WTF: news on Dean Potter?

[Offwidth]

Did they jump in poor visibility to avoid equipment being confiscated? Like that jumper who died on El Cap in a borrowed junky rig with different pull handle, or what it was?

Wingsuiting is nuts. But fun. Should do it one day. Off a plane.

BSBD

[kootenayskier]

I knew Dean before he was famous, when he first came west and came through Montana, 19 years old...he crashed on my floor for a few months in Missoula. He worked at a golf bag factory to make some coin, he sent all our hardest routes on sight (that 6'5" reach!), and did hundreds of pull ups on my hangboard every night while everybody else sat around drinking beer. Little did we know the path he was on, but you could see the determination already in his eyes.

Before he left he gave me a chalk bag that he'd sewn when he worked at Wild Things in North Conway. When he became famous I always took pleasure in telling people that Dean Potter made my chalk bag.

Over the years I would see him at the Outdoor Retailer show, and he always assured me that what he was doing was very calculated and safe, but of course we both knew it wasn't like that. The guy was very humble for somebody who was such an undisputed badass.

In the world of corporate-sponsored athletes, he was refreshingly outside the box, pursuing his vision regardless of what sponsors or the general public thought. He did not care. The level of athleticism and mental toughness he possessed is impossible for somebody like me to comprehend. I sometimes thought maybe he would be the exception and would not die because he was so incredibly talented. But one thing of which I'm certain is that Dean would tell you the life he lived was worth an early death.

Thanks for the anecdote. This sort of stuff enriches my perspective, and will keep me scrolling through pages of endless inane posturing a while longer.

[Skidog]

wtf are you talking about "adrenaline rush" BASE and soloing are the exact opposite of what you describe. If you were trying to rock climb with adrenaline pumping through your veins you wouldnt get very far...

Also Dead died BASE jumping not soloing like Alex. Get your shit straight

Funny cause nearly every interview ive EVER seen with a BASE jumper says that its the ADRENALINE that makes them do it. Now the climbing I could understand not wanting full on adrenaline pump and I guess i worded my post wrong. Didnt mean to connect the 2 really.

When putting Dean and Alex in the same category I only meant from the free soloing side, Dean was first and foremost a climber. The risks associated with free soloing are low margin for error (like NONE). Same goes for wingsuiting. I get Dean died wing suiting, but he couldve just as easily died free soloing.

These dudes live life on an edge i cant even fathom.

[strawjack]

I didn't know Dean, but I know his uncle. My kids are friends of his kids and his older daughter interned with my wife, all of which are Dean's cousins. It's a sad time for their family.

RIP Dean

[couloirman]

Some new info: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...no-6271703.php


And some of you here need to chill out with the judging. Let the man rest in peace.

[Bromontana]

This list isn't comprehensive by any means but should give some due credit to the cool shit Dean did.. pics stolen from the interwebz



- In 1998, he set a different kind of speed record on Half Dome, climbing the technical Regular Northwest Face route (V 5.12a), mostly without a rope, and occasionally employing the use of a rope and gear to pull through the more technical cruxes of the route.

- Potter invented “free BASE,” which is free-soloing (climbing without a rope) tall walls (at least 1,000 feet in height) with a parachute for safety in the event of a fall.

- In 2006, Potter free-soloed Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.

- In 2009, Potter set a record in the wingsuit BASE jumping world for duration. Jumping from the Eiger North Face in Switzerland, he stayed in flight for 2 minutes and 50 seconds, a feat which made him one of our Adventurers of the Year. (Watch a video from his Eiger wingsuit flight.)

“Even when it meant losing sponsors and rubbing people the wrong way. Dean was refreshingly non-corporate, and always just balls-to-the-wall badass.” - Wright

[mall walker]

Before he left he gave me a chalk bag that he'd sewn when he worked at Wild Things in North Conway. When he became famous I always took pleasure in telling people that Dean Potter made my chalk bag.

I'm still using my dad's old chalk bag, did yours look like this?

[MakersTeleMark]

I'm guessing more like this generation:

[yeahman]

This is the one Dean gave me.

[mall walker]

Ah, right on. Kinda neat either way to find out he worked there. Makes the connection less abstract.

[bodywhomper]

someone like Kye Petersen might disagree.

why? what kid or adult would not want their (apparently loving) father to be there for them as they are growing up and into their adult life?

imo, he (dean) wouldn't have had as much time to do all the stuff that he was doing; he would have been dedicating at least some of his time being a parent. or he could have kept doing what he was doing and been a biological father but not a parent.

[yeahman]

I don't think Dean would have done all that BASE if he had a kid...he was actually a very kind hearted guy and I don't think he would have wanted to leave a kid fatherless like that. I respect people like him and Steph Davis who do BASE jumping and proximity wingsuit flying but don't have kids. Their lives are their own to do with what they want.

BTW there's lots of Dean stories in Steph Davis's two books, High Infatuation and Learning to Fly, both of which I recommend. She is a badass and a good writer too.

[powdork]

why? what kid or adult would not want their (apparently loving) father to be there for them as they are growing up and into their adult life?

imo, he (dean) wouldn't have had as much time to do all the stuff that he was doing; he would have been dedicating at least some of his time being a parent. or he could have kept doing what he was doing and been a biological father but not a parent.

of course they would want that. My point is that Kye Peterson is most likely glad to have been born, despite his fathers death.

[ill-advised strategy]

Even if it was only a fraction of a second, in that moment a split second lasts a very long time.

yes, incredibly long. I imagine someone living that lifestyle is always sort of ready for the other shoe to drop....

I know for me, crashing motorcycles, both times the thought was like "well, you knew this was going to happen eventually, I guess this is it."

[yeahman]

yes, incredibly long. I imagine someone living that lifestyle is always sort of ready for the other shoe to drop....

I know for me, crashing motorcycles, both times the thought was like "well, you knew this was going to happen eventually, I guess this is it."

I've wondered a lot about what was going through Dean's mind those last few seconds. I read an interview with him once where he said in the back of his mind he thought there was a small chance he could land a crash like that. He said like ten percent of his mind thought he could land it and the rest of him knew he would die. I bet he tried with all his strength to pull up on that wingsuit and land it like a bird.

[ill-advised strategy]

I bet he tried with all his strength to pull up on that wingsuit and land it like a bird.

Yup. I bet so.

[yeahman]

This NYT article is worth a read...some info in it I wasn't aware of.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/sp...jump.html?_r=0

[mall walker]

This NYT article is worth a read...some info in it I wasn't aware of.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/sp...jump.html?_r=0

Yeah that was a good read, thanks.

[east or bust]

Great article.

Just don't read the comments.

[grameleon]

Good read, thanks for sharing!!

[yeahman]

Sometimes the bots bump good threads. Thinking of you tonight Dean after reading through this. RIP

[John_B]

Thanks for what you shared up above Yeahman. It's always touching to hear those sorts of insights into someone that seems like they occupy such a different world than my boring self.

[statesidepl]

Awesome read - thanks for the share