Horrors of Alpine Divorce

Written By Ashley LS Bhasin

This is a tangential part two of Wednesday’s episode on the mysterious death of Bernadette Vander Meer. While there was no trial and conviction in that case, but it raised questions about the horrors of Alpine Divorce.

Alpine divorce goes something like this: a couple go for a hike, often to a high peak, and one spouse falls over the edge. In my reported cases, it's the woman that falls, but not always. Usually, there's no witnesses. And what follows is a sentence that investigators often hear in one form or another: She just slipped. Or, she just fell.

There's a name for this: Alpine divorce. But here's the twist. Depending on who you ask, that phrase means murder, or it means something else entirely. Today, I’m attempting to sort out which, and figure out where Bernadette's story fits, if at all.

Photo Credit: Unsplash (Peter Jan Rijpkema)

Summit view of Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria. This mountain was newsworthy in 2025 when Thomas Plamberger was found guilty of “gross negligent manslaughter” for leaving his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, alone on the mountain. She froze to death on Grossglockner, which is the highest peak in Austria. So, does this case tick the boxes for Alpine Divorce, abandonment or just a tragic accident?

Ashley LS Bhasin
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Mysterious Death of Bernadette Vander Meer - Part 1