Tom Frost

Tom Frost ( born 1938 ) is an American pioneer of big wall climbing in Yosemite National Park.

Frost made ​​1958 his degree in engineering at Stanford University and was a member of the Stanford Alpine Club. In the same year he made his first tours in Yosemite Valley. In 1960 he succeeded as a team with Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt and Joe Flitchen the second ascent of The Nose on El Capitan (after Warren Harding 1958). September 1961 he succeeded with Robbins and Pratt made ​​the first ascent of the Salathé Wall on El Capitan. Also in 1961 he climbed with Yvon Chouinard in the Teton Ranges with the first ascent of the northeast face on Disappointment Peak. In 1963, he was with Edmund Hillary in the Himalayas, they carried out the first ascent of Kangtega and set up a school and hospital for the Sherpas. October 1964 he succeeded with Robbins, Pratt and Chouinard made ​​the first ascent of the "North American Wall" at the El Capitan. The climb lasted nine days and was the first route on El Capitan, which was climbed in one by without abseiling. In 1968 he led with Sandy Bill and Jim McCarthy made ​​the first ascent of the south-east wall of the Lotus Flower Tower in the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Canadian Mackenzie Mountains.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the North American Wall and other routes he repeated this 1997 to 2001 with his son.

In 1997 he reached that the historic Camp 4 Yosemite climber was obtained against the resistance of the Park Administration and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Frost was also the photographer on many early ascents in Yosemite and his photos can be found in the books by Robbins, Chouinard and others. He also founded a company for climbing equipment and developed with Chouinard climbing aids, for example, for ice climbing and they patented the Hexentric and invented RURPS and others.