TRIBUTES are pouring in for a “wonderful” female climber who was allegedly left to freeze to death by her boyfriend on Austria’s highest peak.
Kerstin Gurtner from Salzburg died on the 12,460ft Grossglockner during a brutal January night.
She froze to death in -20C just 150ft below the summit.
Her boyfriend Thomas Plamberger, 39, is now being charged with manslaughter by gross negligence and faces up to three years behind bars.
Prosecutors say he abandoned her for six and a half hours in the deadly cold while he went for help.
Friends and family have now set up a memorial page to pay tributes to the young climber who died tragically while scaling the summit.
One person said: “Rest in heavenly peace!”
Another person wrote: “Behind the tears of grief lies the smile
of remembrance!
“We still think of you very often!!”
A third person said: “Deeply saddened to learn of this death, I wish to express my condolences. Impossible to find the right words.”
Chilling webcam images showed the lights of the two climbers glowing at around 6pm as they were climbing up on January 18.
But just six hours later, the lights began to dim with low battery, and the woman’s strength gave out.
An image captured at around 2.30am showed the boyfriend pushing on alone to descend to the other side of the Grossglocker.
The image was taken after he allegedly left his partner in the freezing snow.
Footage from the early next day captured a helicopter flying over the mountain as part of a rescue mission.
Emergency responders were also seen rushing the woman, who was tragically found dead.
Investigating authorities said: “Since the defendant, unlike his girlfriend, was already very experienced with alpine high-altitude tours and had planned the tour, he was to be considered the responsible guide of the tour.”
Investigators say the pair battled winds up to 46mph and bone-chilling temperatures that felt like minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Despite that, the woman was allowed to attempt the final stretch with a splitboard and soft snow boots, gear climbers call totally unsuitable for a high-alpine tour in mixed terrain.
Prosecutors claim the couple had already started the ascent around two hours late and carried no proper emergency kit.
A forensic probe followed the tragedy, including analysis of phones, sports watches, photos, videos and expert alpine assessments.
Investigators say the man ignored his partner’s inexperience and failed to turn back long before darkness set in.
He is also accused of not calling emergency services before nightfall and of staying silent even when a police helicopter flew overhead at 10.50pm.
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