By Sophie Tanno, CNN
(CNN) — The hashtag ‘alpine divorce’ has exploded on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram in recent months, with many women sharing traumatic, sometimes life-threatening experiences.
The term is used to describe an event during a hike or other outdoor adventure, when one partner, usually male, abandons the other, who is typically less experienced and more vulnerable, in a remote and potentially dangerous setting.
Conversation has in part been driven by a high-profile case in Austria earlier this year, which saw a climber convicted of manslaughter and handed a suspended sentence after he left his girlfriend alone on Grossglockner mountain, the country’s tallest, as he claimed he went to seek help. She froze to death.
Prosecutors accused the man, named as Thomas P., of not answering calls from rescue services despite having phone signal and failing to send distress signals in time. During his trial, an ex-girlfriend testified that he had abandoned her on the same mountain in 2023 because he considered her too slow, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported. He tended to get “grumpy” if she was struggling during a hike, she told the court during her testimony.
Amid the trial, women were sharing their personal stories online. “POV: you go on a hike with him in the mountains but he leaves you alone by yourself and you realise he never liked you to begin with,” one woman wrote in a clip on TikTok which shows her alone on an isolated mountain path and has amassed nearly 5 million views.
In a post on X, another woman shared a video of walking in wilderness by herself, writing, “This is a video of me hiking in the Scottish Highlands trying to make the best out of my trip while the guy I was in a situationship with was miles ahead of me.” The clip has 1.9 million views.
Coined in an 1893 short story by Scottish Canadian writer Robert Barr about a husband plotting to kill his wife in the Swiss Alps, ‘alpine divorce’ is not a legally or officially recognized term. However, behavioral psychologist and relationship coach Jo Hemmings told CNN the relationship dynamics behind it were identifiable.
According to Hemmings, perpetrators are commonly those with an avoidant attachment style, who emotionally and physically distance themselves from others when under stress rather than addressing the cause.
“They are likely to lack empathy and compassion and avoid conflict – preferring to remove themselves,” she said. “I see this kind of behavior frequently in my counselling rooms – a partner, most often a man with a female partner, who withdraws under questioning, or may even leave the room or give up on the counselling altogether.”
While ‘alpine divorce’ may not be a common experience, Hemmings believes the underlying concept will be familiar to many women. “Not because of the mountainous setting, but because emotional withdrawal or even abandonment within a relationship is relatively common.”
A mountainous setting adds another dimension to this pattern of behavior, however, rendering it potentially dangerous. Such outdoor activities create an instant hierarchy; who leads, who navigates and who sets the pace.
“Walking ahead and refusing to adapt can be a subtle way of asserting authority or control,” Hemmings said.
‘I needed to get help’
Although most often describing romantic partners, the term can apply where typically women are deserted by other male figures they thought they could trust, such as fathers, brothers, other family members and friends.
Keen hiker Laurie Singer, from California, felt betrayed by a long-term male friend when she became ill on a weeks-long hike in a situation which left her fearing for her life.
In 2016, at the age of 56, Singer said she set out on the Read more