, 2024.

I, like OPs here on WS, during the months after AK summitted in horrific conditions, thought we saw heads, sleeping bags, climbing poles, bear bags hanging from tress, and bodies, etc.

Several of us even submitted our suspicions to SAR's email address. But one by one our perceptions were dismissed by each other and expert mountaineers sleuthing with us.

The reason was scale. For instance, what I thought might be a head turned out to be 10 foot wide boulder. The other is light. Colors and light reflections can distort imagea.

You need to have something nearby you can relate size to. Especially with the distance we're dealing with between Glossglockner and these CCTVs.

So unfortunately I suspect what you may be seeing as a head, is a big 'ol rock.

I think @beubeubeu is correct. That plume may be an oddly positioned contrail.

IMO.