Climbing Tribe

Tomaž Humar

December17

Tomaž Humar (February 18, 1969 – c. November 10, 2009), nicknamed Gozdni Joža (akin to Hillbilly), was a Slovenian mountaineer. A father of two, Humar lived in Kamnik, Slovenia. He completed over 1500 ascents, and won a number of mountaineering and other awards, including the Piolet d’Or in 1996 for his Ama Dablam ascent.^[1]

He became widely recognized in 1999 after his famous solo ascent of the south wall of Dhaulagiri^[2], considered one of the deadliest routes in the Himalayas with a 40% fatality rate.^[3]

During a solo attempt to climb Nanga Parbat in 2005, Humar became trapped by avalanches and melting snow at an altitude of nearly 6000 meters.^[4] After six days in a snow cave he was rescued by a Pakistani army helicopter crew on August 10, 2005.^[5]

On October 28, 2007, Humar reached the Eastern summit of Annapurna I (8091 m) via a route at the far eastern end of the South Face.^[6]^[7]

On November 9, 2009, Humar, who was on a solo climb via the South Face of Langtang Lirung (last climbed in 1995^[8]), had an accident during the descent.^[9] His only contact with the base camp staff via a satellite phone was made on the day of the accident and he appeared to be in critical condition with leg, spine and rib injuries. He was stuck on the mountain at an elevation of approximately 6300 meters for several days before his body was found on November 14, 2009 at an elevation of 5600 meters.

Other prominent expeditions

13. November 1994: Ganesh Himal V (6989 m), with Stane Belak – Šrauf
6. May 1995: Anapurna (8091 m), solo climb
4. May 1996: Ama Dablam (6828 m), with Vanja Furlan
2. November 1996: Bobaje (6808 m), solo climb
1. October 1997: Lobuche (6119 m), solo climb
9. October 1997: Pomuri (7165 m)
31. October 1997: Nuptse (7742 m), with Janez Jeglič
26. October 1998: El Capitan (2307 m), solo climb
2. November 1999: Dhaulagiri (8167 m), solo climb
8. November , 2002: Shisha Pangma, (8046 m), with Maksut Žumajev, Denis Urubko, Aleksej Raspopov, Vasilij Pivcov
22. December 2003: Aconcagua (6960 m), with Aleš Koželj
23. April 2005: Cholatse (6440 m), with Aleš Koželj, Janko Operšnik
November 2009: Langtang Lirung (7227 m)

Bibliography

Tomaž Humar: Ni nemogočih poti. (ISBN 961-6403-23-0) (COBISS) (Slovene)
Tomaž Humar: No Impossible Ways. Mobitel, Ljubljana, Slovenia. (ISBN 961-6403-23-0)

References

^ "Ama Dablam, Tomaz Humar, Himalaya Extreme, ultimate climbing page". Dhaulagiri.extremekanal.com. http://dhaulagiri.extremekanal.com/himal/amadab/amadabl.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Tomaz Humar Soloing on the South Face of Dhaulagirl". Rockclimbing.com. 2002-10-19. http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos/Alpine/Tomaz_Humar_Soloing_on_the_South_Face_of_Dhaulagirl_7948.html. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Nepal – Annapurnas, Dhaulagiri and Mustang area". Fotopedia.com. 2008-10-07. http://www.fotopedia.com/albums/IHUrDNu8hTk/entries/1KBYuivKOd0. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ MacDonald, Dougald. "Humar Trapped on Nanga Parbat". Climbing.com. http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/humartrapped/. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Tomaz Humar Rescued from Nanga Parbat". Everestnews.com. 2005. http://www.everestnews.com/pak2005/nphumar2005u08122005.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Tomas Humar: New Alpine Solo Route on the South Face of Annapurna". Russianclimb.com. October 2007. http://www.russianclimb.com/humar_annapurna.html. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Tomaz Humar klettert solo durch die Annapurna Südwand". Bergsteigen.at. 2007-11-22. http://www.bergsteigen.at/de/bericht.aspx?ID=12687. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Langtang Lirung". SummitPost. 2007-09-18. http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/153976/langtang-lirung.html. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ "Tomaz Humar Stuck on Langtang Lirung with broken leg??". www.everestnews.com. http://www.everestnews.com/stories2009/tumreport1102009.htm.
^ Manchanda, Sukhpreet (2007-08-19). "Slovenian climber dies in Himalayas". Topnews.in. http://www.topnews.in/slovenian-climber-dies-himalayas-2236059. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
^ Jaiswal, Manik (2009-11-14). "Mountaineer Tomaz Humar Died During A Solo Climb in Nepal". News-relay.com. http://www.news-relay.com/latest-news/mountaineer-tomaz-humar-died-during-a-solo-climb-in-nepal. Retrieved 2009-11-14.