Tomaž Humar by Bernadette McDonald

Author:Bernadette McDonald [McDonald, Bernadette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography, Mountaineers, Non-Fiction, Sports
ISBN: 9780091795474
Google: kC_C9273I94C
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2008-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Reticent Wall YoSemite Valley, 1998

Following his return from Nuptse, and during his recovery from frostbite, Tomaz had ample time to think. As a club board member, he began to feel that the Mountaineering Association had become corrupt and was no longer interested in supporting climbers, other than a select few who were in control of the finances. He believed that there were a number of top-level climbers who did not support or encourage the younger generation, but rather used club money for their own ambitions. He likened them to Stalin - someone who nurtured those who could help them, but discarded them when they were no longer needed. He was further irritated by their claim to

be ‘pure’, as they argued constantly about the minutiae of climbing: alpine style or capsule style, private sponsors or government support, media or no media, leashes or leashless. Tomaz exploded in rage at this holier-than-thou attitude, one which seemed perfectly happy to accept government support for expeditions, yet was highly critical of the private sponsor approach. ‘You can’t be a virgin and a whore at the same time,’ he said. He claimed to know many climbers whose careers - and very lives - were destroyed by these all-powerful, intolerant and destructive mountain club personalities who manipulated the system to suit their own needs and aspirations.

Finally he had had enough, and stated publicly, ‘I don’t need such a club.’ Many accused him of abandoning his club when he no longer needed it. He pointed out that they should think about the next generation of climbers - not just themselves. Nevertheless, finally leaving it was a soul- destroying moment for Tomaz and one that would eat at him for years to come.

He would rant on and on about how dysfunctional the Association was, how unfair it was, how disreputable and even illegal its operations were. But at the core, there was a profound sadness. The club had been his life at one point: it gave him his start; provided him with equipment when he had none and introduced him to his first instructor, Bojan Pollack. He met his first climbing partners at the club, and its social structure defined his youth. But the decision had been made and he had to move on.

At the moment, his climbing options were limited, for his feet were a mess. Recovering from frostbite is a long, slow process, so climbing at altitude was not a possibility, at least not immediately. But Tomaz was an eternal optimist, and so he searched for something positive to take from the Nuptse tragedy and his weakened physical condition. Finally he found it. He had wanted to go to Yosemite for some time, and this was the moment. Until now, he’d always been focused on the Himalayas, but the chance to test his compromised memory capacity on an aid climb might be just the thing. Most didn’t see it that way: to consider a huge, difficult rock climb, one should be in peak condition. But Tomaz was resolved.

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