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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Nov 13, 2009 - 10:12am PT
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Serious escalation of a bad situation, sheesh. Sounds like he was seriously hurt, and these days of bad weather and no communication cannot bode well. Thoughts and prayers for Tomaz fighting for his life.
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Nov 13, 2009 - 11:39am PT
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doesn't sound good at all. Good vibes to Tomaz. ("vibes" are prayerful well wishes)
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Nov 14, 2009 - 12:25am PT
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Wow - it's not looking good:
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1107229&lang=eng_news
Snow hampers search for missing Slovenian climber
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
Associated Press
2009-11-13 01:50 PM Fonts Size:
Heavy snowfall in the high Himalayas has hampered search and rescue efforts for a missing Slovenian climber who was last reported injured and stranded alone on the icy slopes, rescuers said Friday.
Tomaz Humar, 40, called Monday by satellite phone and said he was injured while climbing 23,710-feet (7,227-meter) Langtang Lirung.
Ang Tshering, who is coordinating rescue efforts, told The Associated Press they found no trace of Humar on Tuesday or Wednesday during searches by air and on foot.
Sherpa guides acclimated to the high elevation were taken by helicopter to the Langtang Lirung base camp then trekked the snowy slopes to the area where Humar was supposed to be, but could not find him, Tshering said.
Heavy snowfall on Wednesday and Thursday forced climbers to postpone further searches because of the increased avalanche risk. Humar was climbing a difficult route up Langtang Lirung, which has made rescue efforts even more difficult.
Tshering said expert rescuers from Switzerland were expected to join the effort in coming days.
Hundreds of mountaineers travel to Nepal every year to climb the highest and most difficult mountains in the world.
Humar, who is married with two children, has climbed many mountains around the world.
In 2005, he got trapped in the Himalayas on an icy ledge of Nanga Parbat mountain at about (19,685 feet) 6,000 meters during a solo climb. Two Pakistani army helicopter pilots eventually saved him and were later decorated with Slovenian highest award for bravery.
Prayers for Tomaz!
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Nov 14, 2009 - 03:47am PT
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http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2238764;page=unread#unread
from overlord on RC.com
"One of the best slovenian mountaineers Tomaz Humar passed away somewhere between monday 9. nov. 2009 and today. He was attempting a solo ascent of Langtang Lirung.
Since his solo attempt on Nanga Parbat in 2006 he kept his plans pretty secret because that attempt and the following rescue raised a lot of media attention. He called home and hes sherpas on monday, stating that he was seriously injured and then all contact with him was lost. The rescuers were grounded until today due to poor weather and when the finally could mount a rescue attempt, they found him dead at an altitude of 5600m.
First reports say that he suffered spinal injuries, some damage to the ribs and a leg, but i dont yet know how severe these were. It is most likely that he succumbed to them in the night from monday to tuesday when the contact with him was lost.
Hes adventures really split the slovenian public, some admiring hes courage, othera spurning him for hes supposed lack of common sense (some debates even touched the subject of who was to pay for hes rescue(s))... Personally, i have always believed that he knew what he was doing, even if most people couldnt imagine doing it. Our world would be a bleak place if it didnt have individuals like him, people who are willing to go beyond what other consider 'normal'.
Well, at least he passed away doing what he loved most and not because he was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street. Rest in peace, Tomaž.
"
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Nov 14, 2009 - 03:56am PT
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hey there jan, say thanks for the updates, and sadly now, i must say:
dear avit... thank you for sharing this sad news.... :(
my condolences to his family.... :(
it seems so "cold" to just have one lonely word left to say about another's life, but the good lord knows our hearts...
prayers for his family, left behind, as i heard somewhere here, that he has a young child? (edit: got it---two children)
:(
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Fletcher
Trad climber
Pasadena, CA
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Nov 14, 2009 - 04:12am PT
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So sorry... Peace to you and yours, Tomaz!
Eric
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nature
climber
Tucson, AZ
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Nov 14, 2009 - 04:41am PT
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I'm so very sad to hear of this news. The tribe takes yet again another blow.
Condolences offered to family and friends.
Rest in peace, Tomaz.
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Rob_James
Mountain climber
Aoraki/Mt. Cook Village, New Zealand
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Nov 14, 2009 - 05:45am PT
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martygarrison
Trad climber
The Great North these days......
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Nov 14, 2009 - 06:07am PT
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sad news
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Nov 14, 2009 - 09:27am PT
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I'm so sad. He was my friend.
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=50359
On Monday the 9th of November Slovenian Alpinist Tomaz Humar sustained an injury high on Langtang Lirung's South Face in Nepal.
Humar was climbing solo and found himself stranded at around 6300m. He then telephoned a friend back in Slovenia to raise the alarm and a rescue operation was started.
The rescue service Air Zermatt were contacted and a rescue team was arranged. The operation took several days to reach basecamp due to difficulties in gaining permission for the Air Zermatt pilot Robert Andenmatten to fly a Nepalese helicopter.
In a statement made on the 12th of November (the rescue team had still not got final permission to fly) Air Zermatt's chief pilot Gerold Biner said:
"Our biggest challenge will be to arrange the permit for our pilot to fly a Nepalese helicopter. Sadly it seems difficult to convince the local authorities that our pilots are very experienced 'longline-pilots' (we fly up to 8000 sling load operations a year -cargo and human up to a length of 600 ft. lines). We have the skills and the currency to perform such extreme rescue missions in high altitude. So please if anyone can help us to convince the Nepalese authorities, contact us. Please let us try to save Tomaz."
The rescue team were finally granted permission and two helicopters were scheduled to land at basecamp at 5am on Saturday the 14th. Unfortunately the team was too late.
In a statement made this morning, Gerold Biner of Air Zermatt said:
"We just got a call from our rescue team in Kathmandu. The rescue was made just a few minutes ago. Pilot Robert Andenmatten and rescuer Simon Anthamatten could get Tomaz down from Langthang Lirung. Unfortunately Tomaz did not survive. All our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Tomaz was found at 5600 metres in the south wall. Robert decided to use 25 meters of static rope to bring Simon on the accident site. Robert who was with a Nepali captain, first flew Tomaz to basecamp and went up again to get Simon. Tomaz was further down then expected and had a broken leg. Our team is not sure if he had fallen further in the wall."
Tomaz Humar, a father of two, was one of the most successful super-alpinists of recent years with a number of difficult and dangerous solo ascents to his name. He first gained wide recognition in the climbing world with his audacious solo of Dhaulagiri back in 1999 and went on to climb many other long and committing routes.
In 2005 Humar attempted to solo Nanga Parbat and was rescued from around 6000m by a Pakistani army helicopter crew. He had sheltered for four days in a small snow cave. This story is told in the book (pictured above) by Bernadette McDonald titled simply 'Tomaz Humar'.
Langtang Lirung is a 7227m peak in the Langtang Himal of the Nepalese Himalaya. It was first climbed in 1978 by Seishi Wada and Pemba Tsering via the East ridge.
RIP, Tomaz. You were the best.
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Fogarty
climber
Back in time..
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Nov 14, 2009 - 10:37am PT
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May Tomaz family and frinds now be at PEACE.
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paganmonkeyboy
climber
mars...it's near nevada...
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Nov 14, 2009 - 10:50am PT
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Oh No. Sad News indeed. My thoughts are with the family and friends...
-Tom
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Nov 14, 2009 - 10:52am PT
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Sad.
My condolences to Tomaz' family and friends.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 14, 2009 - 10:56am PT
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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Nov 14, 2009 - 11:54am PT
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That sucks.
dangerous game he was playing...
I feel bad for his family.
Thomaz's first El Cap route, Reticent solo...blew my mind.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Nov 14, 2009 - 12:27pm PT
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Oh Man, that sucks. I'll miss you my friend.
Mal
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Nov 14, 2009 - 01:05pm PT
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Peace brother,
Bad month, bad year, I wish his family the best.
Mucci
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Misha
Trad climber
Woodside, CA
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Nov 14, 2009 - 01:12pm PT
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Reading about and getting inspired by Tomaz' adventures was one of the reasons why I started climbing. Seeing him go so soon leaves a big void.
RIP, Tomaz.
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