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Rankin
Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
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Aug 19, 2014 - 09:27pm PT
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TM !!!! :D
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Aug 20, 2014 - 07:08am PT
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TM, cantankerous and kind. Legend, master, and Dad.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Aug 20, 2014 - 07:28am PT
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Another thing I remember about TM in the late 70's and 80's is you would often see him at the base of La Cosita with and array of young coeds. A different one each time. A lady's man it seemed!
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Aug 20, 2014 - 07:42am PT
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Funny TM story.
I had broken my leg in the valley and was hitching back to Bishop to recoup in Round Valley. Deuce gave me a ride to the meadows and I was going to nab a ride from Dale and Bobbie from there to Bishop.
So I hit the store and buy a big jug of wine and other assorted goodies. The wine helped the Vicodan.
So I am on crutches, barely hanging onto this bag of booze and stuff, desperately trying not to drop it.
TM and sons walk by and he goes,
"Damnit Tommy! Look at that guy! Go give him a hand!"
So Tommy carried my booze back into the campground for me. He must have been 12 or so.
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Yeti
Trad climber
Ketchum, Idaho
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Aug 20, 2014 - 03:11pm PT
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The only time I've ever known TM to be rendered speechless was when he and I climbed the Dike Route on Piwiack Dome in Tuolumne in 1971. He was full of his usual good natured if sometimes biting banter until I inadvertently (stupidly? blindly? foggy-mindedly?) by-passed two bolts on an already run out lead and was looking at one of those long falls it's best not to think too much about. TM was completely silent for what seemed like an eternity to me, and, I assume, TM, until I clipped into the anchors with even more enjoyment than listening to one of TM's stories.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 27, 2014 - 12:19pm PT
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Happy Turkey Day as this guy isn't one!
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Nov 27, 2014 - 05:24pm PT
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He's the best.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Nov 27, 2014 - 08:54pm PT
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Thanks for starting this, Wild Bill! No one ever deserved an appreciation thread more - and I know he’d respond to that statement with a dry and incredibly hilarious one-liner.
When he was guiding in the meadows BITD he was so much fun and so absolutely solid that you knew that any clients that you sent out with him would be perfectly safe and come back smiling.
TM would have made an incredible standup comic. Hell, he WAS a standup comic, besides being one of the nicest guys I’ve met.
We were both on a great rescue on Clyde Minaret and TM was about to be lowered a long way handling the litter. (YOSAR History thread) I made some worried comment about loose rock and he said something like, “Hell, I’ll just catch ‘em and crush ‘em.)
Here’s to TM. One of the best. And thanks for posting all the great stories!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Nov 27, 2014 - 09:05pm PT
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Thanks, Wayne. You missed TM's family last year at OCF. Happy Turkey Day to you and Cindy, too!
MFM
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 29, 2015 - 09:29am PT
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Iconic Bump...
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Tamara Robbins
climber
not a climber, just related...
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May 29, 2015 - 09:51am PT
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I adore TM. He was quite a character to have around as a tot! Tommy and Donny were, along than Dawn Erb, the only other chilluns I remember having around when we were in Yosemite.... thank goodness, as I can only imagine what I'd be like if it had JUST been me with the likes of Dad and Herbert and Roper....
;)
I know that both Mom and Jani Deal (Roper) spoke with him after Clyde passed in January... alive and well on the East side still!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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May 29, 2015 - 10:11am PT
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Knock knock Lauria! Tell us about the almost recent AAC awards ceremony for TM and how you facilitated things..................
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MisterE
Gym climber
Being In Sierra Happy Of Place
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Jul 29, 2015 - 04:12pm PT
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Katie Lambert posted this exchange recently:
I caught TM Herbert sneaking in some zzZ's at Olmsted Point. He was parked next to Brittany Griffith. He jostled awake after some tourists motored by and so I took the opportunity to give him a hard time. Brittany opened the van door and the following dialogue took place:
TM- looking at the pictures in her van, "what is that, porn?" "And what kind of sissy van is that anyway?"
Brittany "Haha..hey I'm Brittnay"
TM - pulling out his wallet and pointing to his license "See what that says, it says TM, that really is my name. People don't believe it but it's true like JD Rockefeller."
Brittany- "hey so I went fishing with YC last week in Wyoming."
TM - "What in the hell were you doing with him up there?"
Brittany- "I work for Patagonia"
TM - "oh, well what do you do for them?"
Brittany- "All kinds of stuff"
TM - "You mean like drugs and stuff?"
Brittany- "yeah and alcohol and things."
TM - "Your not a prostitute are you?"
Brittany- "Ha, yeah I wish."
TM - "Well, hey then how about a freebie. I'm really good friends with Yvon."
Hahaha.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jul 29, 2015 - 04:33pm PT
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Hohoho!
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Jul 29, 2015 - 04:48pm PT
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That is world class sh#t talkin'!
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Apr 13, 2016 - 12:35pm PT
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I don’t know how I missed Guido’s plea for an explanation of TM’s connection with the 2014 American Alpine Annual Benefit Dinner. Let me explain despite the fact that I’m a year late in responding.
Back in late January of 2014, Bob Palais, representing the American Alpine Club, emailed me requesting some help in prying TM Herbert out of his reluctance to attend the annual dinner in Denver to receive an honorary membership in the AAC. Yvon Chouinard was to be guest speaker at the event and Bob assumed that would be sufficient leverage to pry TM from his obstinate dislike of being associated with any “club”. TM never belonged to the AAC and never intended, ever, to belong!
Bob had tried via telephone to coax TM to attend. “TM, it’s an all-expense-paid trip. We’ll fly you to Denver, rent you a car, give you a hotel suite, pay for your dinner, present you with an engraved plaque honoring you as a member of the AAC. We’ll fly you back home to Reno all at no expense to you. You can even sit next to Yvon and Melinda!” “No way. Not interested. Never wanted to be a member of the American Alpine Club.” That was TM’s response. Bob pleaded to no avail.
Then he emailed me for help. Bob wanted me to call TM and do a little arm twisting. I did, but I knew that it would be futile. One doesn’t twist TM’s arm – not without realizing that one cannot actually even grip his arm. I called TM, the resistance was fierce and the result was negative.
I suggested that Bob contact Tom Herbert, TM’s medical doctor son, to see if Tom could change his mind. Bob asked me to make the call. I did and Tom said he’d try, but thought it would be useless. “You know my Dad, he’s stubborn.” Tom was right, it was useless.
Finally, driven to extreme measures, Bob, holding a plaque engraved with TM’s name and no one to accept it, conferred with Phil Powers, the head honcho of the AAC. They came up with a plan: Let Lauria accept it for him. Halleluah!
I, of course, accepted the invitation. It would be the fourth Annual Dinner I'd been able to attend since Yvon talked me into joining the AAC back in 1967. I attended one in Berkeley back in the early 70s when I was chairman of the SoCal AAC section, I was in Aspen, Colorado some time in the early 80s when my daughter was still at U of CO, and I was in Vegas in 1987. Now 27 years later I got to attend another one – all expenses paid!
It all went well. I arrived at the hotel in downtown Denver on a Friday evening and the first people I met in the lobby were Yvon and Melinda. I explained my presence and they fully understood the circumstance. Yvon commented, “It’s classic ‘Herbert’”.
The presentation went off Saturday without a hitch and without revelation of Herbert’s obstinacy. The next day I flew back arriving in Reno around 8 PM. I was sitting in my hotel room in Sparks holding the very attractive plaque when it occurred to me that TM lived just a few blocks away, why not deliver it to him right now. I called him and got directions to his house. When I arrived TM was standing out front waving his arms wildly. I crossed the street, my arm outstretched, with his plaque in my hand. He took it and without the least hesitation, did one of his patented fake baseball pitches – as if to toss the damn thing back across the street.
Later, in his front room, he placed the trophy on top of the TV. There it stood:
TM Herbert
Honorary Member
American Alpine Club 2014
I think he was proud.
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Apr 13, 2016 - 01:48pm PT
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Nice story Don - thanks
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Apr 13, 2016 - 02:08pm PT
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With TM as the subject and Don telling the story, I knew this would make my day - which it did.
Thanks, Don, and thanks, in abstentia, TM.
John
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Apr 13, 2016 - 03:02pm PT
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T.M. offered to do a climb with me, when I 1st went to the Valley back in 1971. It was that classic route on Lower Cathedral Rock, on the left side,
with a short bolt ladder, as I remember it.
Anyway, I only remember a delightful experience as TM kept me laughing all the way up.
Later on, I did the Guides Wall with him and Ivon C., in the Tetons. He made me laugh again. He must be a GREAT grandfather, and a very contented human being!
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Apr 13, 2016 - 03:18pm PT
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Content with his grandchildren (grandadults) - but still stubborn as hell.
This is just a bump, but a verity!
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