Moment mountain guide ATTACKS climber on narrow ridge at 10,000ft after his victim criticised him for barging past his wife as she was lowering herself down a rope
Dramatic footage shows the moment a mountain guide attacked a climber on a narrow ridge 10,000ft above sea level.
The extraordinary confrontation unfolded on an exposed section of the Mürztalersteig route leading to the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte refuge on Austria’s Grossglockner mountain on August 22.
A Polish climber said he had been hiking with his wife when an Austrian guide attempted to pass them by wedging himself between the couple as the woman was lowering herself down a rope.
He said he had deliberately left extra space for his wife when the guide suddenly moved into the gap, prompting him to confront him for barging past her.
‘I should go first, shouldn’t I?’ the Polish climber can be heard saying, to which the Austrian guide replies: ‘No, no, no.’
‘Hey, are you out of your mind or what?’ the climber says, before the guide responds: ‘I’m a mountain guide, shut up!’
The argument quickly escalated, with the Polish climber calling him a ‘f****** idiot’ before the guide threatened: ‘Shut up, or I’ll come up and punch you.’
‘F*** off,’ the climber replies.
Dramatic footage shows the moment a mountain guide allegedly attacked a climber on a narrow ridge 10,000ft above sea level after being confronted for barging past his wife
The extraordinary confrontation unfolded on an exposed section of the Mürztalersteig route leading to the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte refuge on Austria’s Grossglockner mountain on August 22
Helmet-camera footage recorded by the Polish climber captures the argument escalating as the group negotiates the precarious section
Moments later, the guide turned back and began climbing towards the Polish climber, whose wife can be heard protesting in the background.
‘What are you doing?’ the climber says as the guide approaches, before the guide allegedly grabs him on the narrow ridge.
The confrontation was captured on the climber’s helmet camera. The guide had two clients with him when the row broke out.
Police in Matrei in Osttirol have since launched an investigation into suspected endangerment of physical safety.
The Kals mountain guides association, which had assigned the tour to the external guide, has also terminated its collaboration with him following the incident.
The Austrian Mountain Guides Federation described the behaviour as ‘unacceptable’ and disciplinary proceedings were launched.
The guide subsequently surrendered his licence.
The Polish climber later shared the footage online, where it has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and attracted a flood of comments from people sharing their thoughts on the confrontation.
In a post accompanying the video, he said he had deliberately waited on the ledge to give his wife more space when the guide ‘abruptly stepped in’ between them.
He claimed the situation then escalated until the guide became ‘aggressive and confrontational’ on the exposed ridge, which he believed unnecessarily endangered the couple as well as the guide’s two clients.
The climber said overtaking others in the mountains was ‘completely normal’, but argued that a professional guide should show ‘basic courtesy, good judgement and, above all, responsibility’ for those around him.
The climber said he had been hiking with his wife when the Austrian guide, who was accompanying two clients, attempted to pass them by wedging himself between the couple as the woman was lowering herself down a rope
The Kals mountain guides association, which had assigned the tour to the external guide, has also terminated its collaboration with him following the incident
Insults and threats can be heard during the increasingly heated exchange before the guide appears to turn back and grab the Polish climber
He added: ‘The mountains are for everyone, regardless of their experience, skills or pace. Mutual respect and consideration should always come first.’
The dramatic confrontation comes after another case in the Austrian Alps saw a climber convicted of manslaughter after leaving his girlfriend to die on a mountain.
Thomas Plamberger, 39, stood trial in February after his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, 33, died just 150ft below the summit of the 12,460ft Grossglockner in January last year as temperatures plunged to -20C.
He was accused of leaving Gurtner ‘exhausted, hypothermic and disoriented’ while he went to get help, during his trial, which opened today in Innsbruck.
Following the guilty verdict, Plamberger has been sentenced to five months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, and handed a fine of €9,600 (£8,400).
Passing the sentence, Trial Judge Norbert Hofer said: ‘The impression I have got from these proceedings is that this was a case of leaving at any cost.
‘You are an excellent mountaineer but Kerstin’s abilities were galaxies away. She lacked winter experience.’
He went on: ‘But you definitely should have turned back and you should have realised that.’
Plamberger said at the beginning of his roughly two-hour interrogation before Judge Norbert Hofer: ‘I am incredibly sorry’. He said he had ‘loved’ his girlfriend and that they had ‘always planned their tours together’.
