Langtang Lirung | 2009 S Face

A Slovenia expedition to Langtang Lirung in 2009 via S Face, led by Tomaz Humar. Summit reached on 8th November 2009. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6665
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LANG09301
Peak ID LANG
Year 2009
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Slovenia
Leaders Tomaz Humar
Sponsor Humar Langtang Lirung Expedition
Success 1 False
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2009-10-08
Summit Date 2009-11-08
Summit Time -
Summit Days 31
Total Days 37
Termination Date 2009-11-14
Termination Reason 6
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6300m due to Humar's death
High Point (m) 6300
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 1
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 1
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
O2 Used False
O2 None True
O2 Climb False
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(08/10,4200m),xxx(08/11,6200m)
Route Notes BC at north side of moraine of Lirung Glacier. Humar died on the mountain, and the only person with him, Jagat Bahadur Limbu, was not a climber. The following information is the best available at a joint meeting with Limbu, his usual doctor, Dr. Anda Perdan, who was not in Nepal at the time of his accident but came with his girl friend, Ms. Sasa Spolar and an expert Swiss search and rescue team as soon as they learned he had been badly injured. Their approach march took them north to Dunche and Syabru Besi, which is on the Langtang Khola. They followed the khola east and northeast to Langtang and Singdum villages, then north to BC. BC was established on 8 October at 4200m on the north side moraine of what some maps call the Lirung Glacier. Jagat believes this is the usual BC site for teams climbing the normal SE Ridge route. On 14 October Humar and Jagat want to examine the route possibilities on the South Face. They made a camp at 4800m and the next day moved up onto the SE Ridge to 5600m to get a better view and then returned to BC, where they stayed until the 19th. On the 19th, they left the mountain to visit Kyangjin village. Humar wanted to mediatate, and he met with a Buddhist Lama there. They returned to BC on the 28th, but set out again, this time eastward and camped at Dakpatsen, which is north-northwest of Tsergo Ri, on the 30th. The next day, Humar climbed a small peak north of Dakpatsen. They were back in BC on 1 November. Now Humar turned his attention back to Langtang Lirung. On the 5th, they returned to their 14th October camp site at 4800m on the South Face. On the 7th, Humar alone started up a wide couloir leading leftwards and then diagonally up towards the SE Ridge, and bivouacked there at 6100m. The weather forecast predicted strong wind. Humar's movements on the 8th are unknown. On the 9th at 10:00 am he told Jagat by walkie-talkie, "I'm here at 6300m and not possible (to continue the climb). I come down." At 9:00 pm, he spoke again to Jagat, who understood him to say that he had broken his leg and his back. Meanwhile at 6:00 pm Nepal time he told his girl friend, Sasa Spolar, by satellite phone, "I have had an accident. I'm dying." At 10:00 am the next day, 10 November, he spoke once more to Jagat and simply said "this is my last call" and switched off (for the walkie-talkie broke the connection?). On the 10th, his trekking agency, Asian Trekking, had sent a party of Sherpas in a helicopter to rescue him. They started up from BC immediately, and on the 11th reached 6234m. But they found no trace of Humar. On the 13th, a Swiss search-and-rescue team arrived from Europe. They were led by the Chief rescue officer of Heli Zermatt Co., Bruno Zelk; the others were a rescue pilot, Robert Andenmatten, and the climber Simon Anthamatten, who had just returned home from his alpine-style ascent of Khumbu's Pasang Lhamu Peak in late October. On the 14th they flew in a Nepalese piloted helicopter to scan the Langtang Lirung, and they spotted him. The helicopter immediately landed, arranged a rope from which Simon would hang from the helicopter and tie Humar onto it. The technique worked and they flew Humar directly to Kathmandu. Humar was now dead, literally frozen stiff. He had been plucked from the south side of the SW Ridge at about 6100m. The camera in his pocket showed an extremely steep wide couloir in both directions, up and down. Dr. Perdan said in his body's frozen condition, it was impossible to tell whether he had, in fact, broken any bones, and the Nepalese doctors who perform autopsies said they were incapable of examining such a body, but his clothing and the camera and other gadgets in his pockets were undamaged. She speculated that he had managed to get himself down 200m to where he was found and then froze to death there. Humar's body was cremated in Kathmandu and his ashes scattered over the Langtang Lirung BC site. Hired: Jagat Bahadur Limbu, 29/1/76 (15/1/2032), Anikhibhui-4, Sankhuwasabha Simon Anthamatten by telephone to Christine Kopp (email 20 Jan 2010) He said, the way they found Tomaz's body was the strangest thing he has ever experienced: no harness, no crampons, no ropes, no backpack. To him, it was not clear at all what had happened before his death. I wondered whether Tomaz had left his gear somewhere else or whether, a little bit more crazy than other, he just didn't have it along.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Asian Trekking
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2457828
Year 2009
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Tomaz Humar M 1969 Slovenia Leader Stahovica, Slovenia Alpinist & electrician Details Other expeditions
Jagat Bahadur Limbu M 1976 Nepal Sirdar Ankhibhui-4, Makalu-Barun - Details Other expeditions

References

6 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
LANG09301 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 84:308-309 (2010) -
LANG09301 ROCK Douglas, Ed Searching for Humar Rock & Ice Magazine 186:52-64 (June 2010) -
LANG09301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12201030800/Langtang-Lirung-7227m-Solo-Attempt-and-Tragedy - - -
LANG09301 - - http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web09f/newswire-humar-nepal-rescue - - -
LANG09301 - - http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web09f/newswire-humar-rescue-update - - -
LANG09301 - - http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web09f/newswire-humar-found-dead - - -