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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Oct 25, 2014 - 06:31pm PT
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I'd run into Todd (with Galen Rowell) at the base of Half Dome where he was working relentlessly on the 5.13d slab crux of the Direct Northwest face and around the base of Half Dome. He was always cool and friendly.
As a climber, he really pioneered the trend of freeing big walls and controversially brought projecting (hang dogging) to Yosemite Valley. Not controversial anymore. Visionaries (and outsiders) always ruffle some feathers but he was a light and an amazing dude
He bought some Yosemite Photos from me as well, nice..
I'm sure Hannah has some good genes
Peace
karl
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Oct 25, 2014 - 07:17pm PT
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Hello Hannah!
I would like to share with you the one and only time I met your dad . . . I was at the base of the Stigma at Yosemite's Cookie Cliff and he happened by at that very moment, I believe he was working on freeing the route at the time. As a young climber of 17 or 18 I was tremendously impressed by his warm smile and friendly spirit. He made me feel very accepted and expressed genuine interest in my own endeavors . . . this was not the case with many of the Valley regulars at that time, they payed little attention to us. I will always remember what a great human he was and the positive influence he had on me as a young man . . . I will always be grateful to Todd Skinner for showing me the light that day.
Best to you!
Greg Collier
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Oct 25, 2014 - 07:23pm PT
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Todd and Paul, along with Beth Wald, came to Casper sometime in the 1990's and gave their show at the Hilton Hotel Grand Ballroom. It was an amazing crowd for the town. I met your Dad and Paul, shot the schitt with them for a while and then went out to a late dinner with my son. We ran into them at the same restaurant and shot more schitt with them. Great guys! I too, am a University of Wyoming graduate. best wishes, always; I'm sorry for your loss.
Rodger
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Oct 25, 2014 - 07:29pm PT
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Hi Hannah!
i didnT know ur Dad very well, i only talked with him a couple times. Because at the time i was a noob. And your Dad was a God! Not only for his achievements, but because of his spirit. We would kinda joke and laugh at the clothes he wore, but when you got up close you couldn't see anything past his smile! When i was just a sport climber, i went to one of his slide shows. After hearing his utmost positive motivation about climbing in the Valley. i wanted to be just like him. So i sold all my stuff and moved to Yosemite to do what he was doing. i'm so thankful for every day i spent in the Valley and most of my dreams came true. Now i'm dressing more like ur Dad did, and i'm still chasing the dream of being like him,like his spirit.. He was a colorful loving guy who was ahead of his time, and someday soon we'll all catch up to him in heaven!
Thanks for posting up and bringing back wonderful memories!!
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
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Oct 25, 2014 - 07:38pm PT
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Hannah,
back in the early 1980's your father and his climbing partners used to live in a teepee on a ranch right near Devil's Tower. To get by, they would do odd jobs for the local ranchers such as fixing fences, tending to the cattle, etc.
One Saturday evening we were sitting down for dinner at the restaurant just outside the entrance to Devil's Tower when a rancher came over to me and my climbing partner. He told us he used to hire this climber(your dad) to do some jobs for him. He had a side of beef for us if we wanted to come over to his place and work for the next week.
I really admired all the different skills, besides climbing skills, that your dad possessed. Clearly, Todd would have known how to cut up and eat a side of beef. My partner and I did not. Unfortunately, we had to decline the rancher's offer.
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MH2
climber
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Oct 25, 2014 - 08:03pm PT
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Todd gave a talk in Toronto about freeing the Salathé. Nothing was pre-recorded or to all appearances even thought out ahead of time. He seemed a gifted storyteller, funny and genuine. A good mind and a good person.
He began the talk by telling us he learned most of what he needed to know in life from his first-grade teacher Cooky, who had been a bull-rider but who had an accident (broke his back) and the town pretty much decided for him that he had to be the first-grade teacher since nothing else seemed to suit.
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 25, 2014 - 09:50pm PT
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Hurricane Hannah
I first met your Dad at the cookie one hot afternoon.
He was trying to do a first free ascent of this thin thing called stigma.
He was sitting there at the base resting after one of his tries.
I went and did some pitches and came back and he was still sitting there lol.
He said he's gonna wait till almost dark for it to cool down for his last try.
He did IT!!!!
We did a filming job together and he was the bomb.
Easy going, easy to get along with, hard worker and good man.
And in the end I was part of the crew that carried him down from the base of the Leaning Tower.
I'm so sorry you and your mom had to lose your dad like this .....
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TripleS_in_EBs
climber
Poulsbo, WA
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Oct 26, 2014 - 02:45am PT
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When I heard he and Paul had freed the Salathe it blew my mind. When I heard the stories of that endeavor - the brutalized hands, the struggles on the headwall, the determination, the pop tarts, the tortillas, the summit block slide, the epic wounded descent - I was even more amazed.
When a friend and I heard the news 8 years ago, we decided to climb 35 routes (the number of pitches on the Salathe) each that day at our local gym in solemn remembrance.
Thanks for reminding us to think of him. He is missed.
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Oct 26, 2014 - 07:06am PT
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Hi Hurricane Hannah,
I met your Dad in 1988 while climbing in the beautiful South Platte region of Colorado. He was doing a photo shoot for La Sportiva climbing shoes on Sphinx Crack, a famous and notoriously hard finger crack.
My friend and I were climbing a route in the same area, and your Dad was smiling and joking with us as we roped up and climbed our route. It was a partly sunny day, and the photographer would have your Dad wait to climb until the sun shone clear through the clouds.
It was my first exposure to a professional climber getting paid to do what he loves. The sun would come out, your Dad would start busting out some hard moves midway up the pitch, place some gear, and when it clouded up again, he would stop, hang, and wait until he could start the next sequence. And he was smiling the whole time....
And I also remember him from the old Masters of Stone videos. Your father was a great climber and an inspiration. It is obvious from this thread that he was loved and respected.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Oct 26, 2014 - 07:30pm PT
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Hannah
I wish I could say I met your father. Only knew him through his reputation,
what a climber he was.
Sadly, I check my harness closely everytime I rope up.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Oct 26, 2014 - 07:40pm PT
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I met Todd and he was super positive and funny. I also crossed paths with your cousin Ntala who was taking numbers and kicking ass in biathlon some years ago.
Something in that Skinner gene...
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amylskinner
climber
lander, wy
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Thanks to all of you for your kind response to Hannah's request for stories about Todd. We love to hear stories and see old friends! The Skinner kids are doing Todd proud -
Adios for now,
Amy
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