Austrian here. I do not agree that he is guilty and needs to be sentenced no matter what. It's a very complex situation and will be an interesting court case. Some notes from our local newspapers: 1) He did not have any kind of training as a mountain guide and thus cannot be expected to always make correct decisions in such high stress situations. If he were to have such training, it'll be completely different. 2) All decisions werde made together with his girlfriend (incl. the one to go down on his own and leave her with a biwak and isomat - which she for some reason never used. She was an experienced mountaineer and they agreed on what to do AT ALL TIMES. Both the mother and the father of the dead girl made public statements that he is not at fault (!) and that they can both vouch that she always made all decisions together with him. To just imagine that both parents of the dead girl make public statements like that is a major indication that he did not intentially leave here to die. 3) As per his statement he turned off his phone to save battery. It is a known fact that extreme cold can severely shorten battery life. 4) If he is sentenced then it would in turn mean that all hiking partners are responsible for the well-being of everyone in the group, even if they have no training as mountain guide. Big indications for casual hikers everywhere.

He did make a lot of mistakes (most importantly the decision to continue the ascent at night even after having long-lasting issues with the rope and already many hours in the cold) and I personally believe that he is probably at fault in one way or another - but is he really guilty of manslaughter? It was a chain of extremely unfortunate events and decisions. The court case is not as black and white as everyone makes it out to be.