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.
What is weird is the phone in silent and him not trying to contact for help. Mobile coverage maps shows that this area is under coverage. From a personal experience, when It’s really cold I usually put on every piece of clothes I can once I stop moving. Even get in my sleeping bag if necessary.
I’d be curious to hear the other side of the story. The phone on silence is what “police allege”, and mobile coverage maps are often exaggerated for marketing, not to mention being in a big storm could affect service.
It’s possible his phone was not working, and he kept going until he got service.
Look, I don’t live in Austria, I live in Switzerland, but I’m pretty sure it’s similar in our neighbour. The coverage might be true, there aren’t actually a lot of places without basic coverage, keep in mind we are both much smaller counties than the US for example. Him not noticing calls seems to me the more likely (good-faith) reason.
Yeah in altitude I rarely had no coverage. I’m usually offline when you’re between mountains deep in a valley. Also even I that usually don’t go much more than 1400m altitude I have a garmin GPS with the inreach thing with the sos button. It’s because I usually go alone. So just in case
Yes. What was the point of him putting his phone on silent? What was the reasoning behind that?
Probably made the murder easier.
Trying to save battery? Mobile works poorly in mountains.
Airplane mode would save battery. Silent vs loud ringing isn’t a significant battery drain.
Silencing a phone does not save battery.