New Hampshire born Dean Potter is well known as a speed climber and soloists with many firsts in Yosemite and Patagonia. He's the only person to free climb Yosemite's Half Dome and El Cap in a single day and made a fine solo of much sought after Astroman. In Patagonia, Dean made the first ever free solo of the Supercanaleta on Fitz Roy, followed with the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre and later free soloed the first ascent of Californian Roulette on Fitz Roy. Yes he is also known because of his controversial ascent of Delicate Arch in Utah that incensed many. He's also a mean boulderer with many first ascents both, lowball and highball, in Hueco Tanks and Yosemite.

Recently he went on a soloing spree in Yosemite and made the third solo of Separate Reality (5.11d) and the first solo of another Ray Jardine route Dog's Roof (5.12b) . The first solo of the exposed roof-crack Separate Reality was by the rock god Wolfgang Güllich in 1986 and the second in 2005 by the Austrian climber and photographer Heinz Zak (who took famous pictures of Güllich's first ascent).