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kin
Social climber
Berkeley, CA
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Oct 25, 2006 - 12:50am PT
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To Todd's wife, family and friends,
I wish there were magic words or a formula to eliminate the pain, but I know there is not. Take comfort in knowing that Todd's energy and enthusiasm are a positive and everlasting force in many people's lives including many that didn't have the fortune to know him, myself included.
I recently was blindsided by misery at the unexpected loss of a loved one. To help me cope, a loving friend gave me a valuable reference, "I Wasn't Ready To Say Goodbye" by Brook Noel & Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. This book has helped me on my path to healing. Perhaps you too will find some wisdom and comfort in its pages at this trying time.
I encourage you to take care of yourself. Find comfort in the embrace and generosity of those whom you all find dear.
May you always carry Todd's spirit with you as you continue life's journey.
My deepest sympathies,
Kin
Berkeley, California
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Eastside
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Oct 25, 2006 - 12:59am PT
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So sad. Such a bad year. I was just there. (Valley)
I too saw that slide show at Neptunes as a newbee climber.
"As for Todd missing out on old age and cutting right to the next great adventure. I'll reserve judgement and wish him Godspeed."
Well said Karl, well said.
My thoughts are with his family, partner, Werner and the others with YOSAR.
Julia White
TPR
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Madbolter
climber
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Oct 25, 2006 - 01:04am PT
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I just heard this devastating news. Words completely fail me. My contact with Todd was brief, but memorable.
Hopefully, the outpouring of love from the climbing community will bring some small measure of comfort to his wife and children. I truly am sorry and saddened he is gone.
Rex Pieper
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wyJames
Mountain climber
Dripping Spring, Tx
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Oct 25, 2006 - 01:04am PT
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I still can't believe it, doesn't seem real yet. My parents moved to Lander my senior year in high school a little while after I began climbing. Todd was already my hero after the National Geographic article about the Trango tower, then I met him. I met him on a SAR in the Winds and worked along side him for several hours before I realized "Todd" was Todd Skinner! Even with the seriousness of SAR Todd was driven, enthusiastic and motivating. He has this incredible energy about him all the time, when I would see him around town or at the crags it just seemed to radiate from him and was infectious as hell. You couldn't help but laugh and smile in his presence. My favorite memory of Todd was at a end of season party for his employees (my wife worked for Wild Iris). Sitting on the back porch with his twins crawling all over him while he went on and on with his usual enthusiam about the climbing I would soon discover around Austin. It seemed at the time that there wasn't a crag in the entire world that Todd hadn't been to and I would be surprised if there was. Todd left his mark on the people he met and the places he climbed like no one ever will. My condolences go out to Amy, his kids and his many partners who shared his passion for out of the way places.
-James
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Mtnfreak
Mountain climber
Bellingham, WA / Bishop, CA
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Oct 25, 2006 - 01:17am PT
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I first met Todd when I lived in Lander during the fall of 1999. He was already legendary to me.
I got to see him again on pitch 4 of the West Face of Leaning Tower in September of 2002. He had fixed lines for his project to free Wet Denim, and I was solo-aiding the West Face. He paused to chat and catch up with me, complement my efficiency (I had admitted to him that it was my first solo-aid climb), and wish me luck.
That's how I'm going to remember Todd. Hanging on a rope, looking over my shoulder.
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Mateo Pee Pee
Trad climber
Ivory Tower PDX
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Oct 25, 2006 - 01:49am PT
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It has been a challenging year for many of us that climbed at Devils Tower in the mid-1980s. We lost Jim Schlinkman to an auto accident in Nevada earlier this year. And now Todd.
I did not know Todd well but I knew him well enough to know he lived his life with all of the inner strength and unbridled spirit one would expect of someone growing up in the Wyoming wind. True, he was not the strongest or the most talented of climbers yet few could match his enthusiasm, his drive, and his deep love affair with climbing. Moreover, Todd was peerless in his willingness to share his love of climbing with anyone willing venture off of the common ground regardless of their climbing ability and intent.
What I most appreciated about Todd was his unusual ability to make people laugh and not take themselves too seriously yet simultaneously convince themselves that they are deserving of the highest level of self-respect. Todd knew that self-respect is earned and that for many climbers it was earned through a project. Everyone should have a project that helps them transcend the limits they have set for themselves. And that was Todd’s magic, to believe that we can live to be greater than we are. I thank him for those lessons and will seek to keep them alive in his memory.
On a final reflection, it is an awkward but somehow satisfying thought that Jim and Todds’ spirits will surely meet again causing who knows what havoc in the realm beyond! All we can do is rejoice in knowing they are alive in the Wyoming wind and that their spirits are too strong to be contained by anything less.
My deepest sympathies to Todd’s family and friends.
Keith Hadley
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Chico
Trad climber
Mt. Shasta, CA
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Oct 25, 2006 - 01:51am PT
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Wow, I just heard the news. Very shocking and sad...I still have a tattered poster of Todd and Paul freeing the Salathe wall titled "Free at Last". It has found a place on the wall of every place I have ever lived. He has always been an inspiration to me. Deep, sincere condolences to his family...
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ScooterPie
Mountain climber
San Diego, CA
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Oct 25, 2006 - 02:28am PT
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"Here I Stand In The Middle of the Land" The opening line from some old Hoodoo Gurus song. I can't remember if this opened the Salathe slideshow, or if it was running when they headed to Canon Tahoe/El Gran Trono Blanco. This song still gets me fired up when I head out into the backcountry, and of course I think of that slideshow with those two yucksters at the A16 in San Diego. If memory serves me, they were off soloing routes in Josh the next day as I looked on in astonishment from across the intersection.
I seem to remember a reference to flying stale tortillas and maybe even some carrots, too. Nothing like a little mischief.
Peace to all affected by the loss. May you find solace and may Todd rest in peace.
Pete
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James
climber
A tent in the redwoods
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Oct 25, 2006 - 03:21am PT
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Todd was lurking by the Camp 4 kiosk wearing his trademark bandana when I met him. The encounter was brief but Todd stamped a permanent impression on me. He was pysched. Condolensces to his family and friends.
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thesiger
Trad climber
A desert kingdom
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Oct 25, 2006 - 03:58am PT
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Todd Skinner was omnipresent when climbing had its greatest hold on my life in the mid-80s. A hero with more dimensions that most of the grade-chasers that the magazines sought to promote. As I have become older, climbing for me has become inextricably entwined with travel, and I have been noticing that for almost anywhere I have chosen to research, Todd's name has appeared. Recently it was the Hand of Fatima ... what took a cowboy to Mali! A life well lived, sad that it was shortened.
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Ras Vegas
Boulder climber
Laguna Beach
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Oct 25, 2006 - 04:16am PT
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Very...very sorry for the family. Todd is now climbing in heaven with no rope because you don't need one there. If you fall...you simply fall into the cupped hands of Jesus Christ. He is our belayer both here and in heaven. He's climbing with his friends who went there before him.
God Bless you my friend...and please Lord...comfort his family and children through this difficult time.
Ross "Ras Vegas" Tucker
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Blues Brother
Big Wall climber
Riverside,Ca.
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Oct 25, 2006 - 08:38am PT
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Do you know the day this tragedy happened? We were on the 4 mile trail on the 18th and saw emergency vehicles heading towards El Cap direction. Condolences to all.
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SteveJ
Sport climber
Bolton, MA
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Oct 25, 2006 - 08:41am PT
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I grew up with Todd. He was a few years older and always figured very large in our group. Those were great great days. A few summers ago I tracked him down at Wild Iris. He gave my 11 year old (who is a fanatic sport climber) the time of his young climbing life. Todd was equally attentive and supportive of my 7 year old. But the real event was the storytelling around the campfire in Todd's tipi.
we will be raising many glasses and dedicating many climbs in the years to come to Todd Skinner the Great!
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flyxc
Trad climber
Otisfield, Maine
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Oct 25, 2006 - 09:35am PT
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I met Todd in the mid eighties in Hueco. He was so cool showing us all sorts of problems, spotting us and being so psyched! When I figured out who he was I couldn't believe he had been so helpful and supportive to a couple of gumbies who could barely climb 5.10. It is a story I have told many times. One of those moments in life that although short produce a big impact. What an amazing guy. It is truely a huge loss.
RIP
Scott Berk
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guyman
Trad climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Oct 25, 2006 - 09:50am PT
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This is so sad. Todd was a character who stood out in a sport full of characters. All will miss him.
RIP
Guy Keesee
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Craig Smith
climber
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Oct 25, 2006 - 09:52am PT
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Super sad news.
I climbed with Todd alot in the mid '80's...Grand Illusion, many routes at Smith, The Phantom in the Valley and we nearly freed the Selathe- he went back with Paul and did it a year later. He was such a great person to hang out with and to climb with. He taught me so much about climbing and life in general.
Even though I'd not seen him for years, he was never far from my thoughts. He was ahead of the times there is no doubt in my mind. A true visionary.
RIP
Craig
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JMC
climber
Tucson
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Oct 25, 2006 - 10:17am PT
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Terrible news. Todd was a man on fire! That guy loved climbing, loved to push others to the ragged edges of their abilities. He was such an intense ball of energy. RIP.
-John Canby
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Gary.Wilmot
climber
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Oct 25, 2006 - 10:40am PT
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Like many I met Todd and Amy at Hueco Tanks in the late 80's. I remember following both through the catacombs of Hueco to their hidden projects, sessions in the Round Room and beers at Pete's. Todd's enthusiasm, stories and genuine interest in my projects even though he was in the midst of shooting the first Masters of Stone. Our paths crossed through the years until they intersected more permanently in Lander where the Skinners, and my wife and I, raise our kids.
Somehow during the intervening years Todd's energy and enthusiasm for climbing, and life, never waned. Whether I bumped into him at the playground with our kids, or the grocery store, he always had a tale to tell, an ear for a friend and that palpable spark that only he had. During the years I knew Todd he always encouraged me, paused at the base of the cliff if he saw me on a route, watched when I hit the crux, cheered my success or motivated me to put the shoes back on and try again. While I never threw the Houlihan or freed El Cap he had an uncanny ability to make me feel like I belonged. I'll miss Todd.
My heart goes out to Amy and the kids.
Gary Wilmot
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J-Dub
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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Oct 25, 2006 - 10:42am PT
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The best of journeys to you Todd.
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