Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 27, 2009 - 12:39pm PT
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Ah, Tahquitz!
Last Friday while sitting at this computer, my doorbell rang. I think it rang – my hearing ain’t so good anymore - but I answered it anyway. I opened the front door and there stood an old man. It took almost 10 seconds for me to recognize the form as none other than TM Herbert. Just driving through Bishop on his annual bird watching pilgrimage to the depths of Arizona. He insisted that I come outside in the sunshine.
We stood out on my lawn for over an hour while he went through all the details of why he still hadn’t taken delivery of his new car – car not truck. No more trucks for Herbert! As he droned on, his arms flailing, I was taking notice of his new tinted prescription glasses, the two new hearing aids partially hidden behind his ears, and the thinness and whiteness of what hair remained on his balding pate. I worried about what my neighbors were thinking watching these two old men, standing on the lawn – one throwing his arms wildly this way and that – occasionally kneeling to draw finger diagrams on the grass- all the while the other very old man stood intently staring as if in awe of the spectacle.
You may wonder what all this has to do with Tahquitz. Very little actually. It’s just that I associate Tahquitz with all the good times we used to have at Tahquitz and Herbert came to mind. Hennek, Boche, McLean, Herbert – God we spent a lot of time there.
It’s not like it was a short drive from LA. You had to really love Tahquitz to drive out to Idyllwild after work on a Friday evening , hike up to the base of the Green Arch, lay out your sleeping bag, sleep through the night, get up early so that you could climb the Arch, get back in your car and be home in time to watch the UCLA-USC football game.
Or the Sunday morning that McLean and I, having spent the previous sunny day climbing at Tahquitz, with Michael and Valerie Cohen, crawled out of our sleeping bags to Cohen’s berating of the weather gods. It looked like it would snow any minute – no climbing that day for Cohen! Russ and I, however, decided, “a little snow, a little ize, it eez nussing” (a favorite McLean Hermann Buhl imitation).
So up we went to do the Trough in a blizzard. Half way up the route, with Russ belaying me from Pine Tree Ledge where he was anchored to a huge pillar of granite, Russ yelled up, “Are you in a good place?” I wasn’t. In fact, I was trying to figure out how to get across a ten foot section of verglas in my Kronhofers. I answered back that I was not in a good place. The wind was picking up and communication was difficult. Russ yelled back that I had better find a “good place” quickly. The block to which he was anchored was moving. I cautiously backed down to a sheltered gap between the face and a huge boulder. Just as I fell into the gap I heard the horrible sound of an immense rockfall. It took a full 30 seconds for the noise to subside. Then total silence except for the wind.
Russ are you okay? No answer. Again, Russ are you okay? No reply. Finally a weak voice from below in the gloom, I’m okay.
What happened, Russ? I had not felt a thing on my end of the rope.
Can’t explain now. Got to get back on the rock. Can you belay me?
Yeah, come on up. Several minutes later Russ climbed into view. He was a mess. Blood all over his face, his clothes in shreds, his right arm limply dangling at his side. He had been dragged off the ledge by the huge rock pillar and had fallen, accompanied by tons of rock debris, to the end of the rope. He was temporarily unconscious and when he came to he was dangling in space staring at his belay rope. The sheath in front of his face had parted, and exposed in front of him was the rope’s core. Two of the three internal braids were severed and he was suspended by the one remaining braid. When he was able to get his feet back on the rock, he tied off the exposed portion of the rope and climbed to my location.
Russ was on the verge of going into shock. He had lost some teeth, he had a badly cut arm, and a broken nose. I managed to belay him up the remaining pitches and down the icy slabs, around the Rock and back to Lunch Rock. I took him to the fire station in Idyllwild for first aid. I can still hear the crack when they straightened his nose. After the repair, we headed back to UC Riverside where the Cohen’s were living.
Russ could probably tell the story more accurately, but that’s the way I remember it. He survived, but required some expensive dental work. I have photos of Russ after the fall, but I'll have to drag them out - later.
Tahquitz stories – I have lots of them.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Apr 27, 2009 - 12:45pm PT
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who can post after that!
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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Apr 27, 2009 - 12:53pm PT
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Great story ... a while back there was an excellent thread on the wreckless (sic) driving from Tahquitz to Hemmet.
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henny
Social climber
The Past
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Apr 27, 2009 - 01:03pm PT
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Whoa!!! Now that's what I call a story! You might have set the bar a bit high with that one though.
By all means, if you have more Tahquitz tales post 'em up. We're all ears...
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scuffy b
climber
Frigate Matilda
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Apr 27, 2009 - 02:01pm PT
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Well, this is probably third-hand...the background to Fitchen's
Folly (first descent by Joe Fitschen, in a solo, catastrophic,
uncontrolled freefall)...
He had just climbed Traitor Horn, in the days when the number of
pitons you placed was a point of pride (the fewer the better, of
course).
So he's skipping along the top of the rock, shouting, "I just climbed Traitor Horn, and I only used two pitons!! I just climbed Traitor Horn, and I only used WHOOPS...."
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Apr 27, 2009 - 02:27pm PT
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Good God, not only a great story, but pictures! Thanks.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Apr 27, 2009 - 02:41pm PT
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holy hell in a handbasket!
wow, what a tale!
tough as nails kind of stuff.
keep this one on top of the threads today. whew!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Apr 27, 2009 - 03:08pm PT
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McClinsky, wonderful lad indeed:
One of the side effects of the accident Russ had to deal with was a protruding tongue for years afterwards. Is that sympathy, or a look of disgust on Malinda's face?
But, through drinking copious amounts of salad dressing he was able to control the tongue problem but now had to deal with "stoner eyes".
Finally, after years of therapy and his willing support group of mates, he learn to live comfortably with his new nose, German/Afgan heritage, and lived happily ever after,sort of, I think.
cheers
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dogtown
climber
Cheyenne,Wyoming
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Apr 27, 2009 - 04:18pm PT
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Don, I have plenty of Tahquitz, Suicide stories all of which are no match to that one! Good grief Man.
Bruce
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Apr 27, 2009 - 05:10pm PT
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That musta' hurt some, luckily it was cold.
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Dr. F.
climber
So Cal
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Apr 27, 2009 - 06:45pm PT
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Boy, those are not the McClinski or Russ we know
Whole different crowd
Give us a little more
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Apr 27, 2009 - 07:13pm PT
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WOW!!!!
That is all very impressive!!!!
Love it!!
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 27, 2009 - 10:30pm PT
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A bump for McLean
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 27, 2009 - 11:41pm PT
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Game, set and match to Mr. Lauria. But I hope others offer Tahquitz Tales.
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t*r
Trad climber
somewhere over the rainbow
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Apr 27, 2009 - 11:44pm PT
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wait, did he really have a problem with his nose making his tongue not work?
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 28, 2009 - 12:02am PT
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Just so you all know who's complaining about Russell's philandering
Here's Guido!
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 28, 2009 - 12:26am PT
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Hey, Guido. I just scanned about 35 photos shot with my Leica IIIG or my Olympus OM-1. Should I post them here or start a new thread entitled "Old Climbers & Other Old People"?
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