Tomaž Humar trapped on Nanga Parbat

Legendary Slovenian climber Tomaž Humar is trapped high on Nanga Parbat with limited supplies in appalling conditions with a problematic helicopter rescue seemingly his only hope.

The Slovenian government has appealed to the Pakistani authorities to launch a rescue attempt as soon as the weather allows and Pakistan's president, General Musharraf has apparently promised that the army and local officials will do all they can to help.

Humar was attempting a new route on Nanga Parbat (8125m) in Pakistan and things started well with quick progress being made to 5700m. However, bad weather moved in and prevented the base camp team from giving directions. With visibility reduced to 20 metres, Tomaž ended up in a labyrinth of ice at 6400m. That was on Wednesday. On Friday he managed to descend to 5900m but has been trapped there since by heavy snow falls.

This dramatic photo, taken during an unsuccessful attempt to reach him by helicopter gives some idea of his predicament.

He is soaking wet, cold and says that "everything hurts". However, the 36-year-old Slovenian climber is regarded by the likes of Reinhold Messner as one of the best and toughest mountaineers and is said to have remarkable powers of survival. Despite having to dig himself out of avalanches and his toes turning blue, he is remaining positive and is thankful for the messages of support being read out to him from base camp.

Because of the high altitude and strong winds, any rescue attempt will be very dangerous. A surveillance flight managed to reach 6100m and took photos and video showing Tomaž's location. An attempt was made to drop food to him but the helicopter was defeated by the strong winds.

Tomaž's website is being used to make pleas for a stronger helicopter to be found that will be able to drop a rope to him and pluck him off the side of the mountain. The Pakistan military are offering their assistance but it's a race against time as Tomaž has now spent six days at high altitude. He is conserving his energy and radio batteries but forecasts are predicting several days of bad weather to come. There's a possible weather window on Tuesday morning but will there be a suitable helicopter and pilot to take advantage of it?

Tomaz's website at www.humar.com is being updated very frequently with the latest news and has dramatic photos showing Tomaz's perilous location.

See also the BBC's report on the situation which suggests that the Pakistani army will try and reach Humar using helicopters, this morning, Tuesday.