Alpine divorce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alpine divorce is a new informal term emerging in 2026 in popular and social media, describing situations where an individual was abandoned by their romantic partner during hiking, climbing or mountaineering, mainly due to an argument. The term gained attention in the second half of the 2020s as online discussions and viral videos describing partners left behind on remote trails and mountains became popular.[1][2][3]
Definition
In general, "Alpine divorce" refers to incidents where during hiking, tracking or mountaineering, one of the partners leaves the other behind who is unwilling or unable to continue. When used online the term can relate to one of these situations:[1]
- One partner leaves the other intentionally because of an argument.[4]
- The faster or more experienced hiker leaves the slower one behind.[4]
- An extreme trip turns into a symbolic breakup between romantic partners.[4]
This is not a formal legal term or a mountaineering concept, just an online term becoming popular.[1][2]
Origins and popularization
The origin of the term is in a 1983 short story by Scottish Canadian writer Robert Barr about an unhappy married couple that spends a weekend in the Alps. The husband plans to push his wife off the summit, but she tells him she's framed him for murder, then she jumps, just as the police arrive.[3]
The term became extremely popular during the mid-2020s as viral videos and posts on social media described people being abandoned during hiking or climbing trips by their partner. The main theme of the stories was usually disagreement about pace, route directions, or if to continue with the trip or climb. As the stories gained attention, online discussions started focusing or framing these experiences as cases of conflicts in relationships, that came to life under extreme physical outdoor conditions.[1][5][2]
Safety concerns
Outdoor recreation organizations raised attention to the fact that under no circumstances should a hiker or climbers leave the main group in a hazardous area. An event where someone leaves their partner without suitable navigation tools, clothing or knowledge about the route, increases the danger and risk of hypothermia or getting lost. In many cases it is recommended that such groups adjust their pace to the slowest participant.[6][7][8]
Notable incidents
A small number of global incidents involving hikers and climbers abandoning their partner did catch media attention.
Austria
In 2025 a climber in Austria was convicted after he left his girlfriend near the mountain summit where she died from hypothermia.[9][1]
Global
Rescue teams worldwide reported several cases where hikers abandoned their partners because they were "too slow".[10]
Cultural impact
The term "Alpine divorce" became widely used on online discussions about relationships and recreation.[4][5] Commentators often use the phrase in a humorous way to describe tensions in relationships, arising due to physically and challenging activities such as hiking or mountaineering.[4] Psychologists and relationship commentators used these discussions to show that unfamiliar, stressful environments can reveal compatibility between partners.[3][11]