"When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home." 

That's a great quote from a book Todd had been reading about which he told Steve Petro ... actually the very last time Steve ever spoke with him, at the end of July. 

Todd was a friend to all who came as friends. He had a way of making everyone feel welcome. His genuine interest in the endeavors of others and sincere form of encouragement made him a magnetic personality. He loved success in climbing, for others as well as for himself. 

We were very lucky to have seen Todd and climbed with him, heard the stories and laughed together a few times recently. Although we'd known each other for 20+ years, it's always good to stay current with your friends. Todd fixed Steve and I up as a couple :) 17 years ago. 

Any of us who have ever been sponsored climbers in any way owe a lot to Todd. He was the father of sponsorship in America, as he was the first person to present the concept of sponsorship to the American climbing companies. He provided opportunity for many at the time and for all who now stand on his shoulders. It seems that we often forget to think of how opportunities are provided. 

More than the huge inspiration and opportunities he provided, his routes, his point of view, his generosity, his tales, or anything else, I'll remember that Todd was fun to be around. I can hear him laughing, even now!

I spent 60 days camped in a tent ... 30 of which were tent bound at a touch over 18,000 feet on Trango Tower with Todd Skinner. I remember after being trapped in a tent during one storm for nine days straight, when the wall above was caked with ice and most expeditions in the Karakoram had left the Baltoro, Todd wrote a quote on our tent wall: “You must kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight!” It was Todd’s perseverance that got us to the top a couple weeks later. Big-wall free climbers are forever indebted to him for his unmatched determination and the vision that he brought to the sport. 

Sometimes I pass through places where I had traveled with Todd and meet the same people we had encountered in the years past … whether it be a Samburu goat herder in the northern district of Kenya or a Balti guide in the Karakoram, the first thing they ask is: How’s Todd? He cared about the people that crossed his path. He always gave more than he took. Never will a day pass that I won’t think about Todd Skinner. His spirit will live on through his wonderful family and children and also through all of us who shared his presence no matter how short or long it was.

I met Todd about 20 years ago when he and Beth Wald were living the life, traveling from one crag to another across the country. Since then, we've crossed paths numerous times at various places over the years, including a trip to Vietnam together in 1996. The last time I actually saw Todd was last summer at the Lander International Climbers Festival, where he graciously helped me set up my presentation at the local auditorium. Todd called me this summer as well to invite me and Owen up to the Lander area to go climbing on some "secret" limestone crags located near a cabin, complete with a babysitter and his three kids to help keep everyone happy. Regretfully, I was never able to join them. 

But no matter where or what the circumstances, I always enjoyed hanging out with Todd. He was light-hearted, playful and always so enthusiastic and supportive toward everyone around him. It was impossible not to be charmed by his big beautiful smile. Todd came to visit me a few days after I gave birth to my son, Owen, and I was impressed by the amount of love he exuded as a parent and friend. 

As a climber, he was a certainly a visionary. He was one of the first climbers to make his lifestyle as a climber transform into a viable career. Todd broke ground with his “avant garde” style and first ascents all over the world from the boulders of Hueco Tanks, to the alpine walls of Trango Tower in Pakistan. His free ascent of the Salathé Wall on El Cap with Paul Pianna in 1988 marked the beginning of the current trend of free climbing on the big walls of Yosemite. 

As a public speaker, Todd was gifted. He could make the entire room roar with laughter, and the next moment, at the edge of their seats with excitement, but best of all, he was an inspirational person that left everyone feeling that with enough passion, determination and hard work, anything is possible. The world is a better place as the result of Todd’s passage through it and he will certainly be missed by all of us whose lives he touched.—     

Todd possessed the energy of two hundred horses.

As a player/coach he would coax results from me that I could not achieve by myself.

He was always more jubilant when I succeeded than when he did.

When I climbed with him, we climbed a lot, but we laughed a lot more.

We would play the trickster game where the person who climbed the pitch first would tell the next climber there was a jug where none existed, or would insist that no holds were out there, when in fact, very good holds did exist.

He enjoyed discussions about strength-training methods, muscle strength, and mind strength.

He wanted to achieve results, but I think he loved striving more. And he despised mediocrity.

Two books he recommended to me were: When Legends Die, and The Power of One. Both are fantastic.

He was a charismatic personality, and like a magnet, I was drawn to meet him in various locations in the West to go climbing.

He understood the art of telling a good story. It was important for his audience to laugh, wonder, wait in suspense, imagine, dream, and feel inspired.

If you weren't a better person for having spent time around him, then you missed his message. 

A few things stand out about Todd to me even though there are so many places to start. I always admired him for his motivation and enthusiasm. What stands out most to me is that he was such a quality human being. Sure, he got noticed because he was a great climber, but that was secondary to him being such a fine person. Being a great climber doesn't mean you are a great person. Todd understood this and was both. Todd was also a leader. While most people were crawling around wondering what to do, Todd stood up to see which direction to go. He was a visionary climber and made others around him better. He was like a high tide that lifted all boats. 

I can't believe he is gone.   

Todd was always a huge inspiration to me. I met him when I was about 12 and a nobody. He always remembered my name. He always showed overwhelming amounts of enthusiasm and got everyone excited in some way or another. It made me mad that many people seemed to focus on the controversy when there was so much more to Todd. I looked up to Todd as a mentor as much as anybody in the sport. I will truly miss him.

And finally, J. A. Wainwright, a Canadian poet and novelist whose work A Deathful Ridge: a Novel of Everest was short-listed for the Boardman-Tasker Prize in Mountain Literature in 1997, composed the following poem in memory of Skinner.

Ceremony for Todd Skinner

Hanging in mid-air
Above a bridal veil
Where sky reaches up
To touch the rock
You tasted grace
On your tongue
For the last time
As a daisy chain
Of webbing snapped
To scatter hawks
Across Yosemite
Like flakes of pain
Or shards of mica
In the wind

Those below
Could only wonder
How high death must be
And whether you imagined
This worn moment
Before the fall
That made your face
The one to climb
The one whose crevices
Of cold desire
Could not hold you
Despite the ring you wore
So the marriage
Might be told