Tomaz Humar

by Bernadette McDonald, Reinhold Messner (Introduction)

In August, 2005, Tomaž Humar was trapped on a narrow ledge at 19,000 feet on the formidable Rupal face of Nanga Parbat. He had been attempting a new route, directly up the middle of the highest mountain face in the world—solo. After six days he was out of food, almost out of fuel, and frequently buried by avalanches. Three helicopters were poised for a brief break in the weather to pluck him off the mountain. Because of the audacity of the climb, the fame of the climber, the high risk associated with the rescue, and the hourly reports posted on his base-camp website, the world was watching. Would this be the most spectacular rescue in climbing history? Or a tragic—and very public—death in the mountains? Years before, as communism was collapsing and the Balkans slid into chaos, Humar was unceremoniously conscripted into a dirty war that he despised, where he observed brutal and inhumane atrocities that disgusted him. Finally he did the unthinkable: he left and finally arrived home in what had become a new country—Slovenia. He returned to climbing, and within very few years, he was among the best in the world. Reinhold Messner, among others, called him the most remarkable mountain climber of his generation.

Genres: Mountaineering, Biography, Nonfiction, Adventure, Travel

258 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2008

Reviews

[Fedjablpula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odličan Alpinist.Kontraverzan u alpinističkim krugovima jer je dosta medijski eksponiran bio.

Slovenac, rođen za vrijeme Juge.

Zbog PLanina izgubio brak. Zapeo na stijeni Nanga Parbat-gola planina koju je Messner, a prije njega Buhl osvojio pa ga vojnim helikopterima morali izvlačiti.

Pored toga popeo se na većinu 8tisućnjaka.

[Mihai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since a fellow climber casually mentioned I somewhat resemble Tomaz Humar in facial features, I had been wanting to find out more about this icon of high-altitude mountaineering. Online searches led me to the excellent biography penned by now-renowned Himalayan author Bernadette McDonald, but waiting for it to be available at my local library was futile. My patience finally ran out and I ordered the book from Amazon, delving into it as soon as it showed up at my door.

It is a fast and compelling read, alternating the inadequate and ultimately harrowing events that led to Humar's being trapped on the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat with the story of his life up to that point, with everything well referenced in historical, political and cultural contexts. The unprecedented helicopter rescue itself was a spectacular success that provoked extended discussions worldwide on the kind of expectations it would set for future alpinists to take even greater risks knowing they could be potentially bailed out from what used to be impossible situations.

Humar's reputation was that of someone who was willing to face inordinate dangers to climb difficult but elegant lines which were (and still are) considered suicidal. This ability to take incredible risks resulted in some spectacular successes, but also opened him to criticism from the international climbing community, especially when he enthusiastically agreed to share every stage of his adventures with the entire world via the internet. In essence, Humar turned his later expeditions, particularly the one to Nanga Parbat, into a global reality show with multiple episodes.

One positive was that the notoriety of the climber helped move the gears of international cooperation faster so that his rescue was achieved in the nick of time. However it also opened him to sharp criticism from people both in Slovenia and around the world on his decision to "dilute" the spirit of climbing by readily sharing it with the entire mass of humanity. Prior to reading Humar, I had not realized the protagonist was such a controversial figure in the climbing community, which marveled at each one of his unprecedented accomplishments but also could not understand his modus operandi.

In the end the overwhelming odds caught up with him and Humar perished on Langtang Lirung before another helicopter rescue effort could get him off the mountain, only a year after the publication of this book. The saddest part of his demise for me, after finishing the book, was that each close call got him closer to abandoning solo high-altitude climbing, but the pull of the mountain was too strong, and ultimately lethal. Neither saving his marriage, seeing his children grow up or overcoming a debilitating injury succeeded in curbing his intent to play the game at the highest level.

Tomaz Humar was a brilliant star that shone brightly for a little while, and was then extinguished by the indifference of the highest mountain ranges in the world. Luckily, there is still much we can learn about him, and about ambition, dedication and vision, through McDonald's excellent biography at hand.

[Clara Mazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non avevo la più pallida idea di chi fosse Tomaz Humar prima di leggere questo libro che ho letto solo perché mi sto occupando di alpinismo di ex paesi del regime comunista e perché mi fido della Bernadette McDonald. E vi garantisco che potete fidarvi ciecamente anche voi. Se già la biografia su Kurtyka (sempre della stessa autrice) l’avevo trovata eccezionale (perché era riuscita a seguirlo nella sua filosofia di vita e l’aveva poi così ben sviluppata all’interno del libro), ecco che con la biografia di Humar ha alzato l’astina. Innanzi tutto ha strutturato magnificamente il racconto: si apre con il salvataggio di Tomaz sul Nanga Parbat nel 2005 e lo alterna con il percorso della sua vita che l’ha portato fin lì. Oltre a ciò, la capacità di scrivere di montagna della McDonald, di descrivere cioè valanghe, seracchi, bivacchi, temperature, scarsità di cibo o calore o umore o tutti questi insieme in un modo preciso e scorrevole allo stesso tempo e soprattutto inclusivo è fenomenale perché riesce a coinvolgere, a mio avviso, un pubblico più ampio dei soli esperti di alpinismo. Nel caso poi di questa biografia eccelle nel rappresentare tutte le sfaccettature di questo uomo definito “controverso”, che ha sollevato costantemente polveroni per tantissimi motivi, osannato e condannato allo stesso tempo, cercando così non solo di fornire al lettore tutti i dati possibili per formarsi idea personale di Humar ma anche di rimanere (quasi) imparziale nell’opposizione Humar vs House (anche se, credo, che velatamente Bernadette sia dalla parte di Tomaz). Un libro che è riuscito a scatenarmi emozioni profondissime: dispiacere all’impotenza davanti alla condizione umana, ammirazione per il suo atteggiamento nei confronti della vita alla curiosità (come faceva ad essere sempre così positivo?) ed infine e soprattutto anche ilarità, perché fortunatamente la vita poi, se la si guarda bene, può essere anche se non divertente, almeno comica.
Avvincente e profondo, mette il dito nel covo di vipere che può essere anche il mondo dei grandi alpinisti – che altri non è poi, che un lato della società più lata. Divorato e alla fine persino tra le lacrime. Un altro scritto mirabile di Bernadette McDonald che non posso fare altro che consigliarvi caldamente!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all her writing, Bernadette McDonald expertly conveyed the climbing and most importantly the life of Tomaž Humar. As she did with the Polish, the Slovenians and Charles Houston she laid out the climbing within the important history of the times which those exploits happened. And as a good historian she told the stories without slant or bias. This truly came out with this controversial Slovenian überclimber who was adored by throngs while being the object of much criticism in the climbing community. And the way she approached Humar’s harrowing climb of Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face by sectioning it off chronologically and using each section to preface another of his climbing and life challenges was a unique and interesting approach to the book.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humar je luđak, neustrašiv, nepokolebljiv, stoga nije čudo da je knjiga napeta i uzbudljiva. Čini mi se da bi bio vrhunski alpinist, ali da ga je ego gurnuo preko svake granice "normalnosti".

[EstherCW · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9

[Fiona Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the story of Tomaz Humar intresting, but the writing style was rahter poor. This surprised me as I read Bernadette McDonald's Freedom Climbers a couple of years ago and thoroughly enoyed it.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not the typical mountaineering/endurance I was expecting. While I'd heard of Tomaz before, I really didn't know much about him. I was surprised to hear that he came from Slovenia, an area my mother's side of the family comes from. The beginning of the book talks about his time growing up there, the war in Kosovo, the breaking up of the countries in that area & taught me quite a bit I didn't know. This part might not even register with someone not interested in the region, but I found it was one of my favorite parts of the book.

Tomaz was a controversial climber. He's most known for a climb of his where he became stranded in a snow cave & had to be plucked off the mountain in a very dangerous high altitude helicopter rescue. The rescue was controversial not only because of it pushing the limits of rescue & the ethics of involving others to save him in a sport where "doing it on your own" is the expected, but because he used media to cover his climbs in realtime - both the internet & satellite calls into base camp. Tomaz did become a national hero to many, but was also despised by many.

The story also details how Tomaz was hurt - not while climbing mountains, but while working on his house & the story of his recovery. As with "Eat & Run", I could relate to this quite a bit. Another major topic was the struggle Tomaz had between his family & the mountains.

One thing I didn't like about the book was that it switched back & forth between his time on the wall & other Himalayan climbs. With the plethora of Himalayan mountains out there & their difficult names, I found this confusing. I have to imagine someone who doesn't have any familiarity with the area might struggle.

The book was also written by the same author as "I'll Call You in Katmandu - the Elizabeth Hawley Story", one that I'd started, but not finished. I'll likely go back to it now.

Overall, if you're into mountaineering/endurance stories, it's certainly one you should read.

[Sebastjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odlična knjiga o legendarnem pokojnem slovenskem alpinistu, s predgovorom svetovno znanega alpinista Reinholda Messnerja.

Avgusta 2005 je Tomaž Humar ujet prezebal v ledeni luknji 6300 metrov visoko v mogočni Rupalski steni na Nanga Parbatu v Himalaji. Sam je skušal po novi smeri preplezati najvišjo steno na svetu. Po šestih dneh mu je zmanjkalo hrane, izčrpanega in premočenega do kože so ga zasipavali sneženi plazovi...

Ljudem po vsej zemeljski obli je zastajal dih: bo to najbolj spektakularen reševalni podvig v zgodovini alpinizma? Ali pa bo gora zahtevala smrtni davek pred očmi vsega sveta?

Napeta, ganljiva in navdušujoča zgodba o človeku, za katerega dobi življenje resničen smisel šele z bližino smrti.

[Natasa Tovornik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am impressed by the spirit of the mountaineers. It is not my first book about extreme climbers, and probably not the last. I still try to grasp, what is their motivation, to understand the feeling that these climbs in such extreme conditions give them. I do not think there is much understanding, just a fascination. Amazingly, all speak of finding themselves on the mounting, their inner strenght and also that you need to be aligned (spiritually, mentally and physically).
Indeed an interesting world to travel too.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very easy read about a man's passion for climbing. Two weeks before finishing the book, he died climbing. In the book he said, "It isn't important how many times you fall but that you always stand up, continue and look forward into the future?"

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, without access to my notes, I can't remember that much detail of this book or the rescue, which is frustrating but I did read it years ago along with lots of other similar books. I gave it three stars so it must have been a decent read. Just wish I could say more about it!

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing biography, amazing story about this extraordinary Slovenian alpinist. Very inspiring. I highly recommend it. A page turner.

[Rakshit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of this legendary mountaineer is fascinating of course, but I found the writing style to be quite mediocre.