Todd Skinner

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Hurricane Hannah

climber
Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 23, 2014 - 05:36am PT
Hey climbers! 8 years ago today, my daddy passed away. I know a lot of you knew him much better than I did, and so I was wondering if any of you had any stories or anything about him that you would like to share. Thanks! R.i.p. Daddy ❤️❤️❤️
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Oct 23, 2014 - 05:48am PT
I never got to meet him. Massive respect for his achievements, though.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1461930/The-Stigma-vs-The-Regegade
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
Oct 23, 2014 - 05:53am PT
Oh kiddo, we are all so sad I am not the one to tell you stories about your Dad

but he was the reason for almost every climber

who makes a living doing this thing

that your dad did better than any one

and know he is smiling and all around you

Know that I am Crying and can not see to type

The crowd here loved him also

They will do him and your Family Proud

GO TO FLAMES thread #5182

The LAST PAGE FROM mouse of merced

The mix of the Two and what the construction says

Tuckin' & the song lyrics

HE's Gone... which can be found too

Are One post away That is

a start of the complex man

who was all hart

Todd Skinner.


Super Topo Represent

NOW AND FOEVER;,.l;,;.,;.,;.,.; THE GUN FIGHTER

My wife has been to wild Iris and not me

If I can later I will post at least her Guide Book

LUV TO YOUR FAMILY AND TO YOU

Good "morrow mouse thanks I'm so glad you see



(EDIT) So how did the folks at this Enchilada stand ,the super Topo's funny name. the Taco , do?10/24/14 Thank you topeans Quality stuff
pyro

Big Wall climber
Calabasas
Oct 23, 2014 - 05:54am PT
met Todd a joshua tree rock climbing clinic slide show of trango sometime late 90's.

he told me to use crazy glue to fix gobi's!

what a wonderful and amazing rock climber.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Oct 23, 2014 - 06:22am PT
Never met your dad but he was an iconic climber.

Cheers and peace.
couchmaster

climber
Oct 23, 2014 - 06:38am PT


I never got to tie in and climb with your father, but everytime I ever met him, I was always struck at how upbeat and happy he was. I bet if you look up the word "STOKE!" in the dictionary, Todds photo would be there. He was always a joy to be around.

Good thread here with some memories, your sister might have already posted a photo of you. http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=270833&tn=0&mr=0

Branscomb

Trad climber
Lander, WY
Oct 23, 2014 - 06:42am PT
Hannah:

Many years ago I went out to do El Cap and just failed miserably. I just had some sort of psychic implosion and couldn't even get on the thing. I was feeling really bad about myself and seriously thought about quitting climbing completely.

I saw your father one day here in Lander after that and he asked me about it and I told him about how poorly I had done. He was really great about it and assured me that these things happen even to the best of them. He really encouraged me to stay with it.

Your father was a great climber, no doubt, but also he was, I think most importantly, a great human being. He was a kind and generous man. All of us who knew him miss him to this day and think well of him.

Bob Branscomb, Lander
ddriver

Trad climber
SLC, UT
Oct 23, 2014 - 07:58am PT
My first ever trip to Hueco Tanks was with James Crump and Hank Caylor in '84. We hung out with Mike and Dave Head. Thats when I met Todd as well as Paul Piana, Mike Sherman, Dave Parker, and Fred Nakovic. What an intro to the Hueco scene. Todd was always super nice to everyone, even noobs, and stoked about everything, just fun to be around. It was great to see all those guys who were the heart and soul of Hueco together, and to watch them climb. That was about the time Todd was working on the Gunfighter, can't remember if he freed it in 84 or 85. Todd was a great guy, sad to lose him.
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
Oct 23, 2014 - 08:26am PT
Only met Todd once, but he was kind and open.


He wasn't immediately accepted by valley locals, like when he was working on The Stigma. There was a little song to the tune of the Twelve Days Of Christmas that a few guys were working on and singing. It wasn't complimentary: "5 sub-men subbing, 4 hangdogs hanging..." that kind of thing.

But when I met him I was impressed with his mellow side.

Great climber.
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Oct 23, 2014 - 08:40am PT
I never met your dad, but he was in the magazines a lot when I first started climbing and his persona and exploits and smile and stoke were larger than life and much of why I wanted to be a "real climber." I think I had a poster of him in my college dorm room. Here are a couple images I stole off the internet. They are how I envisioned your dad....steely grit and stoke filling a room or a canyon or a mountain range wherever he went. May these stories from here on Supertopo warm your heart and encourage you to seek adventure like your dad did in all you do.

Scott


bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
Oct 23, 2014 - 09:13am PT
Hannah,

I used to run into your dad when I climbed at Devil's Tower. Your dad was always fun to hang out with. He had so much energy. I remember going up to climb Direct Southwest which at the time had seen only a few ascents, but we somehow managed to get up the thing. When we got back to the parking lot Todd came over to me and was so excited. He asked, "were you the guy wearing the white pants who just did Direct Southwest?" When I replied "yes" he broke out into a big grin and said "man, you were styling up there."

That was Todd. He was just as happy to see others succeed at climbing. It wasn't all about his own successes.

I have some photos of Todd doing pullups on a special rig he built to hang off of the front of his truck. Check back in a few days. Hopefully I will have them scanned in an up on this thread.
Sir Donald

Trad climber
Denver, CO
Oct 23, 2014 - 09:21am PT
I met your dad in Jackson Hole, WY back in 1988 - he was giving a slide show about his trip to Russia to compete in a speed climbing competition. He was such a ball of energy. The next year I tried to get on the "Cowboys on Everest" team as a support climber but it didn't work out - wish I'd gone. I will always remember that your dad had an inner smile bigger than anybody's :)
k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Oct 23, 2014 - 09:44am PT
I met Todd in J-Tree before he was well known, just running guiding trips and such. He pulled up in a van next to my site, jumped out, and asked if I wanted an orange (he'd scored a box of them cheap, and was eager to share).

Todd and I hung out for about two weeks, climbing in between stints that he had with a client that he picked up. Sherman was cruising around with us a bit too, but Todd and I had a gas climbing all over the place. Heck, we even put up an FA for kicks.

I had to get stitches, though, because your pop would tell stories that busted my gut. I even remember one about an ensolite pad. And his "climbers iron cross" joke I still tell to this day (it's a visual joke).

Todd had this great list of names for the FAs he was going to do. "Looking for Mr. Armbar" was one he was saving for an off-width.

He picked up a client from the Palm Springs airport, some millionaire that needed a few days of guiding, and when it was my turn to cook breakfast, I pulled out my special secret--add a dollop of sour cream to make the scramble creamy. But I overdid it, and I added like half the container (hey, a little is really good, more should be better, right??). Holy cow, we all choked them down, but I don't think Todd ever forgave me for turning his client's stomach, lots o laughs.

Sherman recommended Imaginary Voyage, and Todd went up and solo'ed the first 5.8 pitch... Ho, that scared the crap out of me, trying to look cool. But what a great route.

I ran into todd now and again, once in Hueco, where he was wintering. He told me he'd climb one day on, two days off. After climbing, he went to their rented house where they'd built this crazy indoor wall, and they'd boulder until they couldn't hang on any more. Then, two days off. I'm like, "What the heck do you do in El Paso?" Todd's reply, heck, we climb for 10 days a month!

Then I ran into him in Skardu, Pakistan. He was on his way up to do Cowboy Direct on Nameless. We're having dinner, and in walks Todd. Then he sez, "Shucks Kelly, I gotta go half-way around the world to catch up to you!"

Todd got a lot of flack, for his climbing ways. But I kew the fellow and backed him up, even though I didn't 100% agree with his ways. But Todd was just as eager as any person you have *ever* met, and this eagerness took him to places that most of us only dream about. His energy, I've never met anybody else who's had it. And I'd pay a fortune to get a cup of that juice, it was just so darn good.
Toker Villain

Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
Oct 23, 2014 - 10:21am PT
I never climbed with Todd (apples and oranges), but we met decades ago and hit it off from the getgo. He knew I had done some stuff. I knew he had done some stuff. Mutual respect and no competition.

I developed a relationship with Yates Gear, in part thanks to Todd.

I even dated HB briefly back in the '80s, and then wished her and Paul well.

The news of how he fell sort of angered me. I never used my "belay loop" as a primary link in my roped solos, only as a daisy link.
I only wish that I could have swayed Todd with my rationale for doing so. What a sad loss of talent.

BTW I think Todd had one of the best smiles in the climbing community, to me a sign of a great lust for life.
mike m

Trad climber
black hills
Oct 23, 2014 - 10:34am PT
I know your dad spent a lot of time here.I did not know your dad, but had run into him in Lander and the Black Hills. He and Paul were an inspiration for a lot of us in the Black Hills climbing scene. He was good friends with Pete Delannoy, as well, who started the sport climbing in Spearfish Canyon. I believe Todd, Paul, and Pete were some of the big driving forces that developed the Wild Iris back in the day. Pete who was teaching at BHSU in Spearfish then brought on a whole next generation of us who have gone on to develop Spearfish Canyon and a very vibrant climbing scene in the Black Hills. But to me personally he was more about exploring the possibilities and reaching a little farther than you might have if you always did things that were prudent. To look around the corner, go over that hill to see what is on the other side and I think he did that better than anyone. To go from a rural Wyoming Country boy to a globetrotting ground breaking climber really inspired us all. He took on the biggest of projects and dived right in. I know he and Paul climbed extensively in the Black Hills and for them to be able to go to all these great places all around the world, but yet to consistently come back to the Black Hills has always helped me realize what a special place I live in.
Off White

climber
Tenino, WA
Oct 23, 2014 - 10:56am PT
Hannah:

I must have first met Todd when I was living in Tucson, round about 85 or so. I ran into him all over after that, he was everywhere. I've spent a total of 6 hours at the Gunks in New York, and sure enough I ran into Todd while I was there. We had an enthusiastic hand waving conversation, and I was struck by how he interacted with an older guy who stopped as he walked by. Seems the gentleman had just led his first 5.6, and he'd clearly been talking to Todd earlier. Todd was so genuinely happy for the guy, and that was one of his fine points, his stoke was not reserved for just elite climbers or hard routes, but for anyone who loved climbing.

I was never in his league in terms of ability, but that didn't stop him from marking up my early City of Rocks guide when I ran into him there, including some routes I should aspire to as well as the ones I could get up. My partner and I can still hear him declare, "Oh, you muussst go to the Nematode!"

I think it was at a series of Beanfests, large biennial climber's parties that happen in Arizona, where I first met him. He liked the climbing and exploring and the social aspects, but the long standing ritual of "beaning" made him very uncomfortable. The person in charge of the event, the Beanmaster, would go around on Saturday night and apply a dab of refried beans to the forehead of every participant like ash to the forehead of a penitent on Ash Wednesday. The boisterous inebriated crowd follows along and bellows "Hear Hear" with each application, and woe betide the fool who would rub the beans off post ritual. At several Beanfests Todd would just melt away into the night when that time came, and he had never been beaned. In the spring of 86 I got to be the Beanmaster, and I knew how I had to start the process. I sidled up to Todd on one side, while my friend Steve Grossman came up on the other. I said, "You know Todd, the time has finally come..." and he tensed up as I brought the bean pot from behind my back, but then he sighed, slumped slightly, and said, "well, alright" as he'd been fairly caught. It's one of the great achievements of my life that I was the first, and likely only person to ever Bean Todd Skinner.

I know his ambition, his tactics, and his approach to climbing upset a lot of people in those years, there was a lot of change in the sport happening then and things often got tense. However, I always experienced Todd as a warm and friendly human being, and I'm sad that neither you or I will ever turn a corner and run into him somewhere, and get to watch that wide goofy grin split his face.
crunch

Social climber
CO
Oct 23, 2014 - 12:43pm PT
Got to know Todd from Heuco tanks back in the 80s. He was known then for trying really hard bolt-protected routes. Just trying the same moves, over and over, stubborn as could be.

At the time this seemed, for most of us, dubious, boring, not really climbing. Few folks were interested in hanging on a route and trying the same moves over and over.

Of course, in hindsight, he was simply ahead of the curve. Sport climbing was just getting started, still unsure of where it wanted to to go. He was a real pioneer, showing the way. He knew where he wanted to go and his stubborn streak took him there.

Off the rock, he was one of the warmest, kindest, funniest people to hang out with. As with Layton Kor, I have only fond memories: a big smile, a love of a funny story, and never a bad word about anyone.

looking sketchy there...

Social climber
Lassitude 33
Oct 23, 2014 - 02:16pm PT
As others have said, Todd was one of the most positive and encouraging people and climbers I have had the honor to meet. When he would greet you, he always had a big smile and invariably something good to say and some route or activity to recommend. He really loved climbing and genuinely cared about and respected people. His high energy was absolutely infectious, and unlike some top climbers, he made you feel good about what you were doing, even if it wasn't anything particularly noteworthy.

You have every reason to be proud of your father; he was the rare combination of a wonderful human being and extremely talented and hard working climber.
G_Gnome

Trad climber
Cali
Oct 23, 2014 - 03:09pm PT
I just loved how he stuck his tongue out when he smiled! Made it very infectious.. Add that to his level of enthusiasm and he was great fun to be around.
hobo_dan

Social climber
Minnesota
Oct 23, 2014 - 03:26pm PT
I met your dad and I enjoyed visiting with him. He had a real positive attitude. I had a brake line problem and he gave me his can of brake fluid so I could do the repair.
He was friendly in a sport that was pretty snobbish.
A really good guy

Dan
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