Today marks 11 years since the passing of Dean Potter
Dean potter was an extreme sports enthusiast and adventurer. He was well known in the climbing community and is credited with pioneering the “Easy Rider” route on El Capitan. Dean was the center of controversy regarding his climbing of Delicate Arch in Arches NP which resulted in stricter enforcement in that park (he found a loop hole in the wording of the rules that allowed him to avoid any legal repercussions). He was introduced to slack lining by the legendary Charles Victor Tucker aka Chongo. Dean was known to crossed slack lines with no safety gear. He is credited with inventing “freebaseing” (not with cocaine) the combination of free soloing and BASE jumping. Unfortunately Dean and a man named Graham Hunt were both killed during a wing suit flight in Yosemite on May 16th, 2015. They (illegally) launched from Taft point and needed to clear a notch in the ridge line. Both were unable to clear the notch and likely died on impact as neither deployed their parachute. Dean was controversial in life and death. Some see him as an extreme adventurer that pushed the envelope of what could be done. Others see him as reckless and disrespectful to nature. Either way his life is/was amazing. He made a movie called “when dogs fly” about his adventures with his cattle dog Whisper if anyone wants to check that out.