Nanga Parbat, 8125m, July 2005
photogallery | about Nanga Parbat | expedition members

Nanga Parbat is with 8125 meters the ninth highest peak in the Himalayas. It lies in the Pakistan part of the mountain chain and is as the most western peak separated from the rest of the Himalayan beauties

It bears the name "The killer mountain". Before Hermann Buhl in 1953 reached its peak 31 people had to die trying. Catastrophes followed one another - starting with the British Mummery expedition in 1895. In the year 1934 a storm swallowed 4 German Mountaineers and 6 sherpas, three years later a snow slide buried a whole base camp and with it 18 sherpas and 12 mountaineers.

According to statistical data the lady with the scythe seems to visit this mountain very often and that is also how the Nanga got its name.

In the mountains lap the brother of Reinhold Messner also lost his life, after he tried to climb it. Till today there are only three routes that have been successfully climbed in the Rupal face;

 
Messner's, otherwise known as German-Italian route, the Polish-Mexican route, part of this expedition were also the famous climbers Carlos Carsolio in Jerzy Kukuczka, and Schell's route.

Humar chose a new route that runs right in the middle of the face. This rout is said to represent one of the biggest challenges in modern mountaineering. With its 4700 meters it is believed to be the highest face of the world. It is technically an logistically very complicated and not to forget, extremely dangerous.

It is possible to climb it, only with lots of experience, outstanding psychic and psychical condition, a lot of courage and mostly with the mountains leave.

"It can be climbed by one out of thousand," calculates Messner? Who could it be?


"Love at second sight"

Two years ago Tomaž Humar has given up his climb, because nature's powers were too great to fight. Since Humar's health was badly broached and the weather conditions extremely bad, the expedition, after 4 unsuccessful attempts to acclimatize in Messner's route, had to leave the foothill of Nanga Parbat and went home.

Consequently to the temperatures in the West Pakistan which were extremely high for that time of the year, snow and ice in the mountains were constantly melting, the number of the snow slides on the slopes was unusually high and the snow above 6.000 meters was so soft Humar fell in it to the waist with every step. A big problem represented also Humar's health problem. The project ended, but not the dream.

 

 

When time stops...

The purpose is the same. Before the ascent into the face, Tomaž will acclimatize in the Messner's route, together with his co-climber Aleš Koželj and his cameramen and mountaineering colleague Stipe Božič.

He will start climbing at the day of a full moon or a day or two later. In the face he will be facing falling seracs, stones, snow slides and orientation problems, climbing at night with no possibility to rest, sleeping in a sleeping bag created especially for him. Details are unknown, even to the climber.