Alpine divorce meaning: A new breakup trend in which your partner can abandon you at 12,461-foot on hiking trip

If you are someone who scrolls through social media, you must have come across a new trending 'breakup' term- Alpine divorce. The concept of 'alpine divorce' gained attention globally after a woman shared a TikTok video claiming that her boyfriend left her behind on a hike. The term refers to a method or practice of ending a relationship by abandoning or leaving your partner in remote or dangerous mountains, often during a hike. Alpine divorce is not a legal term but in such situations, an individual leaves his/her partner to face deadly and harsh conditions like freezing temperatures or treacherous terrain, making survival extremely difficult.

The TikTok video has more than 3 million likes and received thousands of comments with some hikers noting that being abandoned by a partner in the mountains has become so common. The video, shared by user @everafteriya, featured point-of-view footage from the trail and included the caption: “POV: you go on a hike with him in the mountains but he leaves you along by yourself and you realize he never liked you to begin with”.

Alpine divorce: A new breakup trend

Alpine divorce, a strange and unsettling term, has been gaining traction on social media and has quickly turned into a viral trend. Users are also sharing their personal stories related to alpine divorce. The concept dates back to the 1893 short story “An Alpine Divorce” by Robert Barr, in which an unhappy husband plans to murder his wife during a trip to the Swiss Alps. The fictional narrative later went on to inspire modern slang. Social media discussions describe the idea as grim and largely fictional in origin.


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Alpine divorce: People share real-life stories

Many social media users have shared stories of Alpine divorce and how their boyfriend/husbands left them and abandoned them on the hiking trips. According to a report in Outside Online, last week, 37-year-old Thomas Plamberger was found guilty of grossly negligent manslaughter after allegedly leaving his girlfriend during a technical climb of the 12,461-foot Grossglockner peak. He was fined €9,600 (around $11,300) and handed a five-month suspended prison sentence.

According to reports, Plamberger abandoned her roughly 164 feet below the summit in strong winds without providing an emergency blanket, after which she died from hypothermia.

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“Just saw a Tiktok of a girl whose boyfriend abandoned her during a hike in the woods. The comments were all about how this is a thing multiple men do. It's so common it's called Alpine Divorce and there are support groups for it....All I can say is wtf is wrong with men??? Why would you ever consider abandoning someone that way? I'm mortified.” wrote a user.


“Apparently men abandoning their partners on a hike or in the wilderness is so common it has a name: alpine divorce. Comments are filled with stories.” wrote another.


And another user told her experience of alpine divorce on the X, “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.”