UKC

Legendary climber, BASE jumper and slackliner Dean Potter has died at the age of 43 after a wingsuit jump from Taft Point (7,500ft) in Yosemite Valley went wrong, killing both Dean and his BASE partner Graham Hunt, 29. Neither of the pair had deployed their parachutes and the causes of the accident are currently under investigation.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=69725

In reply to UKC News:

Desperately sad news about Dean Potter and his partner Graham Hunt.
Dean was an inspiration, forever pushing the boundaries of what was thought to be possible.
Here's an amazing short video of his "Moonwalk" and how I will remember him:
vimeo.com/56298775
If you have never seen this short video before have a look as you will be blown away. If you have, well have another look again for old times sake...
RIP Dean and Graham.

In reply to BALD EAGLE:







Exactly that. RIP Dean and Graham.

In reply to UKC News:

That is so sad, what a tragic loss for the climbing community.
My thoughts go out to the families and friends of Graham and Dean

In reply to UKC News:

Sad news indeed. I don't know Graham but climbed with Dean many years ago in Hueco Tanks. He was one of a small group of American climbers who were using a new fangled invention for bouldering. When I enthusiastically told climbers back here about it they thought was a ridiculous idea. This was the bouldering mat. The ones used then were homemade bits of foam stuck together with gaffer tape. This was before any commercial ones had been made. I remember jumping down from high up onto one of these mats a on solid rock floor. It was scary and I was expecting a pretty harsh impact. But with Dean and another large American spotting, and practically catching me it felt like I'd fallen about six inches. I was amazed.

Condolences to all their friends and family.

In reply to UKC News:

What an extraordinary man. I thought he was pushing the boundaries of what it was to be human.

"Like a monkey, ready to be shot into space.
Space monkey! Ready to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing!"

D

In reply to UKC News:

Damn. Genuinely gutted to hear, I always found Dean Potter really inspiring in approach and creativity.

In reply to UKC News:

Condolences to all his friends and loved ones.

In reply to UKC News:

Saddens me and i didn't even know him, legendary.

In reply to UKC News:

Some more here about what happened and about Dean in general:

http://adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/17/pioneering-climber-d...

In reply to UKC News:

ive read a few comments on news sites today , it amazes me how many are against the activities dean and the like do. if everyone had that type of no adventure attitude i wonder where the human race would be now?
its people with deans and grahams sense of adventure that push the limits of what man can do. we need people like them.
there will be others we will talk about ,but we will remember what they have done.

In reply to UKC News:

Doesn't seem real, R.I.P.

Can we keep this thread to tributes to, and memories of, Dean and Graham please.

Thanks

Alan

In reply to UKC News:

http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/the_artist

In reply to UKC News:

Google has a kind of 3D model of Yosemite online, and you can see Taft Point and the notch in the ridge it sounds like they were trying to pass through:
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Taft+Point,+Yosemite+National+Park,+Califo...

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

I think this (written by Andy Kirkpatrick) puts it beautifully.

When I heard Dean had begun to describe himself as an artist, I laughed, it seemed like a very Dean thing to say. But when the journalist asked “what kind of climber was Dean”, and there it was. Dean was more than just a climber, a BASE jumper, high liner or controversial dog owner - but an artist, the mountains and faces his canvas, his spirit the brush, and I am reminded of a line by Kurt Vonnegut that perhaps sums up Dean better than anything else, that “No art is possible without a dance with death”.

In reply to Timmd:

A different sort of perspective from the man himself:

youtube.com/watch?v=M-QuPTj-3wE&

In reply to Offwidth:

fantastic vid

In reply to UKC News:

A life lived

In reply to UKC News:

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/tribute-to-a-visionary-dean-potter-dies-base-jumpi...

Tributes from various names

In reply to UKC News:

The other man http://www.outsideonline.com/1982461/remembering-graham-hunt

In reply to Offwidth:

Thanks for sharing this link.
A life lived to the full.

In reply to chrissyboy:

Thats the thing about such deaths in climbing... its truely horrible for those who loved the person but if we measure the style of the living, the acheivements and influences of such a life, they greatly exceed some of the longest lived.

In reply to UKC News:

RIP Dean - you were and still are a true inspiration to me. The World needs more people like you. A life well lived.