Todd Richard Skinner (October 27, 1958 – October 23, 2006) was an American

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

and expert in

big wall climbing Big wall climbing is a type of rock climbing where a climber ascends a long multi-pitch route, normally requiring more than a single day to complete the climb. Big wall routes require the climbing team to live on the route often using portaledges ...

. He made the

first free ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

s of many routes around the world, including his

historic History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

first free ascent with Paul Piana in 1988 of the '' Salathe Wall'' on

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

; it was one of the first-ever big wall climbs at , and led to the birth of "free climbing" Yosemite. Skinner's story was told in Jeff Smoot's 2019 book, ''Hangdog Days''.

Personal life

Skinner was born in

Pinedale, Wyoming Pinedale is a town in and the county seat of Sublette County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,030 at the 2010 census. Pinedale is an important hunting outfitting town and a gateway to the Wind River Mountains. It is also a major g ...

, and planned to "take a little while off to climb" after gaining a degree in finance from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in 1982. Instead, he became a full-time free climber and motivational speaker. In 1990, he settled in

Lander, Wyoming Lander is a city in Wyoming, United States, and the county seat of Fremont County. It is in central Wyoming, along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River, just south of the Wind River Indian Reservation. It is a tourism center with several near ...

, in part because he considered the dolomite cliffs there to be the ultimate training ground for free climbing. He opened the Wild Iris Mountain Sports store in Lander and encouraged visits by climbers from around the world. He was married with three children.

Death

Todd Skinner was attempting to free climb the ''Jesus Built My Hotrod''

route Route or routes may refer to: * Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver * route (command), a program used to configure the routing table * Route, County Antrim, an area in Northern Ireland * ''The Route'', a 2013 Ugandan film * Ro ...

up the face of

Leaning Tower This is a list of leaning towers. A leaning tower is a tower which, either intentionally or unintentionally (due to errors in design, construction, or subsequent external influence such as unstable ground), does not stand perpendicular to the g ...

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

on October 23, 2006. While rappelling down, he fell 500-feet and died. The cause of death was the failure of the

belay Belaying is a variety of techniques climbers use to create friction within a climbing system, particularly on a climbing rope, so that a falling climber does not fall very far. A climbing partner typically applies tension at the other end of t ...

loop of his

climbing harness A climbing harness is a device which allows a climber access to the safety of a rope. It is used in rock and ice climbing, abseiling, and lowering; this is in contrast to other activities requiring ropes for access or safety such as industrial r ...

. Jim Hewett, a friend of Skinner, had previously observed that the harness appeared worn.

Notable first free ascents

* 1985 – ''The Gunfighter'' (5.13b),

Hueco Tanks Hueco Tanks is an area of low mountains and historic site in El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. It is located in a high-altitude desert basin between the Franklin Mountains to the west and the Hueco Mountains to the east. ''Hueco'' is ...

, Texas, United States. * 1986 – ''City Park'' (5.13d), Lower Index Town Wall, Washington, United States * 1988 – '' Salathe Wall'' (VI 5.13b),

, the first-ever big wall climbs at , and the birth of "free climbing" Yosemite. * 1989 – ''Lizzy Beams Desire'' (5.14a), Black Hills, South Dakota, United States * 1990 – ''The Jaded Lady'' (VI 5.12a), North face of Mt. Hooker,

Wind River Range The Wind River Range (or "Winds" for short) is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW–SE for approximately . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and inclu ...

, Wyoming. With Paul Piana, Galen Rowell and Tim Toula. * 1992 – ''The Great Canadian Knife'' (VI 5.13b), Cirque of the Unclimbables, Yukon Territories, Canada. * 1993 – ''Northwest Direct Route'' (VI 5.13d) on

Half Dome Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smoo ...

. * 1995 – ''Cowboy Direct'' (VII 5.13a) East Face of Nameless Tower,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

's Karakoram Himalayas. * 1998 – ''War and Poetry'' (VI 5.12c), Ulamertorsuaq, Cape Farewell, of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

* 2000 – ''True at First Light'' (VI 5.13a), East Face of Poi, Ndoto Mountains, Northern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

* 2004 – ''Wet Lycra Nightmare'' (V 5.13d), Leaning Tower, Yosemite, California, United States

References

External links

Official WebsiteDenver Post article on his deathObituary, ''Independent'' (UK)
American rock climbers People from Pinedale, Wyoming Mountaineering deaths Deaths in Yosemite National Park Accidental deaths in California 1958 births 2006 deaths People from Lander, Wyoming {{US-climbing-bio-stub

Personal life

Death

Notable first free ascents

See also

References

External links