New York. Kirstin Gertner, a 33-year-old woman, died of cold on Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain. She froze like ice in the cold on the mountain. According to media reports, Kirstin was a resident of Salzberg and called herself a winter child and mountain person on social media. In January she went mountain climbing with her boyfriend Thomas Plumberger. Thomas is 39 years old and an experienced mountain guide.
According to the report, both of them started their climb late by two hours and by the time they reached the top, the weather turned very bad. The temperature dropped to -20 degrees Celsius and the winds started blowing at hurricane speed. About 150 feet below the top of the mountain, Kirstin became very tired, her body began to feel numb from the cold, and she appeared confused.
According to the report, the government lawyer alleges that despite being in such a bad condition, Thomas left Kirstin there at around 2 in the night and went to seek help. He neither put an emergency blanket on him nor used the safety cover he had. Thomas did not even call the rescue team immediately and kept the phone silent, due to which the calls of the rescue team were missed.
According to the information, only one headlamp was visible in the webcam footage of the mountain, which was seen moving away from the peak. Due to strong winds and bad weather the rescue team reached there in the morning. By then Kirstin had died. Thomas is now charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, and faces up to three years in prison if found guilty. His lawyer says it was just an accident. The case will be heard at the Innsbruck Regional Court on 19 February 2026.
