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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
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Nice write up. Get well soonest!
Erik
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Jul 10, 2012 - 01:40am PT
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Glad to see(read?) some progress. The Mastadon has returned.
That's good news. I reckon you'll heal quickly, as gluttons for punishment often do. Then you're back out there, just like that.
It's a flava, of sorts. Cheers, Man.
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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Jul 10, 2012 - 11:33pm PT
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Thanks Neebee-i got your card.
You're very sweet.
I owe so much to so many people. I don't know where to even start.
Don!
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Heloise Pendagrast
Trad climber
Tahoe City
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 11, 2012 - 08:56pm PT
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Wow, Julio.
Masterful write-up. You've alway been a fine teller-of-tales (most of them largely exaggerated no doubt--especially the one about the writhing mass of rattlesnakes you had to jump across in J. Tree). But somehow I think there's a chance you are not exaggerating this tale of tales. I will check to be sure by tickling you under the arms when you get back to Tahoe.
I find the intelligence of our bodies and the intutive nature of the longtime climber to be most amazing. That part about just surrendering to the help that came is most amazing and probably helped save your life. So glad you are on the mend.
HP
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 11, 2012 - 09:03pm PT
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And those colored mechanical spiders did not a lick of damage to those cute dimples in Mastadon's cheeks!
We are saved.
Excellent write up Don. I mean, kind of scary, quite inspiring, and totally phantasmagorical-ish & out-there-like and stuff ... but excellent.
My favorite part was,
[... Other than what Ernie & SAR did and that surviving bit (with all that savvy emotional intelligence) and the Jane-taking-care of you and such ...]
... Was where you said:
There was a grey cat in the light fixture over my head
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jul 11, 2012 - 09:37pm PT
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Don, Holy Buckets, hijole. hairball.. what a vivid trip report...So damn Happy you are around to tell the tale... So damn Happy you are on a healing path...
Saludos..
Much Love to you.. and Jane.
The grey cat in the light fixture, brought up images of this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oRKvpZ7PjE
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 11, 2012 - 09:39pm PT
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There was a grey cat in the light fixture over my head.
You saw ceiling cat!
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jul 11, 2012 - 09:46pm PT
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hey there say, mastadon.... glad you got the card okay!
was just checking up on a few threads tonight, and stopped in here...
been so busy with grandkids, and getting up early...
and--cleaning up summer cat hair, ;) from these
critters of mine, that i miss the ol' taco here...
:)
three cheers to you to keep getting well!
god bless!
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jul 11, 2012 - 11:20pm PT
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Like to add my voice to the chorus of those saying "heal up well and fast". Thanks for the write up of the accident as well. How do you account for the fall?
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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Jul 13, 2012 - 12:07am PT
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Jaliscos at last!!!!!!
Carter brought a box of Jaliscos tacos to Mariposa.
The healing can finally begin!
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tom Carter
Social climber
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Jul 17, 2012 - 02:22pm PT
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Rumor has it that Don will be in Tahoe this weekend?
PT is about to begin!
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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Jul 18, 2012 - 11:43pm PT
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Here are some ghastly pictures from the hospital. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone as a way to get out of work…
In a coma on a breathing machine.
Awake several days after coming out of a coma holding my lung butter sucker. I received four units of blood that had leaked through my punctured lung and what wasn’t sucked out by the chest tube was coughed up at an extremely high pain price and sucked out by the butter sucker.
My damaged left side. The upper bruises are from the broken scapula. The tape in the middle hides the ½ inch chest tube that was rammed through my ribs. The bruises at the bottom are from the four broken ribs. OUCH!
Three generations of Herberts: Dr. Tom, his son Tommy, and TM. I felt honored at all the people that visited.
Once again, thanks to everyone for all the support.
Werner was right. I was really fuked up
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the goat
climber
north central WA
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Jul 19, 2012 - 12:29am PT
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Dare I say "ouch!" Glad to see you're back in the saddle.
Oh, by the way, I missed the picnic too, damn Seattle traffic.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Jul 19, 2012 - 12:36am PT
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Not.(Kevin) It is what it is, like everything.
The World is Fraught with peril. That too is as it should be.
It was your turn is how I see it. The Universe rolled snake eyes for ya.
Soon you get to roll again. We'll see how it goes, like always.
Cheers, Mastadon. I hope your feeling better & stronger each day.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 19, 2012 - 12:37am PT
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Man, talk about getting hosed! They should clone you as a good healer!
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Jul 19, 2012 - 12:46am PT
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what?? Tommy's boy is grown up? Hold it, Tommy is grown up?
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 19, 2012 - 12:34pm PT
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wow--
the broken ribs alone would make for several very special weeks
you actually look pretty happy sitting up in that one pic
good luck with the pt
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jul 19, 2012 - 03:48pm PT
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Kevin said: "Don,
I've been meaning to apologize for establishing the route that bit you. I was a reckless youth, and it seems you paid the price for my foolishness.
If I could do it over again, there'd be a bolt every body length."
LOL! ...
..wait, really? By tradition, it's your call, but those beautiful routes you put up have a tradition of their own as well. Some of it's a scary tradition too I suppose.
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tom Carter
Social climber
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Jul 20, 2012 - 01:36am PT
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Here is a photo taken yesterday of Nurse Diesel, Tarzan and Jane enjoying themselves in Tahoe.
A long road to 100%, but it sure beats the Big Dirtnap or ending up as "Droolius Ceasar".
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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Jul 20, 2012 - 08:03am PT
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Kevin- you certainly don’t need to worry about me (thanks for the thought, though)…. I’ve done a bunch of those old-school routes in that area, most when we were kids in the early 70’s. One that stands out in my mind is Orange Peel, an ancient Hawkins route that’s old-school 5.11. I thought I was on Freewheelin’ and was about to quit climbing thinking I was having that much trouble on 5.10.
One of the attractions of those routes is that they aren’t over bolted. To climb up there, you’ve gotta step up to the plate. In this age of grid-bolting, it’s refreshing to have routes that make you sit up and take notice-you notice that the last bolt has disappeared in the distance below and you don’t see anything above you. That’s when you’ve gotta suck it up and dig deep. Anyone that has done any of those routes has probably come to the same realization: that you can either shut up and climb or give up and descend.
I’m convinced that the reason I fell is that I was too relaxed. I’ve been doing this sh#t for so long I think I just wasn’t focused the way you need to be on that kind of stuff.
I wish I could figure out how to post videos. When the Herberts visited me in the hospital, I shot a video of TM explaining why all the recent ascents of El Cap don’t count. He explained how all the new age climbers are cheating with their new gear and new techniques. Only the old-school ascents were real and counted as true ascents. All of us in the room were howling laughing and I thought I was going to re-puncture my lung.
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