Todd Skinner

Todd Skinner (1958 to 2006) was an American rock climber and expert in big wall climbing, born in Pinedale, Wyoming, and a graduate of the University of Wyoming. He made first free ascents of many routes around the world, most famously the 1988 free ascent of the Salathe Wall on El Capitan with Paul Piana, then among the first big wall climbs at 5.13b, which helped start free climbing in Yosemite. He settled in Lander, Wyoming in 1990, opened the Wild Iris Mountain Sports store there and worked as a motivational speaker. He died on 23 October 2006 in Yosemite after a fall caused by the failure of the belay loop of his harness while rappelling from Leaning Tower.