Todd Skinner

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Todd Skinner (October 27, 1958 – October 23, 2006) was an American free climber who died in a fall at Yosemite National Park on October 23, 2006. His climbing achievements included the first free ascents of many routes and the world's first free ascent of a grade 7 climb.

Todd Skinner had completed a new route up the face of Leaning Tower in Yosemite National Park on October 23rd, 2006. While rappelling down, he fell 500 feet and died. The cause of death was the failure of the belay loop of his climbing harness.^[1] Jim Hewett, a friend of Skinner's, had previously observed that the harness appeared worn.^[2]

[edit] First free ascents

• 1988: The Salathe Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
• 1990: North face of Mt. Hooker, Wind River Range
• 1992: The Great Canadian Knife, Cirque of the Unclimbables, Yukon Territories
• 1993: Northwest Direct Route on Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
• 1995: East Face of Trango Tower, Pakistan's Karakoram Himalayas (the first grade 6 free climb in the world).
• 1998: War and Poetry, Ulamertorsuaq, Cape Farewell, of Greenland
• East Face of Poi, Ndoto Mountains, Northern Kenya.[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Lober, Keith (Oct 30, 2006). Follow-up On Fatal Climbing Fall (archived at huecotanks.com). The Morning Report for Monday, October 30, 2006. National Park Service. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
2. ^ http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/26/CLIMBER.TMP San Francisco Chronicle

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Denver Post article on his death
• Obituary, Independent (UK)
• Website for Todd's book Beyond the Summit
• Todd Skinner's climbing biography