More than a year after a 33-year-old woman froze to death on Austria’s highest mountain, her boyfriend goes on trial on Thursday accused of gross negligent manslaughter.
Kerstin G died of hypothermia on a mountain climbing trip to the Grossglockner that went horribly wrong. Her boyfriend is accused of leaving her unprotected and exhausted close to the summit in stormy conditions in the early hours of 19 January 2025, while he went to get help.
The trial has sparked interest and debate, not just in Austria but in mountain climbing communities far beyond its borders.
Allowed her to wear? Does he control her wardrobe?
If you climb on the back of my motorcycle with a paper hat instead of a helmet, I will not allow you to ride with me
He was considerably more experienced as a climber. And even I could tell you not to go mountain climbing in snowboarding boots.
If I were to take someone mountain climbing I wouldn’t allow them to wear life threatening clothing.
‘Her social media feed suggests she was a keen mountaineer and her mother has told German media that she loved mountain hiking at night.’
He cannot force her to wear anything, but as the experienced climber he can deny the tour/guidance. If you have the skill, but neglect to use them in human fashion, that makes it more than an accident.
Formalizing an outing with a social/romantic partner to the same degree as a professional guide/tour giver is a disastrous precedent to set
no, but its extremely negligent to not suggest proper boots and gear for the hike. him being an experience hiker/climber should know that. since his intention is likely malicious its more than likely he allowed that.
You can’t charge someone for lack of advice. The woman has responsibility for her own stupid decisions.
That’s like driving around with someone that doesn’t use their seatbelt. Yes, it’s stupid not to wear one, but you as the experienced person (the driver) are required to inform and check that everyone is wearing a seatbelt. So yes, you absolutely can charge someone for lack of advice. It’s called negligence.
Kind of a grey area, though.
If you see someone out picking mushrooms and they pick a poisonous one and you don’t say anything, sure, its not your responsibility.
If you take someone out to pick mushrooms and they pick a poisonous one and you know its poisonous and you let them eat it anyway, that’s criminal.
You can’t argue that someone that hosts free mushrooms hunting tours into dangerous territory and allows a bunch of amatuers to pick and eat deadly mushrooms isn’t liable.
Yeah I was wondering about that too, it only makes sense in a context where he’s much much more knowledgeable about mountaineering than her.
“Are you really going to wear THAT?” is a question that men learn to never ask.
“Are you sure you don’t want to bring a jacket?” almost never succeeds.
Always keep an extra in the car.