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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Hey, that bump in his back pocket is a beer!
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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I was on SE Buttress Cathedral Pk...must have been summer of 2004 or 2005, I can't remember now. We used to see TM in Tuolumne just about every summer from the late 1990s thru 2006 or so. I greeted TM as he came soloing up on my left. TM says..."Man how high are we right now, about 20,000 ft?" We both laughed and he soloed past me.
Whenever anyone mentioned a route 5.10a or harder, he would say "Don't give me any of that alphabet soup crap."
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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I knew TM in Berkeley in his going- to- university and learning karate mode.
He had what seemed like a brilliant plan to finish university and get a teaching certificate so he would have summers off to go climbing and a decent income that would support a family. We figured that between his size and his sense of humor he could keep the most unruly kids under control.
And then he took up karate just in case. He always had a phenomenal amount of energy and not much time during those four years to drive to the Valley so karate sustained him.
If you think TM's funny climbing, you should have lived through his descriptions of beginning karate lessons. At one point early on, his nose got broken when his sparring partner didn't judge the distance properly and stop in time.There was some speculation that this might deter him, but no, he was back a day later with an enormous bandage on his nose.
He was also keen to see every samurai movie that was ever made and talk everyone else into seeing them. The Berkeley climbers religiously went to each one and then practiced some of the moves on each other whenever they met. Soon though, circuit training became the thing for most climbers and TM continued on alone with karate.
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skychild
Trad climber
Birmingham, Alabama
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T.M is a terrific fellow, too bad niceness isn't passed on through genetics you figure out what I mean. Don
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John Morton
climber
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TM was known for being able to do pull-ups while clinging to the underside of a 2x4.
John
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rotten johnny
Social climber
mammoth lakes, ca
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Nov 10, 2009 - 01:40am PT
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i had the pleasure of doing carpentry with TM back in 92....TM's first day on the job and the boss asks me what TM stands for to which i reply , time and material....then i told the boss that TM was this famous bad-ass climber...i got to hear some great stories about don whillans and warren harding on our short lunch breaks .... ....by the end of the job TM and i had driven that poor contractor to tears and the edge of a nervous breakdown with our antics....ran into TM in bishop several years later and was introduced to him by lauria and puppo...not sure if he remembered me , i shook TM's hand and told him i worked with him a long time ago and that he got me fired ....TM raised his fist and in his unique drawl told me he was going to kill me....what a great sense of humor and what a great soul...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 11, 2009 - 01:45am PT
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One of the most gratifying aspects of doing a hammerless twenty-fifth anniversary ascent the Muir Wall back in 1990 was the account that my friend Fig gave me of T M's response when he told him about it. T M stood steadily gesturing in fragmentary ascending reflection. "But how did they...what about that expanding...not the pitch off of...that was tied-off Arrows!
From The Vertical World of Yosemite.
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KitKat
Trad climber
my van, CA or Mexico
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Nov 11, 2009 - 04:45am PT
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TM is BADASS! First time I met him was back in about 1996. It was my first trip to the valley and my first multi-pitch climb ever. I'm totally gripped and this old dude comes soloing up After Six- looks over and says to me "I'M SUPERMAN!"
Well TM sure is Superman! What an amazing lifetime of accomplishments.
Many years later I ran into him at the gym in Reno. He was waiting for Tom and needed a partner. He belayed me on a crack that was off- cupped -hands for me. Told me I was a "DAMN GOOD CRACK CLIMBER" for being able to work with that size. Made my day to say the least! (I think he was hittin on me!)
Another story- friend just learning to lead trad at the Leap. About to lead Surrealistic Pillar (5.7). TM walks up- "You know that thing has never gone free!"
LONG LIVE TM!!!!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 11, 2009 - 09:11am PT
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Here is a really nice image taken by Joe McKeown (Guido here to us STers) of TM and I am thinking the oldest son, Tom, the one referred to above-thread. I just restored it:
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Nov 11, 2009 - 10:12am PT
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Nice picture of TM and Tommy (or Donny), Peter. Do you remember where that was taken?
In the summers I guided in Tuolumne, TM and Jan and the boys lived there also. It was my first real experience with being around young kids. They were really cute and Jan was always running around keeping up with them. And TM was struggling (I think Jan must have been also) with his impractical insistence on not doing "women's work."
I remember helping Tommy with understanding how place holders worked in adding numbers--he must have been in school the previous year. My Dad was a math teacher so I grew up learning all the methods of teaching math. When the light went off in Tommy's head that he understood how to add, he just lit up.
TM was a great guy to know during that time in my life. I haven't seen him in over 30 years.
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Dick Erb
climber
June Lake, CA
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Nov 11, 2009 - 10:27am PT
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I was once talking With Layton Kor about TM, and Layton said that he always thought TM was a bit different right from the start. When they were introduced at their first meeting TM just looked at him and said, "God is he ugly, is he ugly".
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Nov 11, 2009 - 11:23am PT
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Roger
I took the photo in the Tetons, probably 1971 if that correlates with the "kids" age now. Most likely Guides Hill at the Exum School.
cheers
Joe
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Nov 11, 2009 - 11:38am PT
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Eventually, Tom grew up of course and became a terribly good climber. Fuzzywuzzy tells me that he convinced Tom to go to medical school way back then, which he did and so I understand that he is an MD now.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Nov 11, 2009 - 11:38am PT
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Hi Joe,
I didn't read the attribution carefully on Peter's post. Nice picture.
Dick, I was sitting in the YMS lodge building in with TM and a bunch of others including Bob Kamps. It was a quiet gathering around the firepalce. TM looked over at Kamps and said in even, forceful tones, "You don't just look old, you are old." I didn't know Bob very well at the time; I was a little shocked. But I knew Bob and TM were good friends, and Bob seemed to think it was somewhat funny.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Nov 11, 2009 - 08:10pm PT
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First time I met TM was in the Lodge parking lot, brewing up morning coffee. I remember him being very funny and remembering that Robbins photo of TM that Steve Grossman posted earlier. Was about 1978 or so.
Fast forward to 1988 and I'm climbing Great White Book with my soon to be wife. Just belayed her up to the bolts out on the face at the end of the book. She looked down: "someone's walking up!" Sure enough in less than a minute TM and Tommy walk up the book in approach shoes, say "Hello" and go on up to the top of the dome. A Sunday afternoon Father-son talk.
About 10 years later I have a go at leading Darth Vader's Revenge. Dammit if I didn't get off route. Moved too far left before going over the bulge, then went up about 10 feet and thought "Ummmm...this is harder than I expected" and "that bolt sure looks hard to get to" and "uh ohhhhh....I'm off route...again". And then....deus ex machina.....TM walks across the ledge at the top and starts rapping my route! To make a long story shorter, he pointed out my route finding error, lowered a rope to me and belayed my downclimb back over the bulge. I wasn't going to let him lower me, I do have some pride! So I let my partner lead the real Darth Vader's Revenge and then followed it. TM graciously said something like "a lot of people make that mistake".
Not the only times I've run into TM but the two most memorable.
Fred
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Nov 11, 2009 - 09:03pm PT
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TM at his best:
Soloing on his fav dome
Would you let this man direct traffic?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 14, 2009 - 01:56am PT
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I once asked TM what he thought about having a kid that climbed 5.13. He looked at me agast and said "those guys can't LEAD anything, ya ever see those guys LEAD anything?!?" I knew that he meant much more than simply getting one end of the rope to the top. LOL
One of the best segments of Moving Over Stone features TM in Pratt's Crack and Tommy on the bolted arete to the right. Too funny!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jan 17, 2010 - 03:31pm PT
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Tough Mother Bump!
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MisterE
Social climber
Across Town From Easy Street
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Jan 17, 2010 - 04:06pm PT
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Ran into TM a couple of summers ago in Tuolumne and we got to chatting. I asked him at one point if he still climbed, to which he replied:
"At my age? Are you crazy? Way too dangerous!"
Hahaha, always the funny guy...
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Jan 18, 2010 - 03:26pm PT
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Don't get me started on TM stories - by free association I could go on for days.
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