From a1bear@aol.com Fri Jul 21 18:32:23 EST 1995
Article: 5534 of rec.climbing
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From: a1bear@aol.com (A1BEAR)
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: Re: Tobin Sorenson
Date: 6 Jul 1995 02:44:51 -0400
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Tobin Sorenson is a symbol to me.

I learned to climb from a guy who climbed Half Dome, Direct Northwest
Face, with Tobin’s brother, T.M.

 I spent many communtes between Yosemite Valley and Milpitas blasting
Areosmith tapes at top, top volume and listening to Camp Four stories.
Tobin Sorenson figured prominently in the stories I heard. My friend
started at Taquehitz (spellng?) and Suicide before he got the gumption to
make it up to the valley. He was an occasional partner of Tobin's.

I heard the noose story, I heard many stories. They all had one common
theme. Make the fantastic move, or die!

Climbers like Lynn Hill, Peter Croft, Derek Hersey, Ron Kauk, are symbols
to me. They symbolize that no matter how hard or challenging a move or
route looks. Someone can do it. I can do it.

Tobin Sorenson symbolizes to me that no matter how deviant, crazy or on
the edge a challenge is, someone will try it. Tobin is the ultimate crazy
daredevil climber. 

As such, his end is appropriate, poetic even kind of beutiful.

It is all pretty personal. A climber’s attitude towards that mentality is
personal.

There is a Tobin Sorenson story I repeat to almost everybody I climb with
or even hang with. I am terrible about route names and partner names, but
it goes something like this:

Tobin and his partner were climbing a European class VI ice climb. As was
the style in that (this?) era of climbing, they were attempting to blow
away the Euro speed record for this wall by forsaking all bivvy gear and
going for it in a single day.

Something went wrong, maybe nothing did, but they made a lot less progress
on day one than they were supposed to. Sunset came and they were in the
middle of  a huge section of vertical ice.

What did they do? Weren’t they basically screwed at this point?

No way, man! They hacked out a ledge in the middle of a sheer face, and
jogged in place all night long in the -20 degree F high altitude night.

The next morning they resumed the climb and finished.

I don’t know if that story is true or not, but it represents a bravado and
fortitude that I will always remember. 

There is a picture of Tobin Sorenson in Rock and Ice #46, Nov/Dec ‘91 p14.
                                                                Randy PAul
A1bear@aol.com