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.
You can’t charge someone for lack of advice. The woman has responsibility for her own stupid decisions.
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.