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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