It is a bit of old news (from August this year). Wonderful rescue operation. It also proves Pak Army’s experties in high altitude ops. Way to go Paks.
Scroll all the way down to see some fantastic pictures.
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:mkEFEfcpuJEJ:pakistanidefenceforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t47699.html+Pakistani+troops+save+climber+&hl=en&client=firefox-a
** Here is the rest of the story**
Pakistani troops save climber from killer peak
Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Thursday August 11, 2005
Guardian
The Pakistani army plucked a stranded climber from an icy ledge on one of the world’s most treacherous mountains in a daring high-altitude rescue yesterday.
Two Lama helicopters hovered at almost 6,700 metres (21,980 ft) over Nanga Parbat, a Himalayan peak known as “killer mountain”, to rescue Tomaz Humar, a 36-year-old Slovene alpinist.
Humar, who has a reputation for daring solo ascents, had been trapped on a sheer slope since a snowstorm closed in last Friday.
At dawn yesterday one of the helicopters dropped a sling to carry him down to safety at the expedition base camp more than 3,000 metres below.
Photographs posted on Humar’s website last night showed him collapsing to his knees as his overjoyed support crew gathered around him.
“I was on the phone to the camp when the news came through he had been rescued. I cried like a baby,” said Nazir Sabir, Pakistan’s leading climber, whose company helped organise the trip. A Pakistani army statement described Mr Humar’s as “hale and hearty”.
He had been attempting a new route to the 8,125-metre summit - the world’s ninth highest mountain - via a notoriously dangerous cliff face.
But a sudden snowstorm, triggering avalanches as often as every 15 minutes, forced him to abandon the climb. He survived on a small ledge by burrowing an ice mushroom in the snow to protected his head and upper body.
“The cold was the biggest danger. His sleeping bag was wet and frostbite had started to set in,” said Sabir.
Hopes for Humar dimmed after rescue attempts were thwarted by heavy cloud. When the military helicopters finally reached him at 6am yesterday, the operation also endangered their crew, who were flying 300 metres above the craft’s normal ceiling altitude.
When they pulled Humar from the surface he was still attached to an anchor rope which, if it had not snapped, could have dragged the helicopter into the mountain face.
“To my knowledge I think this is the most unique rescue operation in mountaineering history,” said Mr Sabir.
Nanga Parbat, which translates as naked mountain in Urdu, is one of the world’s most dangerous ascents.
Hitler sent several German expeditions to conquer the mountain during the 1930s. The Nazis set Nanga Parbat as a national challenge in the same way as British expeditions concentrated on Everest and Americans aimed for K2.
But every expedition failed and at least 30 people had died by the time the mountain was finally scaled by an Austrian in 1953. One expedition alone cost 16 lives, earning the peak its “killer mountain” epithet.
Humar, who claims to have climbed 1,500 peaks, was attempting the Rupal face, a 4,000-metre rock face considered to be one of mountaineering’s greatest challenges. He was climbing alpine style, a purist approach that involves a minimum of food and equipment to favour speed and agility, but also incurs bigger risks.
His rescue was another notable success for the Pakistani army, which in the 1980s plucked a Belgian mountaineer from similar altitude to international acclaim. The army has honed its high-altitude expertise through the Kashmir dispute with India.
After recovering at Nanga Parbat base camp Humar is expected to fly to Islamabad today. A biographical note posted on his website claims: “It is believed the gods are fond of him.”
OH BALLE,BALLE!!! 
