A CLIMBER accused of leaving his partner to die on Austria’s highest peak allegedly waited hours before alerting rescuers.
Prosecutors claim Thomas Plamberger, 36, abandoned his girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner, 33, on the 12,460ft Grossglockner, where she tragically froze to death.
Plamberger allegedly failed to issue a distress call until the early hours, long after the pair reportedly became stranded at around 8.50pm on January 18.
Officials said the couple were climbing later than planned and were ill-equipped for the brutal winter conditions.
They were just 150 feet from the summit when Gurtner collapsed, as temperatures plunged to around -20C with wind chill.
What followed, investigators allege, was a catastrophic chain of delays.
TRAGIC END
Tributes to female climber ‘left to freeze to death on mountain by boyfriend’
‘LEFT TO DIE’
Chilling pics show how climber ‘left girlfriend to freeze’ on mountain
Plamberger “did not call the emergency services quickly enough,” prosecutors said, accusing him of ignoring multiple early chances to raise the alarm.
They claim he stayed silent when a police helicopter passed overhead at 10.50pm, and that he only first spoke with Alpine Police at around 12.35am, nearly four hours after trouble began.
He then allegedly put his phone on silent.
The boyfriend reportedly didn’t call again until 3.30am, after leaving his partner alone on the mountain.
By then, a trail camera had captured him descending the opposite side.
Prosecutors said: “At approximately 2am, the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50m below the summit cross of the Grossglockner. The woman froze to death.”
Authorities insist Plamberger, a seasoned mountaineer, should never have taken Gurtner, who was inexperienced and on her first high-altitude winter tour, on the route.
They said the pair began two hours later than planned, carried inadequate emergency gear, and that Gurtner was wearing soft boots unsuitable for the terrain.
He also allegedly failed to place her in shelter or wrap her in emergency blankets.
Chilling webcam images reportedly show their head torches climbing at 6pm, then fading six hours later as power drained.
Another image shows Plamberger alone, torch still lit, traversing the ridge after leaving Gurtner behind.
A helicopter launched at 7am the next morning was beaten back by fierce winds.
A rescue team reached Gurtner around 10am, but she was already dead.
Plamberger denies wrongdoing through his lawyer, Kurt Jelinek, insisting he left only to get help and that the tragedy was “a tragic, fateful accident.”
He faces up to three years in prison if convicted when his trial opens in Innsbruck in February.
Meanwhile, friends and loved ones have posted emotional tributes to the late climber from Salzburg.
“Rest in peace in heaven,” one wrote.
“Behind the tears of sorrow lies the smile of remembrance,” said another.
A third added: “We still think of you so often.”