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by hluska 3301 days ago
Had Dean Potter lived a little longer, I suspect that he would have tried that.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Potter

https://www.outsideonline.com/1981591/dean-potter-killed-bas...

Edit -- Added a second, better link.

2 comments

Dean Potter did do that, off a route of the Eiger. He called it, "freeBASE"

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/newswire-potter-eiger-fre...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtxGCSsnaI

I know, but I was replying to a comment about El Capitan. As far as I know, Dean Potter didn't freebase from El Cap.

With that kind of exposure, I'm pretty sure that the Yosemite rangers would have an easy time catching an El Cap freebaser and confiscate all the jumper's gear.

Thanks for the YouTube link! I hadn't seen that before, but holy shit, do I ever miss sharing a planet with someone like Dean Potter.

Yeah, Dean is missed. I don't believe he ever did it on El Cap. either - I sort of wished he did, as it would be an interesting argument/philosophical point FOR "basejumping" within the Park, as it would show an extra level of safety when climbing. His relationship with the rangers within the park must have been interesting, as they certainly knew what he was up to...
I wanted to know more about Potter's final jump and found this: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/sports/dean-potter-final-...
That is an amazing article - thanks for taking the time to find it and sharing the spoils!