Posted on 12/20/2025 4:04:20 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
A man in Austria was charged in the death of his girlfriend after leaving her behind, in a case testing ideas of freedom and responsibility in the mountains.
The Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain, seen from the nearby Sonnblick Observatory.Credit...Kerstin Joensson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A distant webcam captured the moments the couple’s hiking trip started to unravel.
The pair, a boyfriend and girlfriend, were nearing the summit of Grossglockner, the tallest mountain in the Austrian Alps, when their lights appeared on its dark peak.
Around midnight, the man said, his girlfriend was struck by sudden exhaustion and could not continue. He said the two made a contentious, if not uncommon, decision: He would leave her behind and continue alone to find help.
Hours later, he was out of harm’s way, and the woman was dead. Rescuers found her frozen body later that morning not far from the summit, officials say.
Now, nearly a year later, the authorities have accused the man of making a series of mistakes that led to his girlfriend’s death, charging him this month with gross negligent manslaughter.
The unusual case has roiled the mountaineering community and could have ramifications for Austria’s large alpine tourism industry. Mountaineering in Austria has surged in popularity in recent years, and experts say underprepared visitors are taking more risks and accidents are reaching record highs.
The case has also provoked a broader debate in Austria, as questions of personal responsibility collide with a long-established legal tradition that requires people to protect others and avert danger.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And who says chivalry is dead?
Thanks. Based on your photos, it looks like you climbed Aconcagua around 2012 or so.
I climbed Aconcagua in 1997 via the Polish Glacier route. From start to end it took 21 days including 3 days packing in to base camp and 2 days packing out.
Cool, thanks.
The most dangerous climb I did was the Eiger in Switzerland in 1992.
Thanks for telling me that. I’ve always admired the rugged beauty of the Eiger from a distance during my trips there.
When I was a Boy Scout back in the early 1970s, my troop went on a hiking/camping trip on Mount Washington - in July. We had snow. But like good Boy Scouts, we were well prepared.
That just can’t be true, everyone knows Greta gave up on climate change to concentrate on exterminating Jews.
Are you unable to read? She IS to blame for telling him to eat of the fruit and for giving it to him and for doing so herself AND for listening to the serpent. There is plenty to “vilify” Eve for .
And you know damn well Adam didnt blame God - though he should. The secondary creation called woman was completely unnecessary, brought evil and death into the world and generally made for man’s unhappiness.
If you believe in this sort of thing, there is plenty of blame to go around.
When it comes to relations with women, correct, it is very rarely men’s fault. Truly in the case this dope of a broad brought about her own demise.
Most men loathe any woman who is foolish enough to love them. At some level, they know they don’t deserve love. Well, he got rid of her, and hopefully the next woman he has an interest in will hear this story and step back.
Where does it say she told him to eat? Please provide the chapter and verse reference to the quote.
Yes, she gave it to him, but he TOOK IT and chose to eat after watching her do so knowing full well what God commanded him. That was his own decision and doing.
And where was his manhood to stop her from eating as he should have?
God specifically told ADAM not to eat of that tree. Eve was created afterwards so she didn’t hear the command herself. Adam had to relay that information to her.
So she ate and gave some to her husband WHO WAS WITH HER. He watched this whole interaction and did not intervene as he was responsible to.
Yes, Adam did blame God. He blamed Eve first then said to God “YOU GAVE ME”.
That *IS* blaming God.
And Scripture does credit MAN for sin entering the world.
And here you are STILL blame-shifting responsiility away.
Men, faithfully blame-shifting from the Garden.
Indeed, there’s nothing new under the sun.
You might not know their acclimation.
Ca 35 years ago I was visiting friends in central FL. A state ranger thought he should ban me from boarding a ferry on the Matanzas River - destination Rattlesnake Island - as I was not dressed appropriately.
I showed him my driver’s license and declared that I had left MSP that morning at -10F.
- - -
I was a survival instructor at Ft Sherman, taught same as an undergrad in Michigan, and grew up on MN’s Iron Range. Returned yesterday from two weeks, some at -25F. [Lutefisk was more hazardous than hypothermia]
Admittedly, it is not a casual thing these days - 26 years in FL has changed my physiology. And I no longer snark at people wearing down vests in Daytona Beach.
She gave it to him TO EAT. That is guilt for her, along with him. And who says Adam didnt tell her before not to eat? You’re speculating. Sure he would have told her, but sneaky biytaches will do what they want. That’s on Eve.
How the HELL is it Adam’s job to police Eve? Come on now. And even if Adam blames God - he should! The Christian God is a very inferior, imperfect and failed God.
What kind o “God” invents something as fallible as man. and even worse, woman, who has all the same flaws but lacks even rationality and strength? Her main value is T and A. This includes you, though at your age I doubt it.
Fk that God. He needs improvement just as much as human beings do.
And he couldn't have said *No!* after watching the interaction between Eve and the serpent? Why didn't he stop either her or the serpent? He had the authority and it was his job. If he had done his job, the whole incident would never have gotten to the point of Adam eating.
How the HELL is it Adam’s job to police Eve?
Because he's the man in the relationship, the head of the family and it's his God given responsibility. Adam was given dominion over creation, which means he had the authority.
Since Eve wasn't around to hear God's command to Adam, she had to learn it from somewhere, which means it was Adam who told her.
The Christian God is a very inferior, imperfect and failed God.
Considering how much you got wrong about the Fall account, I hardly think you're in a position to be passing fair judgment against God. But if that's your view of God, I can't blame you for rejecting that image of God. I would reject it, too.
The real one is way better.
He needs improvement just as much as human beings do.
NO, He doesn't. Satan sure has you wrapped around the axle over God. Just where he wants you.
Why God’s name don’t people just stay off the damn mountains?
Getting a woman to say “You were right” is a near impossible task.
This makes it much more plain. If true, he is guilty.
Allegations: Prosecutors have charged Plamberger with gross negligent manslaughter, alleging he made several critical errors.
He allegedly failed to make an emergency call for hours, did not signal a passing helicopter, and later put his phone on silent, missing calls from rescue services.
He also allegedly left Gurtner in an exposed spot without using available emergency gear like a bivouac sack or rescue blankets to protect her from the cold.
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