UPDATE: MountEverest.net has posted a note from climber Gavin Turner describing the circumstances of Valic's death on Cho Oyu in more detail.

The tiny nation of Slovenia has lost its second great climber in 2008 to a Himalayan accident. Miha Valic, 29, fell and was killed while descending 8,201-meter Cho Oyu. 

Valic balanced 5.14a rock-climbing skills—he climbed Free Rider (5.12d) on El Capitan in 2003—with all-around alpine prowess. He and partners made the first alpine-style ascent of Eternal Flame on Nameless Tower in Pakistan in 2004; the first repeat of Ensueño on Fitz Roy in Pakistan, also in alpine style, in 2006; and the first ascent of the southwest face of Pathibara (23,425 feet) in Nepal in 2007. In this country, he was perhaps most famous for his 102-day odyssey through the Alps in 2006 and 2007, in which he climbed all 82 of the Alps’ 4,000-meter peaks in winter conditions, alone and with various partners. 

In late summer this year, the superb Slovenian alpinist Pavle Kozjek died on 23,898-foot Mustagh Tower in Pakistan when he fell from a bivouac site at around 22,650 feet, while attempting a new route on the northeast face 

Date of Accident: October 5, 2008 

Source: Slovenian Press Agency, American Alpine Journal, Intotherocks.splinder.com, Urban Golob

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