TOMAZ HUMAR AND HIS NEW HIMALAYAN EXPEDITION

Ljubljana, June 3, 2003 – After a four-year-long break and a serious injury to both of his legs, which made doctors certain he will never walk again, Slovene alpine climber Tomaz Humar is once again on his way to the Himalayas. This time his goal is to climb a 5 km Rupal face of the over 8.000 m high Nanga Parbat. Press conference prior to his departure will be held on Monday, May 16, 2003 at 8.30 a.m., probably at Ljubljana Airport.

Tomaz Humar plans to start the ascent on July 10, 2003. It will take him approximately 14 days to ascend. He will try to climb the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat along the new route, which requires a few days of non-stop climbing with the only possible descent over the peak. As such it could be considered as one of the greatest challenges of contemporary mountaineering. Tomaz Humar will try to conquer this virgin route during his attempt at Nanga Parbat and will descend either along the Kisshofer route on the other side of the mountain or along the Messner route on the ascending side.

Nanga Parbat (8.126 m) is the ninth highest mountain in the world. It is located in the south of Pakistan and is the most western Himalayan mountain, separated from the rest of the range. Nanga Parbat or 'Naked Mountain' is known among the mountaineers by the name of 'Killer Mountain', as there have been a large number of casualties among the individuals who tried to conquer its peak. The Rupal face is nearly 5 km high and is considered the highest face in the world. Reinhold Messner and his brother Günter ascended it along the west part for the first time in 1970.

In 2000, a year after his ascent of the south face of Dhaulagiri, Tomaz Humar suffered an accident while building a house. As the result of the accident, he was on the verge of death several times. But already last October he stood at the peak of over 8.000 m high Shisha Pangma. Tomaz Humar and his team are currently in the middle of intense preparations for the expedition. He will be available for your questions at a press conference, to which you will be additionally invited. The general sponsor of the expedition is Mobitel, Slovene national mobile operater.

For further information please check one of the following websites: http://www.humar.com, http://www.pinkponk.com, or Mobitel's site Planet after the day of press conference. You will be able to follow the progress of the expedition through these websites. Starting on the day of the departure, a press centre will be established on the website, where it will be possible for you to get accredited. Among other things, the accreditation will allow you to receive announcements about new press releases directly at your e-mail address.

Before the press conference you can address your questions to: humar@agencija41.si.

TOMAZ HUMAR IS PREPARING FOR HIS FORTHCOMING ASCENT

Ljubljana, June 6, 2003 – Before his onset on the 5 km high Rupal face of Nanga Parbat, Tomaz Humar is in the middle of intense physical training, and his team are making all the necessary preparations for the expedition. He first stood at the roots of this mountain on August 25, 2002. The visit was a reconnoitring one and almost made him doubt he would ever decide for such a bold venture. Nevertheless, he is on his way to Pakistan in ten days time with the intent to climb it. This is also the reason why Humar says it is about 'love at second sight' this time.

Tomaz Humar's first climbing goal after his fall during home repairs (in December 2000), when he had severely damaged both of his legs, was the over 8.000 m high Tibethan peak Shisha Pagma. He conquered it on October 26, 2002. He had his last operation, related to the accident, in December of last year – all of the iron parts, which had to be inserted after his injury, were then taken out of his body. On January 2, 2003, he started with intense preparations for the ascent of the Rupal face: in the five months that followed, he climbed in the Dolomites, Val di Melle, Chamonix, in the Julian and Kamnik Alps... During this time, he ascended over 350 routes and waterfalls.

The final decision for the onset on the Rupal face was not made until April of this year. This is the first time Humar is preparing for the ascent together with his personal trainer Uroš Velepec, who also takes care of the Slovene biathlon athletes. His readiness was first tested on April 25, 2003, and on May 28 for the second time. He passed both tests with outstanding results. The anticipated start of the ascent is July 10, 2003. The ascent should last for a fortnight with four days of continuous climbing from the start. In all likelihood, these first four days will be crucial for the success of the venture.

You will have the opportunity to learn more about the expedition at a press conference, which will be held on June 16, 2003, at 8.30 a.m. The conference will take place at Ljubljana Airport before Humar's departure from Slovenia. You will recieve additional invitation to this event. After June 16 you will be able to follow the conference at http://www.humar.com. A news centre will be set up at this web-site after the departure of the expedition.

The general sponsor of this venture is Slovene national mobile operater Mobitel, which will provide all the news about the expedition via internet at http://www.pinkponk.com and its multimedia portal Planet. News selection will also be available through Mobitel’s SMS info service.

All journalistic questions prior to the press conference are expected at: humar@agencija41.si.

TOMAS HUMAR IS LEAVING FOR NANGA PARBAT

Ljubljana, June 16, 2003 – Tomaž Humar is setting on his way to Pakistan today, accompanied by his ten-member team. He will try to conquer Nanga Parbat in the north-western part of the Himalayas. The ascent along a new route in the Rupal face is supposed to start on July 10, 2003. This extremely exacting venture should be completed in a fortnight and he is expected to return to his homeland on July 25, 2003. This morning, minutes before his departure, Tomaž Humar answered journalists' questions at a press conference held at Brnik Airport in Ljubljana.

Tomaž Humar is considered one of the best mountaineers of our time. His ascent of the south face of Dhaulagiri in 1999 brought him worldwide fame. He also participated in seven other Himalayan expeditions and completed numerous ascents along some of the world's most difficult routes. He has been striving after seemingly impossible achievements for as long as he can remember; according to him he had the courage to undertake such challenges because mountaineering was never just a sport for him, it was a way of life in which mental readiness is more important than physical one. Meditation, communication and openness to God are essential for his success.

More than 30 people tried to climb Nanga Parbat without success, many of them lost their lives in the process, before Austrian Herman Buhl finally conquered its peak in 1953. This is why Nanga Parbat is also known as the ”Killing Mountain“. Humar saw his special challenge in the nearly 5.000 m high Rupal face, which is considered the highest mountain face in the world. He first glimpsed at the mountain from a wheelchair. He got stuck in it for some time after his accident, which occurred during home repairs in December 2000. Buhl is also one of his mountaineering models, since he was in a way a pioneer of alpine climbing, which interests Humar the most. Alpine style is technically the most difficult style in climbing, but Humar says that the satisfaction of success compensates for all the efforts: ”A face gives you back as much as you invest in it.“ This time Humar's decision was not an easy one. His final decision for the attempt to conquer the mountain came as late as April 2003, after he made sure that his convalescence is complete. This is why he says this expedition is about ”love at second sight“.

Nanga Parbat, the most western Himalayan peak, is separated from the rest of the mountain ridge and located in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. With its 8.126 m it is the ninth highest mountain in the world. Almost 200 people reached its summit after it was first conquered in 1953, although most of them ascended it along the north side. Today, there are only three successfully climbed routes along the south Rupal face: the German-Italian route, climbed in 1970 by Reinhold and Günther Messner (their success was never repeated), the Polish-Mexican route, set by Carlos Carsolio and Jerzy Kukuczka, and the Schell route. Humar's goal is to climb along a direct new route between the Polish-Mexican and the German-Italian ones.

Once he is on the face, Humar's only way back is over the summit, which leaves him with two options: to descend along the Messner route or down the north Diamir face. If he succeeds, this will be one of the greatest achievements in contemporary mountaineering. Reinhold Messner thinks that ”...among a thousand mountaineers there is maybe one who could do this.“ Humar expects to encounter the following problems: falling rocks, seracs, snow and ice avalanches, and difficulties with orientation in a face he only knows through photographs. For the first four days he will have virtually no time to rest, except pinned to two ice screws in a sleeping bag, designed especially for him. Humar will not be able to make the exact plan of the route until he reaches Base camp, and even the slightest alterations will be extremely difficult once he starts climbing the face. He has to his advantage specially designed sporting equipment. Top alpine equipment manufacturers have been preparing it for the last few months and some of the materials they used are the same as used by NASA for its programmes.

As with most of his previous expeditions, Humar chose the expedition members himself. They include three mountaineers (Tomo Drolec, Boštjan Repinc, and Matej Mošnik), who are going to help Humar with his acclimatization ascent along the Messner route and also during the descent in case of need. Arne Hodalič is going to provide the photographs and daily reports, Joško Bojić and Stipe Blažić are going to film the expedition with digital cameras. Any help they should need will be provided by Lado Ogrin, another mountaineer. Gregor Zupanc will be responsible for communication with the rest of the world.

He is going to send written records, photographs and videos to Slovenia via a connection, set up by portable computers connected to satellite telephones. The equipment is powered by solar cells. There will also be an electrical generator set in Base camp in case of bad weather. There are two other members of the expedition: Humar's personal physician Anda Perdan and bio energy practitioner Nataša Pergar.

The general sponsor of the expedition is the Slovenian national mobile telecommunications carrier Mobitel, d.d., Ljubljana. Mobitel supports Humar because of their mutual belief that even the most complicated situations and obstacles can be overcame on the way, if the goals are exacting and high enough. To achieve this it takes top-level knowledge and readiness, as well as the will to respect other people's experience. Mobitel will publish a monograph covering the expedition, once it is finished, and will provide access to the latest news during the expedition at http://www.humar.com, http://www.pinkponk.com, and via Mobitel's multimedia portal Planet. News selection will also be available through Mobitel’s MMS and SMS info service.

A press centre will be set up at http://www.humar.com, offering press releases and photographs with adequate divisibility for publication. Additional questions concerning the expedition can be addressed to Humar@agencija41.si. Persons accredited at the press centre will receive notification of all the latest news directly to their e-mail address.

(23.06.2003)

Expedition members had their first distant glimpse of Nanga Parbat today
At 11 a.m. local time, as they were leaving Besham, they were looking at another fifteen hours of driving, followed by a footpath to the base of the mountain. All the expedition members are feeling good and are therefore expected to reach the mountain by Monday evening. They won t be in contact until Base Camp is set up.

TOMAZ HUMAR REACHED THE BASE OF NANGA PARBAT

Ljubljana, June 25, 2003 – A little over a week after Tomaz Humar’s expedition left Slovenia from LjubljanaAirport, they finally reached the base of the Himalayan mountain Nanga Parbat. It took them three days to reach the mountain because of minor complications with the permits and the cargo. Most of the problems they encountered on their journey had to do with poor roads, which had been thoroughly damaged by earthquakes in the beginning of the year. Despite these problems they reached their destination. Except for some minor indigestion problems, all of the expedition members are feeling well.

Base Camp was set on a glacier moraine beneath the face, at the altitude of 3.200 m. Some of the expedition members are experiencing slight altitude problems, which are probably a consequence of a long and straining walk from the village of Tashering to Base Camp. The expedition arrived to Tashering by jeep. All the equipment is undamaged, although the cargo has caused some problems as the Pakistani authorities held it back due to precise examination, and will arrive to Base Camp with considerable delay.

The weather conditions on the mountain are varying: in the night from June 22 to 23 the sky was clear, but it clouded in the morning; it started raining and snowing higher up in the mountain. The temperatures in Base Camp oscillate between 5° C during the night and 25° C during the day. There is currently one other expedition on the mountain: the mountaineers from Kazakhstan reached the summit along the Kinshofer route a few days ago. Despite occasional rain the weather is fair enough to continue with the expedition according to plan: ascent to camp ABC at the altitude of 4.500 m is anticipated for today, as well as the transport of food and equipment to Camp II at 5.200 m.

There has been a lot of interest in Humar’s exploit. Pakistani Mountaineering Association organized a press conference for Tomaz Humar and his team during their stay in Islamabad, as the locals feel that visits from mountaineers are positive signs of their connection to the world. Judging by the number of visitors of Humar’s web pages, there has been considerable attention paid to the expedition, as more than 16.000 people visited the page till today, which makes for an average of 1.300 visitors per day. There have been over three million hits since the page has been set up.

As Slovene daily newspaper Dnevnik reports, Reinhold Messner, the first person to ascend the mountain (together with his brother), also announced the intent of a repeated ascent of Nanga Parbat. His motive is to search for his brother’s remains, as he was killed on the mountain in 1970. Messner hopes that Humar’s ascent will provide him with new information on the mountain, which would make his search easier.

Initial problems of the expedition are soon to be solved

Ljubljana, June 26, 2003 - Nazir Sabir Expeditions from Islamabad, which is responsible for logistic support of Humar's expedition, notified us about the reasons for problems with permits and cargo that the expedition has been experiencing recently.

The deadline to issue the permit has not yet expired according to the date the application forms have been sent. Pakistani authorities are taking the necessary steps to issue the permit as soon as possible. Cargo has been delayed due to distributor's offices dislocation. It took the distributors additional few days to transport the cargo from its first destination in Pakistan to Islamabad. The Agency is taking great effort in trying to solve both problems to the expedition's benefit.

Setting up camps and waiting for better weather

Ljubljana, June 30, 2003 - Nine days after their arrival beneath the Rupal face of the Himalayan mountain of Nanga Parbat Tomaz Humar and his team set up two camps in addition to Base Camp: Camp ABC at the altitude of 4.200 m, and Camp I at 5.000 m. Due to bad weather conditions they failed to set up Camp II as planned, but are planning to set it up in the next day or two.

The team is setting up the camps along the Messner route, where Humar is also completing his acclimatization ascent. Beside Camp ABC (Advanced Base Camp), three other camps should be set up along this route. The weather has been rather bad in the last few days and due to heavy snowfall the team could not ascent to 6.300 m, where they were supposed to set up Camp II.

As planned, Camp ABC at the altitude of 4.200 m was set up on June 24. The team will use this camp as an intermediary camp between Base Camp and Altitude Camps. They carried some food supplies there on the first day, materials for the expedition's photographer Arne Hodalic and cameramen Josko Bojic and Stipe Bozic should also be stored there.

On June 26, the boys ascended to the altitude of 5.000 m, where they set up Altitude Camp I. The freshly fallen snow caused quite a few problems, and a snowstorm caught them on the way as well. Despite this they managed to dig out a snow terrace by the stone pillar, the only safe place at 5.000 m, and set up a tent. They spent the night quietly enough, although it was snowing heavily the whole time. The danger of avalanches was too great the next day due to freshly fallen snow, so they decided to return to Base.

The weather conditions were still poor during the weekend, which made the expedition postpone the ascent to 6.300 m, where they should set up Camp II, on the beginning of this week. If everything goes well, they will set it up today or tomorrow. Humar should ascend to 7.000 m during this attempt, where he is supposed to set up Camp III. Humar does not wish to expose his team to the hazards involved in this ascent, and will climb this part of the route by himself. This will also serve as his acclimatization ascent.

The weather conditions worsen once again

Ljubljana, July 4, 2003 - After the weather improved in the beginning of this week, four mountaineers, with Tomaz Humar as the leader, started their acclimatization ascent along the Messner route. They spent the night in Camp I and ascended to 6.300 m today, where they are setting up Camp II. Despite bad weather conditions, Humar will try to continue the ascent solo to 7.000 m and set up Camp III, as planned.

On Thursday, July 3, mountaineers Tomaz Humar, Tomo Drolec, Bostjan Repinc, and Matej Mosnik ascended to Camp I at the altitude of 5.000 m, which had been set up on June 27. They had planned to set up Camp II the next day, but were forced to return to Base Camp by bad weather and ample precipitations. Back in Base Camp, they waited for the weather to improve, which happened on July 1.

Other expedition members remained in Base Camp and Camp ABC, where they are following the mountaineers via a radio connection. Stipe Bozic, a Croatian mountaineer and Humar's long lasting climbing partner and personal friend, was the last member to join the expedition earlier today. Together with Josko Bojic, he is responsible for providing video footage of Humar's venture.

Tomaz Humar and his team are in good health, but they are all worried about the warm weather, which is causing the snow to sink as it is slowly melting. If the temperatures do not fall somewhat again, Humar will have to change his plan and wait for a little while longer before he can set up Camp III. Despite these facts, everybody is hoping that the conditions will improve and the acclimatization ascent will finally go as planned, so Humar can start climbing the face on July 10.