When Stefanie Peiker, a park ranger in Austria’s Natura 2000 network, found a woman injured after a bike crash, the guide learned the rider’s boyfriend had abandoned her on the trail. The incident mirrors a growing wave of online posts describing partners leaving companions on hikes, climbs or bike routes—a practice now dubbed “Alpine divorce.” in recent months.

Rescue deputy Andreas Truegler, with 17 years in the Austrian Alps, said the flood of stories shocked him, noting temperatures can plunge below zero and weather changes without warning. Earlier this year, court records showed Thomas Plamberger received a gross negligent manslaughter conviction for leaving his girlfriend to die on the Grossglockner. Psychologist Sabrina Romanoff calls the abandonment a stark test of power and empathy.

Guides like Peiker urge anyone left alone to call rescue immediately—better to summon help and not need it than to wait until conditions turn fatal. She adds that survivors should cut ties with partners who display such behavior. The surge of testimony has forced Alpine rescue services to spotlight relationship abuse as a safety issue on the trails.