Episode 52: Thomas Plamberger
From Wine, Whiskey, and Murder by Adrienne Poole
May 27, 2026 · 1h 8m · Season 1 · Episode 52
About this episode
The episode discusses the ill-fated trek of mountaineer Thomas Plamberger and his girlfriend Kerstin Gurtner as they attempt to summit Austria’s highest peak under perilous conditions.
In January 2025 an Austrian mountaineer with years of experience, Thomas Plamberger, set out on a trek with his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, to summit Austria’s highest peak. While Kerstin was very athletic and in good physical shape, she was far less experienced as an alpinist than Thomas and was very much relying on him to properly lead them both safely on this adventure. Even before they set out on the morning of their extreme hike, things were not going as they should. A late start and extremely harsh winter conditions only further contributed to the disaster that would unfold in the coming hours. In the end, the big question was, did Thomas actually know what he was doing the whole time?
People in this episode
Host: Adrienne Poole
Topics covered
- mountaineering
- true crime
- adventure
- disaster
- decision making
Keywords
- Thomas Plamberger
- Kerstin Gurtner
- mountaineering
- Austria
- true crime
- adventure
- disaster
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Austria, Austria’s highest peak
More episodes of Wine, Whiskey, and Murder
- Episode 53: The Return to Land · June 10, 2026 · 1h 16m
- Episode 51: Rotherwood Mansion · May 20, 2026 · 33 min
- Episode 50: Leopold & Loeb · May 13, 2026 · 35 min
- Episode 49: Lori Hacking · May 6, 2026 · 1h 3m
- Episode 48: The Delphi Murders Part 3 · April 29, 2026 · 1h 32m
- Episode 47: The Delphi Murders Part 2 · April 22, 2026 · 43 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Wine, Whiskey, and Murder podcast page.