A new dating term, 'alpine divorce', has emerged to describe the phenomenon of a partner being physically abandoned during a hike, often by a more experienced male companion. The term gained traction after an Austrian climber was convicted of manslaughter for leaving his girlfriend to die on a mountain, and online forums show it is surprisingly common.
In 2011, Maya Silver was hiking in Colorado's Unaweep Canyon when her then-boyfriend grew frustrated with her pace and stormed ahead, leaving her lost and alone for two hours. 'After one hour, you start spiralling in your head,' she says. 'I worried that I might never get off the trail and find him, that he had left me completely.' Silver, now an editor at Climbing Magazine, broke up with him months later.
The term 'alpine divorce' dates back to an 1893 short story by Robert Barr, but went mainstream after Thomas Plamberger was found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter for leaving his girlfriend to freeze on Austria's Grossglockner. His ex-girlfriend testified he had left her on a night hike years earlier. Plamberger is appealing.
Relationship experts compare alpine divorce to ghosting, but in a dangerous environment. Minaa B, a social worker, says it can trigger a fight-or-flight response and cause abandonment trauma. 'People who struggle with emotional maturity can find it easier to abandon someone versus having a clear conversation,' she says.
Dr Jessica Carbino, a former sociologist for Bumble, says alpine divorces usually stem from a communication breakdown. While no statistics exist, online discussions suggest the practice is widespread, with one Reddit post attracting over a thousand comments from women sharing similar experiences.
