A mountain climber who left his girlfriend to freeze to death atop Austria’s highest peak has said the tragedy left him “hurting so much” in a series of online posts.

Thomas Plamberger, 36, attempted to scale the peak of Grossglockner with his girlfriend, 33-year-old Kerstin Gurtner, back in January.

But Gurtner, an inexperienced climber, became exhausted and unable to move approximately 150 feet from the mountain’s summit, prompting Plamberger to leave her alone to battle “challenging winter conditions,” including gale-force winds of up to 45 mph and temperatures of -17°F for over six hours, while he allegedly went to get help.

Gurtner, who did not have proper climbing equipment, froze to death atop the mountain in his absence, prompting prosecutors to accuse Plamberger of manslaughter

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