Tobin Sorenson
Encyclopedia
Tobin Sorenson was an American rock climber famed for establishing bold first ascents on Yosemite
big walls, in the Alps
, Canadian Rockies
, and New Zealand.. A California native, Sorenson honed his climbing skills in Tahquitz
, Joshua Tree National Park
, and Yosemite Valley
.
Sorenson is considered by some the best all-around climber of his time. A contemporary of John Long
and John Bachar
in a group putting up daring new routes in the Idyllwild, California area they called the "Stone Masters", Sorenson pushed risk standards in rock and alpine realm. The son of a minister, he was deeply religious. Bruce Adams recounted in his obituary for Sorenson in Climbing, “Tobin understood the risks he took might bring death at a young age. The thought often robbed him of sleep. However, he believed, as he told me, that God had created him to climb mountains, and thus he would climb to the best of his ability. He saw that his talent did not belong to himself but rather to God who entrusted him with it.”.
Sorenson died from a fatal fall during a solo attempt of the Mount Alberta
's North Face on Oct. 5, 1980.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
big walls, in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
, and New Zealand.. A California native, Sorenson honed his climbing skills in Tahquitz
Tahquitz
Tahquitz is a granite rock formation located on the high western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range in Riverside County, Southern California, United States, above the mountain town of Idyllwild...
, Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...
, and Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
.
Sorenson is considered by some the best all-around climber of his time. A contemporary of John Long
John Long (climber)
John Long is an acclaimed American rock climber and author whose stories, ranging from adventure yarns to literary fiction, have been translated into many languages. He has more than forty titles and two million books in print...
and John Bachar
John Bachar
John Bachar was an American rock climber noted for his skill at free soloing. A fitness fanatic, he is the father of the climbing training device known as the Bachar ladder.- Biography :...
in a group putting up daring new routes in the Idyllwild, California area they called the "Stone Masters", Sorenson pushed risk standards in rock and alpine realm. The son of a minister, he was deeply religious. Bruce Adams recounted in his obituary for Sorenson in Climbing, “Tobin understood the risks he took might bring death at a young age. The thought often robbed him of sleep. However, he believed, as he told me, that God had created him to climb mountains, and thus he would climb to the best of his ability. He saw that his talent did not belong to himself but rather to God who entrusted him with it.”.
Sorenson died from a fatal fall during a solo attempt of the Mount Alberta
Mount Alberta
Mount Alberta is a mountain located in the upper Athabasca River Valley of Jasper National Park, Canada. J. Norman Collie named the mountain in 1898 after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta.Mount Alberta is the sixth highest peak of the Canadian Rockies...
's North Face on Oct. 5, 1980.