By the way Tom Frost says Hello!

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Oli

Trad climber

Fruita, Colorado

Oct 8, 2007 - 01:42am PT

Ken,
We will meet hopefully. I hear nothing but good about you, and I appreciate your support of Tom -- who was an older brother to me for twenty years (before moving back to California). Keep up the good work.

Pat

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

sorry, just posting out loud.

Oct 8, 2007 - 03:28am PT

What does Tom like about climbing and the climbing community today?

What does Tom dislike about climbing and the climbing community today?

any comparisons to the climbing community when he started, and when he was doing Big Wall FAs?

Sincerely,
Munge

Kilgore Trout

Trad climber

Oct 8, 2007 - 09:39am PT

Tell him that Frost Sentinels kick ass. I love those things.

scuffy b

climber

The deck above the 5

Oct 8, 2007 - 02:08pm PT

Tom, thanks for teaching me how to tie a double-fisherman's knot
in 1971.
I carry my keys on a string tied with one, so I'm reminded of you
almost every day.

Chicken Skinner

Trad climber

Yosemite

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 8, 2007 - 05:59pm PT

"What does Tom like about climbing and the climbing community today?"

Answer "It is family.I am impressed with climbers, what they do, and who they are. You continue to be an inspiration."

"What does Tom dislike about climbing and the climbing community today?"

Answer "I have no dislikes".

"any comparisons to the climbing community when he started, and when he was doing Big Wall FAs?"

Answer "The spirit is still there. We had the advantage of not having topos. We studied the routes and learned to know the rock."

"Tell him that Frost Sentinels kick ass. I love those things."

"Thanks for the compliment"

Scuffy b,your comment moved him.

Ken

Chicken Skinner

Trad climber

Yosemite

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 10, 2007 - 10:46am PT

Munge, Did you see his answers?

Ken

Howie

Trad climber

Calgary, Alberta

Oct 10, 2007 - 10:58am PT

Tell him his Sentinel nuts work like magic.
Howie

Karl Baba

Trad climber

Yosemite, Ca

Oct 10, 2007 - 11:22am PT

Tell em his nuts work like Cheater sticks. I make a point of bringing one up a wall to reach rivets.

I'd have to second Walleye's question. What can he say about Nanda Devi if anything? If he's got to keep a promise can he promise us that what's up there is good, safe and not some evil thang?

Also, name some old sckool routes that nobody does anymore that might be dusted off and get popular again. What are the potential hidden gems in the Roper's guide?

Tom's a great guy. Folks can just feel his heart is in the right place.

Peace

Karl

wack-N-dangle

Gym climber

the ground up

Oct 10, 2007 - 11:29am PT

I'll jump on the old school gear appreciation bandwagon:

They keep me going upwords, and help me from moving too far downwards.

Wait, all the climbing I do is in the gym. Still, I suspect the theory is correct (well tested).

Slakkey

Trad climber

From a Quiet Place by the Lake

Oct 10, 2007 - 12:23pm PT

What many may not know about Tom Frost is he was an excellent sailor winning several Championships. I do not know Tom personally but, know some who had raced with and aginst him. One in particular is Bob Dickson who did not even know Tom went on to become a Rock Climbing Legend. He did say though that Tom was a pretty dam good sailor back then.

It would be cool to hear about some of Toms sailing stories.

Oli

Trad climber

Fruita, Colorado

Oct 10, 2007 - 12:50pm PT

Tom once took me "sailing." We were on a lecture tour we did together all through the west, and down the coast of California (this was 1978). In one of those cities (I'm having trouble remembering which one, maybe Monterrey), he took me out in a tiny boat (it seemed like the smallest boat any two people could ride in), and we puttered around out there. He showed me some turns and tricks, though I didn't learn them well enough to remember them. When Tom climbs or sails or almost whatever, it seems always with tongue-in-cheek, a chuckle at the heart of everything.

Karl Baba

Trad climber

Yosemite, Ca

Oct 10, 2007 - 01:46pm PT

Since Tom isn't likely to talk and I was curious, for folks who didn't know anything about the Nanda Devi thing, I checked for myself

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/309005_spymain26.html

http://mountainwilderness.org/index.php?rub=175&art=13&lg=en

Being a totally great stand up guy doesn't protect a man from being part of what may someday turn out to be the deadliest, most harmful expedition in the history of climbing

peace

karl

Clint Cummins

Trad climber

SF Bay area, CA

Oct 10, 2007 - 04:02pm PT

Thanks for the links, Karl.

> ... what may someday turn out to be the deadliest, ...

A "definite maybe", I guess. I'm willing to go with Schaller's observation that future contamination could be very diluted. In any event, it appears to be Kohli's decision to leave it up on the hill where it got swept off. Little control over that for the other members of the team.

The CIA missions may seem like a strange choice for climbers who we might think of as independent souls. But that may be just be from our perspective of the 70s and later. In the 60s with the Cold War going on, I'm sure it was a patriotic motivation. There were a lot of climbers in the 10th Mountain Division in WW II, also. If you want to talk about "deadliest expeditions", the battles in Italy could qualify as the deadliest so far. But the climbers did not have many choices in that, either.

Clint Cummins

Trad climber

SF Bay area, CA

Oct 10, 2007 - 04:09pm PT

OK, here are some questions for Tom via Ken:

1. What was your hardest aid lead?

2. Hardest free lead? (not necessarily in terms of rating, but what felt hardest at the time, using the equipment of the day).

3. Were there any Yosemite climbs which you wanted to do, but did not get around to? (either repeats or FAs).

[edit to add more questions!]

4. What climbs did you do in Yosemite with John Harlin?

5. What was your favorite carabiner design?
(I am assuming you worked on those; if not I suppose you could still name you favorite biner...).

6. Are you working on any new climbing gear design projects?

(I just read Pat Ament's nice biography of Tom in Climbing March 1999, which answered some of my other questions).

Karl Baba

Trad climber

Yosemite, Ca

Oct 10, 2007 - 04:16pm PT

Question for Tom:

If you were 23 years old today, strong as you ever were and proficient in modern techniques, how would you approach climbing in today's world? (given what's already been done, what's being done, and what's there to do)

peace

karl

Chicken Skinner

Trad climber

Yosemite

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 12, 2007 - 10:24pm PT

Answers to your questions.

About Nanda Devi. "No comment"

Clints questions.

1."Several, 3rd pitch of the NA,,Little John Center, Horizontal pitch out of the Cyclops Eye were all fun. Scariest was the Roof Pitch out to the Headwall on the Salathe."

2. "Several, Dog Leg Cracks on the West Face of Sentinel, Steck- Salathe was the hardest, scariest, most physical route and fun. Did it six or seven times. The 1st pitch in the Great Chimney leading to the Narrows intimidated me the most because of it's lack of pro."

3. "I got to do all the ones that sung to my heart. I would have liked to do Lost Arrow Chimney again because I don't remember it well."

4. "None. I climbed with him on Bay Area outcrops near Stanford and then in the Alps. We did the South Face of the Fou and the Hidden Pillar on Mont Blanc. Our schooling at Stanford only over lapped for one quarter."

5."The first one I designed that came out after the Alcoa D biner. It was a drop forged slightly D shaped oval that had Chouinard on it."

6. "Only in my head. Would like to, if I had a partner."

Karls question.

"When I started, I was inspired by Salathe and his routes. Now I am inspired by Leo Houlding and Ivo Nunov for their desires to free climb El Cap from the bottom. I am also inspired by Piana, Skinner and Lynn Hill for their free climbing vision on the big walls and Hans Florine for his speed climbing efforts. If I was good enough today, I would try to follow their footsteps."

Ken