ICEY TREK

Climber Whose Girlfriend Froze on Mountain Says He Didn’t Break the Law

The man claims his girlfriend told him to “go on” and save his own life.

A man whose girlfriend froze 160 feet from a mountaintop while he went to get help has denied any criminal wrongdoing. Known only as Thomas P, he was climbing Austria’s tallest summit, Großglockner, with his less experienced girlfriend Kerstin G, 33, last year. Prosecutors say he was the de facto guide and allege a series of mistakes—including insufficient equipment, poor planning, a failure to alert rescuers, and refusal to turn back despite adverse weather conditions—amount to gross negligent manslaughter. They say he left her “defenseless, exhausted, hypothermic and disoriented,” on the 12,460-foot peak. He denies the charges. “I am endlessly sorry about what happened, and how it happened,” he testified on Thursday in Innsbruck. “I loved Kerstin and didn’t want anything to happen to her.” He said they’d planned the trip together, but that ”it was impossible to predict how the wind would be in the upper reaches.” “It was an absolutely exceptional situation. Kerstin had no strength left, so I secured her to the rock with a rope and then climbed down.” He had second thoughts and returned, at which point he claims she said, “Go, go on your own and save your own life.” If convicted on the charges, he faces three years in prison.