Tobin Sorenson

Who was Tobin Sorenson?

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 they called the Stonemasters putting up daring new routes in the Idyllwild, California area, 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.