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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Aug 17, 2018 - 12:23pm PT
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Sadly, I have never had the pleasure of meeting Tom Frost. I am looking forward to reading Steve's biography of Tom.
Tom! Thank you for all the great climbing gear you designed!
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Nutty
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Aug 17, 2018 - 12:27pm PT
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Sorry for this sad news, Tom was a hero of mine from the start from the cover of Basic Rock Craft and work for Camp 4. Thanks for what your doing Steve.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Aug 17, 2018 - 12:30pm PT
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South Face of Annapurna with Haston, Whillans, et. al!
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Aug 17, 2018 - 12:42pm PT
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we should all feel blessed that the climbing leaders from that time, Tom , were so good'creative & brave...
Sending light & special prayers to all, An inspiration to a generation. A self made life to model life after, took a few great photographs too, if I'm remembering that correctly.
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E Robinson
climber
Salinas, CA
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Aug 17, 2018 - 01:04pm PT
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Got to meet Tom halfway up the Steck-Salathe back in the mid 80s. Such a cool and mellow good soul. He has and will always embody the spirit happiness in wild places. Tom - you touched many in our community and your ripples will carry on wherever and whenever you go!
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Aug 17, 2018 - 01:08pm PT
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All of us Stonemasters started chasing Tom's lead from day one. Never did better routes then Tom Frost did years before. Cause there ain't none. No better person, either.
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Aug 17, 2018 - 01:39pm PT
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Had the pleasure of working with him for a day repairing a chair for his wife. Truly the nicest soul out there. Thanks for everything Tom.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Aug 17, 2018 - 02:47pm PT
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Very sad to hear this news.
In the 1970 British expedition to the south face of Annapurna, Tom was paired up with Mick Burke. Mick was a chain smoker, and often used rather strong language. They were known to the rest of the team as "The saint and the sinner".
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Aug 17, 2018 - 03:03pm PT
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Yet Tom put up with it, few complaints.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2018 - 03:12pm PT
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I was just working on the Annapurna chapter in the tome of Tom. Had Mick been able to help break trail on the upper snowfields, I am quite convinced and so is Tom that they would have summited. I had a recent correspondence with Ed Webster and he agreed that it would have greatest achievement in the Himalaya by an American climber for more than a decade. Ed reckoned that the ascent of the Kangshung face of Everest in 1983 was the next rival.
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katiebird
climber
yosemite
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Aug 17, 2018 - 03:12pm PT
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Oh no, thanks letting us know Steve. Please, if you see him again soon let him know I say hello and think of him often.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2018 - 03:28pm PT
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Will do Katie.
We sure had a fun interview with him at Ken's house back in 2007 when my work with him first got going. I am really going to miss him big time.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Aug 17, 2018 - 03:41pm PT
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I was lucky enough to sit next to him at one of the AAC dinners
back in the 80's. One of the classiest acts around. Period.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Aug 17, 2018 - 04:06pm PT
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SUPER nice guy. What stands out to me was when I was standing at the bottom of the first pitch of the Nose at 5AM taking pictures of a speed ascent, and here comes an older gentleman soloing up the 4th class approach directly underneath. There's Tom about 70 years old doing something most young guys wouldn't do. Later I asked if he wanted to use my rope to rap down Pine Line and he said no he'd just reverse the solo.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Aug 17, 2018 - 05:17pm PT
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Can you think of a more elegant universal piece of gear than the Hex?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2018 - 06:13pm PT
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As Tom put it "I'm kind of an old world engineer. I like one moving part." It is a fitting tribute to Tom's exhaustive design skills and process that so many of the items of gear that he worked on haven't really changed or been improved upon in a half century.
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Aug 17, 2018 - 06:38pm PT
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What a wonderous life.
Working to tidy up loose ends till the end.
His biography is one book I'll definitely buy.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Aug 17, 2018 - 06:42pm PT
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I never met Tom, but he, along with Robbins, Pratt, and Chouinard, towered over everything we lesser mortals did in the climbing world. If you were an American climber, you were never far from the routes, the philosophy, and the gear that these giants pioneered. Stannard and I got to struggle with those dogleg leads, and of course Tom's hand was behind much of the gear we carried wherever we climbed.
Everything we ever heard about Tom spoke of his decency, humbleness, reliability, and skill. People refer to the golden age of Yosemite climbing, but I think these four stood at the pinnacle of a heroic age of American climbing, transforming what was really a climbing backwater into a world-class enterprise.
Heroic or golden, the curtain is coming down, the play is almost over, not only for the actors, but much of the audience as well. But what a grand and inspiring run they had!
It seems that Tom will soon be joining his partners Royal and Chuck in the great climbers' beyond, where a hero's welcome undoubtedly awaits.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Aug 17, 2018 - 06:47pm PT
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I never met Tom in person, but here's a Tom Frost story that shines a light on what kind of guy he is...
In 2011, Mari and I bought a house in Seattle. It needed a lot of renovation, and since Steve Grossman was both our friend and a contractor, we asked him to take on the job.
He not only took it on, but did fantastic work. So when the work was done we threw an open house -- with him as a kind of honored guest. I wanted to give him something special, to thank him for work beyond the call of duty, and I knew he loved Tom's photography. So I called Tom, introduced myself, and explained that I'd like to buy big print for Steve -- a print of whatever photo Tom thought Steve would appreciate most.
It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. It was big and beautiful and Steve loved it. And, in the package, was a second huge print (of a different photo) with a note from Tom saying "This one's for you."
No charge. Just a gift from Tom to a climber he'd never met...
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