Personally, I don't understand why so many people criticize Dean. He understood the risks, and yet, continued to push himself because this is what he loved to do. There's nothing wrong with making that choice in your life. How many people undercut their own potential? How many rationalize their emptiness? Yes, it's tragic that he died. That said, I respect the man for having the courage to explore his passions and undertake new challenges. Furthermore, he inspires me to push myself. Thank you, Dean. R.I.P.
You can say that, but people are entitled to their own outlooks of life as well. Life is fragile, and it is sacred. To put it at risk for such a quick thrill of adrenaline can seem very asinine to the majority of people who cannot relate nor perceive his perspective.
As the saying goes no one gets out of here alive. On the other hand most people know how this lifestyle ends. How would you like to work for the Park Service having to deal with the mess over and over again. I am sure working in Yosemite is not easy for those in Mt rescue, just dealing with the tourist and climbers. I have done my share of risky sports but some of these are simply asking for it to end early. He was a great athlete and I have the utmost respect for him. I wish he was still doing what he loved today. RIP
@@mtadams2009 Scott, thank you for responding to my post. You make a good point. I don't know what it's like to be a ranger in Yosemite. Honestly, I would probably get tired of dealing with ignorant tourists, many of whom don't share my values as reflected in their behavior. Anyways, I appreciate Dean for the life he lived, even if I would not make the same choices. Moreover, I appreciate you taking the time to write a response here. Stay well!
I think you are a beautiful spirit! People we're hard on you cause they can't understand , never will and i wish you could still be here to show the world what a kind soul is
I love Dean, he was always calm in every situation and interview. He was wise person. I also set as a goal to become wingsuit pilot at age 30( very soon) and its really no rush in extreme sports. Yes you only live once so live happy and smart life. Never try impress others. Keep your circle small. Be happy and follow your dreams. Fly free Dean❤ we all skydivers miss you ❤
Were I disagree with Dan is that wingsuit flying can be made safe. Nope it cannot. One change in thermodynamic, one lift in the wrong direction. There is a reason why near every great wingsuit athlete is dead nowadays. They really die like flies and most of them were very safety oriented. A great interview that really shows that the vast majority of these so called extreme sports athletes are quite down to earth. Especially the ones surviving their 20s. Its not really about thrill seeking but exploring and adventuring themselves and the surrounding. This is built into our DNA. The real danger for guys like Potter always was this desire to one up themselves again. Break frontiers again and again until they are at their final and last frontier. And then safety gets ignored time and again. Potter did the same and I dont fault him. Its your own confirmation bias that plays into the excitement. His last jump was a lot but definitely also a big big risk. I would even say by Potters standards it was too big of a risk. Needing to fly through that small notch at 130mpH. Madness. Still big respect to all he has done. Its always strange to me when people only qualify Honnold as this one singular climber. He is great but there are and were so many climbers that were on that level of excellence in even different areas of the sport like Potter with slacklining, wingsuit und free solo or Hansjörg Auer with his magnificent often in secret done free solos and alpine mountaneering and climbing and many more people.
Also great respect for Honnold, but yeah--he's an *example* of a certain breed to look up to, not a one off by much. (damn movie effect) I've known a few not too far from that level and all have been exceptional ppl in general.
it becomes "not safe" when they start to do proximity fly (that's why he died) and you want to fly closer and closer to specific objects (rock pillars, side of the mountains etc etc). It's safer the base jumping cause you get more distance from the rock.
On May 16, 2015, Dean Potter and Graham Hunt died attempting a proximity wingsuit flight from Taft Point above Yosemite Valley.[18][3] The route they were attempting, which they had flown before, required them to clear a small notch in a rocky ridge line. Hunt hit a side wall during the flight while Potter cleared the notch before crashing. Both died on impact.[19] Neither of them had deployed their parachutes.[20][21][22]
@@Mrbfgray I agree completely I remember being a little kid thinking it was almost normal for adults don't look like they're in their seventies when they're in their fifties and I'll be too fat to do anything I soon realized it wasn't at all and people are just pathetic and lazy these days yeah a lot of us kind of got socially engineered into that but you have to fight your way out of it
@@someonejunior4564 I figure the diff between gaining and losing weight is "one cookie per day", once fat do you *get to eat more to stay fat??* I don't see why. I was very fortunate to be raised without a TV in the house. So we did real things instead so I wasn't manipulated by advertising, never developed a taste for Coke or a litany of other toxic crap we take as "normal". Did lot of hiking, running, bicycling, bit of racing, touring and just going to work, school, fishing...by bike. Bike great for those unable or unwilling to run. Mostly do one meal/day now with some snacks from my gardens making 1 more meal maybe. Go hungry for hrs every day yet still have great difficulty shedding the, say 1/2" of fat I do carry. I *can enjoy* just the sensation of running, a series of 'little flights', tho I haven't done any significant distance in yrs. Racing is pure pain, sick until I finish, only fun afterwards. The greatest highs ever have been from longish (say 7 to 12 mile) runs with several miles near race pace, or climbing 5k ft grade on bike at max output. (for ME the "glove shoes", five finger type with near zero padding makes running much better, like barefoot except my feet are no where near tough enough to be bare. My stride is much lighter, quicker and quickly variable, "downshift" to sprint across a road or up hill, lengthen stride for down slope)
@@someonejunior4564 As borderline boomer...my small school, less than 200 students per yr. We had exactly TWO obese guys, much stigmatized, and couple girls who'd be considered normal today but actually fat and would acquire a surependitious "WIDE LOAD" posting on their butts at some point. (Kids are brutal, lol)
His parting advice, and many other statements he's made elsewhere. Just live, and enjoy it. --He doesn't mention the part where he started base jumping for fun. It didn't become illegal until he started doing it, and people started following him, but I guess that's the part Outdoors wanted to focus on. His death was tragic, but his life was awe-inspiring.
@@CritterLizard Well said. I have vastly more respect for his rare breed than the garden variety American PORKER, half a million who choose death over proper diet and moderate exercise, every yr. I've known some serious mountaineer and rock climbers since childhood and ALL have been exceptional ppl.
i am interested what information you might have that lead you to leave this comment. would you be willing to explain? im only asking because im interested in learning more about why this accident happened
I hiked out to Taft Pt. to see what the jump was about. They attempted to fly through a narrow notch on a ridge below the point. Trying to thread the needle at 120 mph. Completely insane. Dean might have said that I just don't get it. Well he got it. And he got it good.
Oh he got it all right. I read the book, " The Impossible Climb" by Mark Synott last year and their is a section on dean and the recovery of his body by another climber. He stated that there were pieces of Dean skull Spread all around the impact site and a chunk of his brain. Brutal.
Astral HighlVnd so you're blaming you Yosemite National Park as the cause for a guy that jumped off a mountain in a wing suit illegally? Where is the logic? I feel Dean would not agree with you.
Meanwhile half a million Americans choose death *every yr* over a decent diet and token exercise. Far more respect for the likes of Potter than common *porkers* Who'd you rather have as a friend?
@@metalbelles3662 Sort of agree about pets but it's asinine to suggest obesity is a better way to go. Granted buzzing the ground in a wing suit, or any aircraft for that matter, rarely ends well.
