HELICOPTER UNDERTAKES RECONNAISANCE MISSION TO LOCATE TOMAZ HUMAR ON NANGA PARBAT

Weather conditions on Nanga Parbat, according to the Base Camp, continue to remain bad. It has been snowing since 10 p.m. Sunday with no early clearing in sight. It is windy and cloudy making it impossible for any attempt at heli rescue of Tomaz Humar who continues to remain trapped on the Rupal face of the mountain for the fifth day running. Hopefully when weather conditions improve after Tuesday more rescue attempts will be launched by Pakistan Army Aviators to rescue Tomaz Humar.

Update: Foreign Minister Mr. Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri has directed the Army authorities to provide fullest support in the evacuation of Slovenian climber Mr. Tomaz Humar. He was promptly reacting to the briefing given to him by Nazir Sabir eminent mountaineer and President Alpine Club of Pakistan and Col. Manzoor Hussain on the efforts being made on rescue operation of the climber. Emphasizing on saving the mountaineer’s life on humanitarian grounds at all costs, he said no effort should be spared in this regard.

Mr. Qasuri also spoke to the Interior Minister Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and requested him to facilitate probable visit of helicopter or pilots arranged by the Govt. of Slovenia.

Responding to an earlier request made by Slovenian Foreign Minister he phoned his Slovenian counterpart and assured fullest support of the Govt. of Pakistan in this matter. Assuring of Pakistan’s capability to meet the situation he mentioned that Pakistan would welcome and facilitate any logistical help in men or materials arriving from Slovenia to augment the rescue operations.

Earlier Update: Tomaz Humar apparently has climbed himself into an area where he cannot descend the mountain by himself. He has called for a helicopter rescue. He is currently at 5900 meters.

Mr. Nazir Sabir, Everest and K2 Summiter, is helping with a helicopter rescue. Apparently, they are going to try to "throw him a rope". They are going to try on Monday, but the weather is expected to be very bad on Monday, so there chances will be much better on Tuesday...

The Himalayas are a great mountain range. The central Himalayan mountains are situated in Nepal, while the eastern mountains extend to the borders of Bhutan and Sikkim. The Nanga Parbat massif is the western corner pillar of the Himalayas. It is an isolated range of peaks just springing up from nothing, and is surrounded by the rivers Indus and Astore. Nanga Parbat or "Nanga Parvata" means the naked mountain. Its original and appropriate name, however, is Diamir the king of the mountains.

Nanga Parbat Base Camp

Nanga Parbat (main peak) has a height of 8126 meters/26,660 ft. It has three vast faces. The Rakhiot (Ra Kot) face is dominated by the north and south silver crags and silver plateau; the Diamir face is rocky in the beginning. It converts itself into ice fields around Nanga Parbat peak. The Rupal face is the highest precipice in the world. Reinhold Messner, a living legend in mountaineering from Italy, says that "every one who has ever stood at the foot of this face (4500 meters) up above the 'Tap Alpe', studied it or flown over it, could not help but have been amazed by its sheer size; it has become known as the highest rock and ice wall in the world!".

	Nanga Parbat has always been associated with tragedies and tribulations until it was climbed in 1953. A lot of mountaineers have perished on Nanga Parbat since 1895. Even in recent years it has claimed a heavy toll of human lives of mountaineers, in search of adventure and thrill. Its victims, have included those in pursuit of new and absolutely un-climbed routes leading to its summit.
Nanga Parbat

It was in 1841 that a huge rock-slide from the Nanga Parbat dammed the Indus river. This created a huge lake, 55 km long, like the present Tarbela lake down-stream. The flood of water that was released when the dam broke caused a rise of 80 ft in the river's 3 level at Attock and swept away an entire Sikh army. It was also in the middle of the nineteenth century that similar catastrophes were later caused by the damming of Hunza and Shyok rivers.

	The Nanga Parbat peak was discovered in the nineteenth century by Europeans. The Schlagintweit brothers, who hailed from Munich (Germany) came in 1854 to Himalayas and drew a panoramic view which is the first known picture of Nanga Parbat. In 1857 one of them was murdered in Kashgar. The curse of Nanga Parbat had begun.
Nanga Parbat, Fairy meadows

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