Todd Skinner died on 25 October 2006 in Yosemite. He apparently died while descending Leaning Tower in Yosemite, but details are not yet available, though a broken belay loop on his harness may be the culprit in this from the SF Chronicle.

October 25, 2006 Highly accomplished free-climber Todd Skinner died Monday while descending the Leaning Tower in Western Yosemite Valley. Skinner was reportedly attempting a free route with climbing partner Jim Hewitt at the time, but information on the cause of the accident is still very limited.

“The investigation is still in its early stages. A lot of the details are yet to be confirmed,” said Scott Gediman, Yosemite National Park spokesman. Gediman, however, was able to report that Skinner was not on an established climbing route but between routes when he fell an estimated 500 to 700 feet.

Todd Skinner was one of the second generation of top climbers, the first being the legends like Tom Frost, John Long, Jim Bridwell, Walt Shipley, the second being Skinner, Paul Piana, Wolfgang Gullich, among many others. The third being only eBomb. Skinner was an extremely well rounded climber and controversial, being a big advocate of bolting and neon tights, but also being the first to explore little known areas - Cape Town and Mali being two that come to mind. His ascent of Trango with Bobby Model and other 'Wyoming cowboys' was documented in National Geographic, the pics inspire me to this day. The dashing Skinner will be missed by the ladies (many stories here) and by all in the climbing community.