Tomaž Humar

Who was Tomaž Humar?

Tomaž Humar, nicknamed Gozdni Joža, 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.

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

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. After six days in a snow cave he was rescued by a Pakistan Army helicopter crew on August 10, 2005.

On October 28, 2007, Humar reached the Eastern summit of Annapurna I via a route at the far eastern end of the South Face.

On November 9, 2009, Humar, who was on a solo climb via the South Face of Langtang Lirung, had an accident during the descent. 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.