Two prominent Base jumpers, Dean Potter and Graham Hunt, died in a wingsuit accident in Yosemite national park on this weekend. Potter was a climbing and wingsuit pioneer and the creator of “freebase,” a hybrid extreme sport that combined rock climbing without ropes and skydiving.
Potter and Hunt crashed late on 16th May 2015 after leaping from, 3,000ft above the valley floor. A friend called Yosemite search when the pair did not return from their jump.
Base jumping in Yosemite is illegal and those who attempt it risk being arrested and fined. Their flight path required them to clear a notch along a ridge before the final descent to the valley floor. Both failed to clear the notch and collided into the ridge. Neither had deployed their parachute.
About Dean Potter:
- Potter was one of the most recognisable figures in extreme sports.
- His independent spirit and inclination to push the boundaries of what was possible in climbing and Base jumping made him unique.
- Potter set the record for the fastest ascent of Half Dome.
- He developed the skill to climb difficult walls without ropes, relying on a small chute on his back in case he fell.
- “I love the idea that I can change the worst possible thing to the best possible thing – dying to flying,” he said in a video
