A man has been charged with manslaughter after 'leaving his girlfriend to freeze' on Austria’s highest peak.

Back in January of this year, the man and his girlfriend, a 33-year-old woman from Salzburg who has now been named as Kerstin Gurtner, were climbing the 12,460-foot Grossglockner mountain together.

She tragically died, however, after being left 'unprotected, exhausted, and hypothermic' in severe winter weather, with investigators saying that the pair were battered with winds up to 46mph, with the conditions feeling like -20C.

Prosecutors say her partner, a 39-year-old experienced alpinist, left her on the ridge while he went for help. Gurtner was found dead the following morning.

An investigation into Gurtner's death has now been completed, and her boyfriend has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, and he is reportedly facing up to three years in prison for the tragic turn of events.

A statement from the public prosecutor’s office on this case reads: "At approximately 2 am, the defendant left his girlfriend unprotected, exhausted, hypothermic, and disoriented about 50 meters below the summit cross of the Großglockner.

"The woman froze to death. Since the defendant, unlike his girlfriend, was already very experienced with alpine high-altitude tours and had planned the tour, he was to be considered the responsible guide of the tour."

The investigation looked at forensic reports, phones, watches, images, videos and an alpine technical assessment, with prosecutors saying the boyfriend misjudged his girlfriend's experience, set off too late, allowed unsuitable equipment and carried no proper emergency bivouac kit.