Key facts
- Austrian police are investigating the 21-year-old German man on suspicion of endangering public safety.
- The 17-year-old was rescued at about 2,500 meters after calling emergency services.
- She suffered hypothermia and was taken to hospital in Garmisch-Partenkirchen before being discharged.
- A police spokesperson declined to comment on why the pair separated, citing the ongoing investigation.
- In Austria, endangering another person's physical safety can be punished with up to three months in prison.
Austrian police are investigating a 21-year-old German man on suspicion of endangering public safety after his 17-year-old female friend was left stranded on Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze, in sub-zero temperatures. The teenager called emergency services and was eventually rescued at an altitude of about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet). She was suffering from hypothermia and taken to hospital in nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen, over the border in Germany, before being discharged.
The pair set off in the early hours of Sunday from the resort of Ehrwald in the Austrian Tyrol with the aim of seeing the sunrise on Zugspitze. Temperatures that morning had fallen to -12C, a mountain rescuer told German Press Agency DPA. The weather was so poor that the two climbers were soon knee-deep in snow, according to Austrian reports, and their plans to reach the 2,962-meter summit soon changed.
At one point they separated and the 21-year-old descended alone. The reason they split is unclear, and a police spokesperson declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Seven mountain rescuers responded to the call, and a helicopter eventually airlifted the teenager off the mountain. She was then taken to hospital by ambulance.
In Austria, anyone who endangers another person's physical safety can be punished with up to three months in prison. Police have said once they have completed their investigation, a report will be sent to Innsbruck public prosecutors, who will decide if a criminal offence has been committed.
Although the teenager survived, what happened on Zugspitze on Sunday is reminiscent of a fatal incident on Austria's highest peak, the Grossglockner, in January 2025. A 33-year-old woman froze to death on the Grossglockner after her boyfriend left her on the mountain, and he was later found guilty of grossly negligent manslaughter.