ExWeb has an update on the Tomaz Humer story that I posted yesterday, with news coming in from the Himalaya. Unfortunately, at this time, that news isn’t good.
It seems the first rescue squad of Sherpas arrived at the point where they thought Tomaz should be, but he was no where to be found. To make matters worse, a second rescue team has arrived from Switzerland, but they are stranded in base camp thanks to bad weather. Heavy fogs have also grounded the rescue helicopters, making it impossible to scout safely scout the area from the air, or conduct an airlift, which may be the only way to get the stranded climber off the mountain once he is found. Yesterday I reported that it was believed that Tomaz possibly broke his leg and ribs on a fall, but now it is believed that he may have also injured his back too. That complicates the rescue situation, and will pretty much require an airlift to get the Slovenian mountaineer back to a hospital.
The ExWeb story has a day-by-day breakdown of what is happening, starting with Monday when Tomaz made a call on his sat phone for help. The Sherpa team immediately went into rescue mode, but were unable to start up the mountain until Tuesday, when the last call came in from Humer. He was said to be in weak condition, his voice very faint, but he is quoted as saying “Jagat, this is my last!” when speaking to one of the Sherpas. Ominous words to say the least. Wednesday the rescuers arrived at the spot that the missing climber indicated was his location, but found nothing, and yesterday they were forced to retreat due to a snow storm.
Tomaz was climbing the 23,711 foot Langtang Lirung, located in Nepal, on a solo expedition that began on the 5th of October. His call for help came in on the 9th, with no word at all from him since the 10th. Lets hope that he is alive but has suffered an equipment failure with his sat phone, which is very common. There may yet be a happy ending to this story, but keep his friends and family in your thoughts today.
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Situations like this are becoming all too common. I truly hope for the best for Tomaz.
I wonder if pressure from sponsors, public and/or climbers themselves are not pushing safety limits beyond the reasonable.
While writing about this yesterday I thought the same thing Alan. Seems like we're having a similar story on a regular basis these days.
On the one hand, I applaud the adventurous, solo climber, but on the other, I can't help but think that you should never climb alone.
Fingers crossed for the best here.
I know as I continue to speak with potential sponsors and documentary makers, I am asked disturbing questions about the potential dangers, etc. and if I have anyone joining me that is "special" – and not is a good way :).
I wonder if Reality TV has skewed viewers perspective to expect the unreasonable – feels like Roman Gladiator days in the Coliseum…
Most of the expeditions gaining attention these days seem to have some kind of "hook" to them, and now people are expecting it. It has gotten to ridiculous levels at times.
I have no doubt that Reality TV hasn't helped in this regard.