Thomas "Tom" M. Frost (June 30, 1936 – August 24, 2018) was an American rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a photographer and climbing equipment manufacturer. Frost was born in Hollywood, California, and died in Oakdale, California.
Rock climbing and mountaineering
Frost grew up in Newport, California and was a sailing champion as a teenager, winning the Snipe National Championship in 1953 and 1954.
In 1958, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where he was a member of the Stanford Alpine Club.
Frost began making first ascents in Yosemite in 1958. In 1960, he made the second ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, a route pioneered by Warren Harding in 1958. He climbed with Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt and Joe Fitschen.
In 1961, Frost and Yvon Chouinard visited the Tetons, and made the first ascent of the northeast face of Disappointment Peak, its difficulty rated IV, 5.9, A3, according to the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS).
On September 12, 1961, Frost, along with Robbins, began the first ascent of the Salathé Wall on El Capitan, named for pioneer Yosemite climber John Salathé. The pair spent two days establishing the first 600 feet of the route, and then retreated to the valley floor, where they met up with Chuck Pratt, with whom they spent several more days pushing the route to 1,000 feet above the valley floor. Once again, the climbers descended and resupplied. On September 19, they resumed the climb, and after days of intense vertical aid climbing they reached the Roof, a 15-foot overhang. Using pitons, Frost led this key section of the climb, and on September 24, the trio reached the summit. It had taken them a total of 11 days and 36 pitches of vertical climbing to finish the route, which is rated YDS VI, 5.10, A3.
In 1963, he visited the Himalaya with Edmund Hillary, making the first ascent of Kangtega, and helping with the construction of a school and a hospital for the Sherpas.
From October 22–31, 1964, with Robbins, Pratt and Chouinard, Frost made the first ascent of the North America Wall on El Capitan, YDS VI, 5.8, A5. Robbins described this climb in the 1965 American Alpine Journal: "The nine-day first ascent of the North America Wall in 1964 not only was the first one-push first ascent of an El Capitan climb, but a major breakthrough in other ways. We learned that our minds and bodies never stopped adjusting to the situation. We were able to live and work and sleep in comparative comfort in a vertical environment." Of this climb, Chris Jones wrote, "For the first time in the history of the sport, Americans lead the world."
In 1968, Frost visited the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Northwest Territories of Canada. From August 10 to August 13, along with Jim McCarthy and Sandy Bill, he made the first ascent of the vertical southeast face of the 2,200-foot granite pillar named the Lotus Flower Tower, YDS V, 5.8, A2.
In 1970, he participated in the 1970 Annapurna South Face expedition, reaching 25,000 feet.
In 1979, he reached the summit of Ama Dablam on a filming expedition.
In 1986, he returned to Kangtega and climbed a new route with Jeff Lowe.
From 1997 to 2001, he returned to Yosemite big wall climbing with his son Ryan, repeating the Nose, the North America Wall and finally, the Salathé Wall on the 40th anniversary of his first ascent.
Notable first ascents
1961 Salathé Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California, US. Hardest big wall grade VI climb in world at time of first ascent, with Royal Robbins and Chuck Pratt. 1962 Northeast Face, Disappointment Peak, Teton Range, Wyoming (IV 5.9 A3) FA with Yvon Chouinard. 1964 North American Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite Valley (VI 5.8 A5 3000') – First Ascent with Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard and Chuck Pratt.
Photography
Frost photographed many of his first ascents. Glen Denny, also a mountaineering photographer and author of the book Yosemite in the Sixties, wrote of Frost's photographic achievements: "Most of the climbing photos you see now are prearranged setups for the camera on much-traveled routes. The impressive thing about Frost is that his classic images were seen, and photographed, during major first ascents. In those awesome situations he led, cleaned, hauled, day after day and – somehow – used his camera with the acuity of a Cartier-Bresson strolling about a piazza. Extremes of heat and cold, storm and high altitude, fear and exhaustion ... it didn't matter. He didn't seem to feel the pressure."