# Alpine divorce—experience anybody? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 15, 2026, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457 "2026-03-15T09:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/81 "2026-03-22T22:40:38Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Let me assure you that I have never pushed anyone off a crater rim into a pool of lava Are you familiar with the concept of an over-specific denial? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/82 "2026-03-23T00:04:47Z")
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you; I must go because my white Bronco is double parked. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/83 "2026-04-09T20:29:01Z")
Update: > **[State Department Issues Travel Warning For Women Vacationing With Husbands](https://theonion.com/state-department-issues-travel-warning-for-women-vacationing-with-husbands/)** > > WASHINGTON—In an effort to call attention to a potentially life-threatening hazard, the State Department issued a travel warning Thursday for all women considering taking a vacation with their husbands. “While we aren’t yet expressly banning women... ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/84 "2026-04-09T22:34:02Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > The attempted murder trial of Gerhardt Konig began this week with prosecutors and defense attorneys presenting conflicting accounts of a violent confrontation on the Pali Puka Trail last March. And the verdict is in: Guilty of attempted murder. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/85 "2026-04-10T02:56:41Z")
They forgot to mention that women who light up every room they walk into are at extra risk. ---
**Author:** ![LouMa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/louma/32/19472_2.png) [@LouMa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouMa)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/86 "2026-04-12T16:39:12Z")
[https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/style/alpine-divorce-relationships-hike.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.aVA.GZ7l.vBUqlSlbSzbQ&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/style/alpine-divorce-relationships-hike.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aVA.GZ7l.vBUqlSlbSzbQ&smid=url-share) Just for your information, I found this article today in the NYT, it explains the Alpine divorce with more details. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/87 "2026-07-01T11:44:30Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > > [@smithsb](#): > > > > The attempted murder trial of Gerhardt Konig began this week with prosecutors and defense attorneys presenting conflicting accounts of a violent confrontation on the Pali Puka Trail last March. > > And the verdict is in: Guilty of attempted murder. But with a suspended sentence and a smallish fine. The new Yorker has a king and detailed article about it. I think you get an article or two free each month, but I’m not sure. > **[Did a Climber Leave His Girlfriend to Die at the Top of a Mountain?](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/did-a-climber-leave-his-girlfriend-to-die-at-the-top-of-a-mountain)** > > An Austrian court pieces together the mysterious circumstances of a couple’s disastrous hike. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/88 "2026-07-01T15:22:00Z")
I should have thought of this thread when this came up a couple of months ago. Mango is a big Spanish clothes retailer and the father (who died) was a billionaire, the son (who may have pushed him) is a billionaire now, and the mountain where it happened, **[Montserrat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_(mountain))**, the second time this week I link to this page, is central to Catalan culture and tradition. Very scenic death. > **[Murder or accident? Mystery of Mango tycoon's hiking death after son's arrest](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2g09yvgmo)** > > Isak Andic's son Jonathan denies involvement in the fatal fall of his father, who founded one of Europe's biggest clothing empires. The debate whether he pushed his father or not will go on for ages in Spain. As the BBC article puts it: > a saga that has gripped and mystified Spain. And it has only just begun. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/89 "2026-07-01T16:07:25Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > And it has only just begun. so we’re being left with…_cliffhangers_? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/90 "2026-07-01T17:03:06Z")
BOOOO. …HISSSS. and Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/91 "2026-07-01T17:08:07Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > They forgot to mention that women who light up every room they walk into are at extra risk. - Or _she’s_ the arsonist. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/92 "2026-07-01T18:37:08Z")
Especially if she’s lighting up the room with a torch! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/93 "2026-07-02T00:02:43Z")
More like cliffnothangers. The cliffhangers are the ones who _successfully_ clutch the bushes at the lip of the precipice, leaving them hanging on for dear life. Unlike the unfortunate late Señor Andik. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/94 "2026-07-05T16:33:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Perhaps the term is historically common over there and has recently jumped into US usage via Reddit _et al_ with news of this Austrian case. Not familiar with the term here in Switzerland. Somewhat related, but a current coworker mentioned that a former coworker had gone for a hike. I don’t remember the exact term used, but the way he described it, it was clear that the hike would end in death. Unfortunately I think this is much more common than Alpine Divorces. And this thread reminded me to see if there was any update. My former coworker was found 2 weeks ago - 5 weeks after he went for a hike. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/95 "2026-07-05T20:01:45Z")
So the implication is this was a deliberate suicide? Or just that the coworker was likely unprepared for the amount of outdooring they’d chosen? Lotta people inadvertently kill themselves in the outdoors through simple ignorance of the risks and ignorance of survival skills. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/96 "2026-07-05T23:37:46Z")
I don’t know if this is as well known in Switzerland as it is in Australia: Lawrance Oates: “I am just going outside and may be some time” ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/97 "2026-07-06T02:17:34Z")
Better known as Titus, wasn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![LouMa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/louma/32/19472_2.png) [@LouMa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouMa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/98 "2026-07-06T04:36:00Z")
Returning to the actual topic of this thread, which has taken a back seat in the meantime: The origin of the term “Alpine divorce” goes back to the short story “Alpine Divorce” by the British-Canadian author Robert Barr. It was published in 1893: A married couple, now bound by more hatred than love, travels to the Swiss mountains. The hotel stands on a rocky ledge, “surrounded by many picturesque hiking trails leading to places of varying degrees of danger.” At the lookout point, where the view down into the abyss requires “the strongest nerves,” he plans to push her off. The next morning, he says to her, “I’d like to go for a walk in the mountains. Would you like to come along?” She agrees. In the short story “Alpine Divorce”—whose title everyone now quotes without having read it—it is not the man who pushes his wife into the abyss at the end: she takes the fatal step herself. This is how she takes revenge on her hated husband. She had sensed his murderous plans and confided in two hotel employees, who follow the couple a short while later. The woman has already jumped into the abyss by the time the supposed witnesses arrive. At that point, the man knows that no one will believe him. (source: Neue Züricher Zeitung) This is the origin of the term “Alpine Divorce.” Following the incident on the Großglockner (which was heard in court), the term is now applied to situations in which exhausted partners are left behind helplessly while hiking. A surprising number of women report how they were left behind by their partners while hiking and abandoned on the mountain. Under the hashtag #AlpineDivorce, they share their experiences thousands of times on social media—experiences that, in most cases, lead to a breakup. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/99 "2026-07-06T12:47:04Z")
Thanks for the wrap-up. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457/100 "2026-07-06T13:34:50Z")
> [@LouMa](#): > > The origin of the term “Alpine divorce” goes back to the short story “Alpine Divorce” by the British-Canadian author Robert Barr. Googling, [here’s the text of the story](https://americanliterature.com/author/robert-barr/short-story/an-alpine-divorce). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpine-divorce-experience-anybody/1028457.md?page=6)