Dean Potter – the extreme athlete renowned for performing terrifying BASE jumps and daring climbs (including parachuting with his dog) has tragically lost his life doing what he loves at Yosemite. He was one of two people killed.
Potter, 43, was a
attempting a wingsuit flight in Yosemite National Park in the US
on Saturday when contact with him and his partner was lost,
according to park ranger Scott Gediman, USA Today reports.
They were attempting a
7,500-foot (2,300-meter) jump at Taft Point, although jumping at
Yosemite isn’t strictly legal.
A search-and-rescue effort yielded no results, until, on Sunday
morning, their bodies were discovered in the valley. The
parachutes appear not to have deployed at all.
“This is a horrible incident, and our deepest sympathies go
out to their friends and family… This is a huge loss for all of
us,” Gediman said.
Potter was known for performing incredible tightrope walks at
some of the most iconic locations in the world, as well as BASE
jumping without any rope or safety gear. Here are some of the
stunts he performed, including free-climbs that would make anyone
feel dizzy just watching, and some of the thoughts that used to
run through his mind as he embarked on these deadly journeys each
time.
And here’s the heroic jumper’s Base-jumping dog, Whisper. She
appears to have no issue with extreme sports and is every bit as
brave as her owner. She’s also the star of Dean’s film ‘When Dogs
Fly.’
Probably the best
‘moonwalk’ you’ll ever see: a perfectly-timed shoot from a mile
away, just as the sun sets and the moon rises, at Cathedral Peak.
It’s part of a National Geographic project called The Man Who Can
Fly.
Here’s Dean leaping off
the Eiger in Switzerland.
Dean had the specter of death follow him throughout his life –
ever since he was a child, as he explained in interviews. Years
later he talked about it to clothing brand Prana.
“I’m not a dark person…
every day, every moment, our lives are at stake,”
he said.
“I notice that, with the
idea of death being so close, I live life as well as I can, to be
as good of a person as I can, to treat the people around me with
as much love as I can pour into them and have good thoughts and
breathe deeply.”
As he explained,
“the danger, for me,
activates the heightened awareness.”
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