play stupid games ... dean potter and friend dead after base jumping accident

92tide · May 19, 2015

i hated to hear about this yesterday, he was a hell of an athlete (i think a few years back i posted video of him setting the solo free climbing record on el cap).

but if you keep searching for the edge, you are going to eventually find it, and it likely wont be pretty

Dean Potter, one of the generation’s top rock climbers and charismatic personalities, was one of two men killed in a BASE-jumping accident at Yosemite National Park in California on Saturday.

Potter, 43, and the other man, Graham Hunt, 29, leapt near dusk off Taft Point, a promontory about 3,000 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley, not far from the iconic granite masses of El Capitan and Half Dome. Flying in wingsuits, they tried to clear a notch in the granite cliffs but instead smashed into the rocks in quick succession.

Neither of the men pulled a parachute.

the whole flying suit base jumping thing has resulted in some very violent deaths in the past few years. i read about one a couple of years back where someone tried to thread a suspension bridge and hit the cables going about 200 mph and he disintegrated

crimsonaudio · May 19, 2015

I've seen countless people say "at least he died doing what he loved..."

And every time I've been tempted to say 'he loved screaming 'ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap' and regretting his decision?'

2003TIDE · May 19, 2015

Watched the documentary on Yosemite a few weeks ago on Discovery. Those guys def live on the edge.

92tide · May 19, 2015

crimsonaudio said:
I've seen countless people say "at least he died doing what he loved..."

And every time I've been tempted to say 'he loved screaming 'ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap' and regretting his decision?'

heh.

yeah, that line of reasoning always baffles me.

92tide · May 19, 2015

2003TIDE said:
Watched the documentary on Yosemite a few weeks ago on Discovery. Those guys def live on the edge.

yeah. this guy was on the edge of the edge. he had sponsorships pulled from a few companies because they just thought he went too far.

from everything i have heard about him, he was a really good guy

92tide · May 19, 2015

2003TIDE said:
Watched the documentary on Yosemite a few weeks ago on Discovery. Those guys def live on the edge.

those big wall guys are nuts

jthomas666 · May 19, 2015

Too soon?

crimsonaudio · May 19, 2015

jthomas666 said:
Too soon?

Hahaha, never!

2003TIDE · May 19, 2015

92tide said:
yeah. this guy was on the edge of the edge. he had sponsorships pulled from a few companies because they just thought he went too far.

Yeah esp since base jumping is illegal in the park and you get your gear confiscated if caught. It's not like those guys are making $100k a yr. If you get $20k worth of gear confiscated, that's got to be hard for them to replace.

92tide · May 19, 2015

jthomas666 said:
Too soon?

nah

92tide · May 19, 2015

2003TIDE said:
Yeah esp since base jumping is illegal in the park and you get your gear confiscated if caught. It's not like those guys are making $100k a yr. If you get $20k worth of gear confiscated, that's got to be hard for them to replace.

yeah, that gear is not cheap. its why i stick to running these days, shoes are relatively cheap

Tidewater · May 19, 2015

What pops into my mind is whether these dudes live long enough to reproduce those genes before checking out of the pool.

dayhiker · May 19, 2015

It's not the fall that kills you though.

crimsonaudio said:
I've seen countless people say "at least he died doing what he loved..."

And every time I've been tempted to say 'he loved screaming 'ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap' and regretting his decision?'

92tide · May 19, 2015

dayhiker said:
It's not the fall that kills you though.

he probably didn't even process what was happening.

2003TIDE · May 19, 2015

Saw this number. 7% of base jumpers die each year.

92tide · May 19, 2015

2003TIDE said:
Saw this number. 7% of base jumpers die each year.

after watching some of the videos of those flying suit guys trying to thread caves, cliffs, bridges, etc, i'm surprised the number isn't higher.

dayhiker · May 19, 2015

92tide said:
after watching some of the videos of those flying suit guys trying to thread caves, cliffs, bridges, etc, i'm surprised the number isn't higher.

I would love to visit New River, WV in October when they do the basejumping. Rafting and watching would be fun. I'll pass on partaking of any of that activity myself though.

dayhiker · May 19, 2015

92tide said:
he probably didn't even process what was happening.

Do you know what the last thing a bug sees when it hits your windshield?

92tide · May 19, 2015

dayhiker said:
I would love to visit New River, WV in October when they do the basejumping. Rafting and watching would be fun. I'll pass on partaking of any of that activity myself though.

that section of the new river is beautiful. i've been up there a few times, but never when they are doing the jumping

92tide · May 19, 2015

dayhiker said:
Do you know what the last thing a bug sees when it hits your windshield?

i know i will probably regret it

but, what.

play stupid games ... dean potter and friend dead after base jumping accident

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