Extreme athlete Dean Potter among two killed Base jumping in Yosemite

[Little Tich]

Source: The Guardian

Overnight search began after Potter and Graham Hunt went missing while attempting a wingsuit flight from 2,300m promontory in the US national park

Extreme athlete Dean Potter and another man have died in a Base jumping accident in Yosemite national park, a US national park spokesman has said.

Potter and Graham Hunt died late on Saturday after attempting a wingsuit flight from a 2,300m promontory called Taft Point, the spokesman said.

A search-and-rescue mission began overnight when the jumpers’ spotter lost contact with them. Crews found their bodies on Sunday in the Yosemite valley. No parachutes had been deployed.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/18/extreme-athlete-dean-potter-among-two-killed-base-jumping-in-yosemite

[Cassidy1]

1. This stuff should be banned

You see too many of these accidents. These guy flying in these wing suits with unpredictable winds. Base jumping too. People get enamored with this stuff and don't know what they are doing. How many have died climbing Everest? If a mountain or hill is over a certain height, then I think you should have a permit to do it. There should be training, just like for a license.

[Telcontar]

2. BASE jumping generally is illegal

[Cassidy1]

13. I know you said generally,

but there is a place in W Virginia where it is legal. Maybe in Idaho too. There are also Youtube videos encouraging people. Those should be taken off by Google. They serve no purpose.

[IDemo]

17. Idaho - Perrine bridge in Twin Falls

This place has regular accidents but considers the money from visiting base jumpers too good to shut it down. We had a 73 year old die about a week or so ago, and two people broke their backs at the same time I believe about two weeks before that. Crazy.

[joshcryer]

28. Huh, I was thinking that was New River Gorge.

Which allows BASE jumping one day a year on Bridge Day.

Didn't know there was a bridge that had year round permit free BASE jumping.

Mind blown.

Or maybe I've just been too out of the sport to remember (over a decade).

[joshcryer]

8. It should be legalized in Yosemite.

BASE jumpers die because they don't want to get caught and have their expensive equipment confiscated, they have to be careful about getting to the summit, and generally they lose safety consciousness because of the fear of being caught.

[XemaSab]

11. My friend's a ranger in Yosemite

n/t

[Cassidy1]

12. It should all be illegal with more enforcement

There needs to be more people guarding the entry points and places where they jump. It should all come with a stiff fine or even a weekend in jail. The penalties are low. Make is so fearful that they don't even consider this.

[joshcryer]

14. None of that would deter a BASE jumper...

...I mean, they jumped off the World Trade Center for crying out loud: http://www.outsideonline.com/1967171/spectacular-flight-and-rough-landing-freedom-jumpers

[DFW]

37. There is the death penalty if they make a mistake

Self-imposed, of course......

[Codeine]

42. Why?

They're really only hurting themselves.

You can be killed driving to work; should commutes be banned?

[struggle4progress]

52. They're not just hurting themselves if they fail: somebody has to clean up afterwards,

and it's an ugly unhappy mess

[Codeine]

56. People who clean up after traffic accidents,

skateboarding injuries, bicycle fatalities, and all the other myriad ways we accidentally kill ourselves also hae an ugly job -- do we ban all that stuff too?

People die. Sometimes they die doing dangerous, exciting, thrilling stuff. That's part of the human experience.

[tinrobot]

24. I suspect a lot of BASE jumpers like it being illegal

They like the added adrenaline. Jumping illegally is much more of a thrill.

[joshcryer]

25. This is definitely true.

But there are a lot of long timers who want it to be regulated like regular parachuting. This also ticks off the other more "exclusive" types who want to be "special."

Basically you get a certification to jump from instructors in the parachuting community (this signals to others that you're safe to hang with and know how to operate the equipment), then you can just pay for a flight and jump on your own gear.

Expand that to BASE then a lot of those BASE jumpers who have custom gear aren't so special anymore.

The stupid thing is that it's not like people go around making sure you're certified after you successfully land a jump. So for those risk takers they can go out and jump anyway, and only if they don't make it will anyone know that they weren't certified. In that vein, certifications would cause BASE groups to be more close nit, as they'd want to make sure they're only hanging out with people they trust to know what they're doing.

It's actually a very deadly sport and there are BASE fatality lists: http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki/BASE_Fatality_List

General parachuting has about twice as many deaths, but with likely hundreds if not thousands of times as many jumps.

[Telcontar]

60. Modern skydiving deaths are almost always human error

Typically caused by overconfidence. Modern equipment and safety equipment make skydiving a safe(ish) sport. Nowadays its not novice jumpers burning in, its folks with thousands of jumps.

[LanternWaste]

48. What specifically leads you to that conclusion?

"and generally they lose safety consciousness because of the fear of being caught..."

What specifically leads you to that conclusion? Does it apply to all high-risk activities that contain in part, fear of being caught? If not, what is the precise and relevant difference?

[joshcryer]

49. I was thinking of Jan Davis.

Who traded up her expensive gear for a shitty throwaway because once she landed they were going to take her gear. She wasn't used to the different gear and wound up failing to pull her chute.

[vkkv]

57. NO, it absolutely should not.

joshcryer wrote:: """"BASE jumpers die because they don't want to get caught and have their expensive equipment confiscated, they have to be careful about getting to the summit, and generally they lose safety consciousness because of the fear of being caught."""""


WHAT?? That is a completely idiotic response, if that's true.
If THAT truly is the jumpers PRIORITY than it is NO WONDER THAT THEY DIE.

THEY DIE because that "expensive equipment" FAILS on them. Ever hear about GRAVITY? That is another likely reason... Doy.
THEY DIE because they are attempting to DEFY PHYSICS with expensive, experimental gear.

Also::

If base-jumping was made legal, the park and public might face liability issues because the event could be a danger to other visitors.

Tourists go to Yosemite for the spectacle of nature which is amazing there - not to see a circus act.

Rock climbers falling and dying already takes too much of a toll on park staff and EM services.

I live an hour away from Yosemite Valley and according to a high level Yosemite Park Service employee who lives in the 'Valley' during the week, but is my neighbor on the weekends, rock climbers are the WORST visitors to the park. They are noisy, inconsiderate show-boaters in campgrounds and have little regard for conserving the nature that is there. And again, their mistakes are a huge cost to the public and a unnecessary demand on EM services. The EM services are there primarily for the other more common, everyday reasons like heart attacks, car accidents, broken arms from tripping, occasional river rescue.. - not for dare-devil macho idiots.

[dbackjon]

66. No it SHOULD NOT. It is not a place for this time of activity

They broke the law. Died doing something dangerous. We the taxpayers paid to clean up their mess.

[vkkv]

71. I'm not going to use my best equipment because...

my best equipment is more valuable than my life.. it might get confiscated..

Me smart.

[Psephos]

18. Ban it, and make them die old and in diapers in a "retirement community."

Which is the real threat? Which is the worst existential risk?

Whose business is it what I choose to do with my life? Government, get the fuck out of my body.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

21. people who do extreme sports do train long and hard.

Still....hope their loved ones we're prepared...

Wait, you can't prepare for that.......

[joshcryer]

30. Dean Potter is / was extremely well known in the community.

His climbs are some of the most spectacular in the climbing sport.

As is often said about the "big guys" or "top guys" they are probably going to die doing the sport. I'm sure the family is mourning heavily but they know what their loved one was in to and that might help with coping.

[former9thward]

22. You do have to have a licence to climb Everest.

It costs $50,000 which is why only rich people climb there. The Nepal government will give it to anyone with the money.

[AtheistCrusader]

26. Hey, can I get you to sign my permission slip to cross the street?

Who the fuck are you to decide what's safe for other people, or whether other people BE ALLOWED to take risks?

My only concern is 1. No damage to the monument, and 2. No massive S&R/recovery effort required. If you're going to risk that, you should carry enough liability insurance to cover your actions, no damage to the forest/monument/no direct risk to bystanders, and that's it.

[vkkv]

59. Taking risks?

Like:

Driving super fast through a downtown full of people crossing the street? Sure, go ahead, what's the risk?

Handing a loaded Uzi to a nine year old at a gun range? Sure go ahead, what's the risk?

- Did you consider that maybe some tourists really don't want their kids to witness someone dying? I would not.
Taking a risk that only affects the risk-taker is one thing, but don't do it in a public place, especially a public park, that is just SHOWING OFF how BIG of an IDIOT your are.

[AtheistCrusader]

89. Bullshit.

Speeding down a city street puts other people in direct jeopardy. Unless you're deliberately being a dick about it, BASE jumping off something in Yosemite doesn't put anyone else in direct danger.

A nine year old cannot reasonably be expected to handle F/a recoil. (Demonstrated by experts in court, actually) so that's a direct danger to self and others. So again, failure to accurately compare issues.

It's funny that you bring up witnessing other people getting harmed as a burden. When I was six years old, I saw my first dead person in the example I gave up thread, crossing the street. Guy got hit by a drunk driver. The minivan looked like it hit a damn tree at 50 it was such a Violent impact. People get hurt and killed in NP's all the time. If you don't want to see it, I suggest staying home. More than 16 people died in Yosemite in 2011, none of them from BASE jumping.

[vkkv]

90. So, let's add to the count

Go do it somewhere else. Not in National Parks.

[AtheistCrusader]

91. Special plead somewhere else. Not on DU.

Makes about as much sense, right?

[Xithras]

58. The existing bans already kill people.

Current rules say that the equipment of anyone base jumping or hang gliding in Yosemite will be permanently seized after they get caught (and it's been estimated that 9 in 10 jumpers DO get caught). Because the equipment is expensive, Yosemite jumpers tend to use old or secondhand equipment that they won't mind losing. The older equipment has a MUCH higher failure rate. If the seizure rules were lifted and jumpers were allowed to keep their equipment, the death rate from this sort of thing would be a fraction of what we see today.

[vkkv]

61. Okay, let them keep their equipment but, JAIL THEM FOR FIVE YEARS

and see if that stops them from doing it in crowded public parks.

[Xithras]

68. Why?

In the entire history of BASE jumping, there has never been a bystander injured or killed. If they're only putting themselves at risk, how is BASE jumping different than any other risky activity? Statistically, riding single track on a mountain bike is far more dangerous to both the rider AND bystanders than BASE jumping...should we imprison people for that too? How about riding a motorcycle?

I'm not a BASE jumper. I've been skydiving, but jumping off a rock or building holds no real appeal to me. Still, as a longtime rock climber, I can respect the fact that we all find our joy in different ways. To imprison someone for finding enjoyment in a way you disagree with is ludicrous.

I don't have a problem with BASE jumping being illegal in some places, including Yosemite Valley. But the punishment should be commensurate with the crime, and the limitations should not make an already risky sport even more dangerous. You want to slap them with a $1000 fine? A $10,000 fine? Hell, even a week or two in the klink? Go for it. All of those are fair. But locking someone up for five years because they jumped off a rock is idiotic.

[vkkv]

69. It is only showing off when done in a famous park.

Did you consider that maybe some tourists really don't want their kids to witness someone dying? I would not.

Taking a risk that only affects the risk-taker is one thing, but don't do it in a public place, especially a public park, that is just SHOWING OFF how BIG of an IDIOT your are.

Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!

THUD!!

[Xithras]

70. It's not about showing off. Honestly, it's not even about the adrenaline rush.

But that's secondary to the point. As I said, I don't have a problem with BASE jumping being illegal in Yosemite Valley, but the punishment and enforcement should be handled in a way that is commensurate with the crime and that doesn't increase the very death rate you're complaining about. The laws and punishment should be sane without being stupid.

Besides, the "watching people die" thing is a bit of a red herring anyway. Have you ever been to Yosemite Valley? When BASE jumpers DO jump, they're nearly impossible to spot unless you know where to look for them. The Valley is huge, and the jumpers are tiny and far away from any observers.

[vkkv]

73. The valley is not huge at all.

Surely you have been to Glacier Pt and looked over the valley, it's almost small.

The Grand Canyon, now that is huge.

[Xithras]

75. Scale can be hard to perceive accurately in the Valley.

I go to Yosemite, on average, a 6-8 times a year. I live 90 minutes from the gates and have an annual national parks pass. Those huge granite slabs around the Valley? I've climbed most of them.

The Valley is a mile wide on average, around two miles wide at its widest point, up to a mile deep, and 8 miles long. The odds of any random tourist spotting a 6 foot tall human falling from the rock faces at those distances are very small. Rock climbers occasionally fall to their deaths on the Valley walls, and it's extremely rare for anyone on the ground to see it happen. Climbers have even fallen from famous landmarks like Half Dome without ever being spotted, even though hundreds of tourists are typically viewing it at any particular moment.

The notion that impressionable young children are going to be stuck watching BASE jumpers hurl themselves to their deaths is silly. Potter actually had spotters on the ground who knew exactly where he was jumping from, and who were specifically watching for him, and even THEY couldn't tell what happened. Until YOSAR found them, nobody could even confirm that they'd hit something.

[dbackjon]

67. Then that is the risk they take for breaking the law

Doing something that SHOULD NOT be done there.


They are selfish, self-absorbed people that want the world to revolve around them and their addiction to adrenaline.

Meanwhile, we pay for the mess they create.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

3. They mush have hit the wall on the way down.

[XemaSab]

4. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

n/t

[Frank Cannon]

7. Yup.

He died doing what he loved... making people recover his bloodied remains so his family can bury him.

[Comrade Grumpy]

23. Churls abound. n/t

[CanonRay]

46. +1000

Couldn't have said it better. May I have your permission to use this again?

[XemaSab]

92. I stole it from someone else

so it's yours to use.

[SoapBox]

5. What a waste...

[C Moon]

6. I think I saw him on a Niagra Falls tv special.

He said he's gone over the falls twice and was arrested and fined. He was saying he was going to do it again, but have the huge fine money with him so he won't be arrested.
It looked like him, anyway.
Crazy stuff some people do.

[silvershadow]

9. Well at least he didn't waste any brain cells. nt

[Wilms]

10. I hope he didn't have his dog with him.

He had done that.

http://uniquevideos.net/people/dean-potters-base-jump-with-his-dog/

Not happy.

[countryjake]

16. Whisper wasn't with them.

http://adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/17/pioneering-climber-dean-potter-died-in-base-jumping-accident/

[BlancheSplanchnik]

19. oh, thank god!!!

[C Moon]

27. Poor pup. I hope he/she finds a good home.

[countryjake]

31. Whisper has a mom...

Jen Rapp



http://deanspotter.com/whisper-films/

[C Moon]

32. Thx.

That's sad, too.

[joshcryer]

33. When I saw that video the first time...

...I remembered bringing my dog up into my treehouse (really a piece of plywood) 40 feet into the air via crate + rope. And I felt bad, because Potter's video doesn't show a necessarily happy dog.

But I swear to god my dog would cry and whine at the base of the tree until we put him in the crate and hoisted him up.

I was pretty young at the time (10-12?) and I still think about it. I wonder if I created the memory and put him through hell or something. Or if I am remembering correctly and he really wanted up there with us.

So with that conflict in my mind I don't hate Potter for what he did, but I can read a dogs body language and his dog wasn't happy going along for the ride. I just feel maybe Potter thought like I did, or maybe I was right in interpreting doggy body language, and Potter was wrong, or what.

Or maybe we didn't have video almost 30 years ago and my dog was terrified going up in the crate but was happy to be with me on the plywood platform... and terrified going back down?

I don't know. Still. Sad either way. In my case or Potter's.

[Wilms]

40. I think I understand what you're saying.

His dog didn't seem at all happy in that video.

As far as you go, that you'd even ponder such a long past event says something about you.

And it's a good thing.

[countryjake]

15. Dedicated to Dean Potter & Graham Hunt...

and all who wish that they were birds in the sky...

(I know that Speed-flying is not Base Jumping but that feeling of wanting to be a bird is there. Potter loved the Alps.

[Telcontar]

20. Beautiful

I've skydived before. BASE jumping has always intrigued me. Perhaps someday

You will never feel.more alive than the moment the 'chute inflates.

[CANDO]

35. Or....at the Oh Shit moment it doesn't

And you know you're living the last few moments of your life.

[Telcontar]

47. No worries

You have your whole life to get the reserve open.

[Binkie The Clown]

29. They tempted Death and Death got pissed at them. n/t

[countryjake]

34. Potter discusses Death...

Dean Potter talks with prAna mindfulness ambassador Mark Coleman about death -
something that is ever present for all us.
When we acknowledge death, it can give us perspective to help live our lives to the fullest.

[SunSeeker]

36. When you keep pushing the limit, eventually you push past it. nt

[LawnKorn]

38. Rules? I don't need no stinkin' rules

It will never happen to me

I am better than everyone else

Accidents happen to the other guy

Hold my beer and watch this!

[FLPanhandle]

39. Sad, yet predictable responses to this story

We are now a TV culture, where anyone who isn't sitting in thier own personal safety bubble and watching the tube is crazy and any activity where someone could get a bruise should be banned.

Instead of embracing the outside with it's dangers and, even possible death, people want to make even more rules and condemn those that do something beyond a Disney ride as being without brain cells.

Pathetic.

[Codeine]

43. Some people are offended by BadWrongFun and want to make sure you don't have it.

And they're all a little jealous because the most exciting thing they do is whack off in the bathroom at work.

[closeupready]

50. Tell that to his infant children.

[FLPanhandle]

53. Your point?

If you have children, then never do anything risky again and live in fear of death?

If you have children, stop doing what you love?

Tell me how to do this father thing. Should I have stopped hiking in dangerous places, scuba diving, surfing, caving, or all the other outdoor and sometime dangerous things I've done since becoming a dad 19 years ago? My daughters grew up outside, we did our first wreck dive together last summer. This summer we will be heading out to Zion to do the Angels Landing hike and overnight Narrows hike along with the climb down the Havasupai waterfalls.

What's a parent to do, sit inside like most Americans spend their lives?

Pathetic.

[closeupready]

54. You and I are miles apart, it appears. Not much more to say.

Wishing you a great week.

[FLPanhandle]

83. No problem.

I don't think I can comprehend where you are coming from, so have a great day!

[EX500rider]

55. +1

[Devil Child]

79. +1

n/t

[GOLGO 13]

41. Picking your nose should be illegal

I just want to feel part of the group and make something illegal. Is that OK? Or do I need permission to ask permission?

[Inkfreak]

45. That shit is nuts, I'd never do it.

But I suppose we all find our lil bit of inner piece somehow. No thank you to base jumping. Seems foolish. Not a fan of the dog being taken along for a ride, either. Seems reckless, imo.

[workinclasszero]

51. Darwin award winner

Jumping off of mountains/skyscrapers is dangerous?

Who knew?

First world problems

[vkkv]

62. I wouldn't want my young kids to witness the death of some idiot showing off in public.

Or, to even see the show-boating event and finding out they died later.

Just go do whatever you want on a remote, unpopulated private property.

Stop SHOWING OFF how big of an idiot you are.
"oooh, I'm going to SENSATIONALIZE MY death! Cuz I'm SPECIAL"

- yep, "special" alright.

[closeupready]

63. These clowns turn around and commercialize their stupidity

however, in terms of product endorsement deals, film consulting, and who knows what else.

[closeupready]

64. At least that poor dog is now safe from this insanity.

Even if this isn't how it should have come about.

[Xithras]

65. I've met Dean Potter twice. This is one hell of a loss.

Those who have read my posts over the years know that I grew up in a rock climbing family, and that my sister and I spent much of our teens and twenties doing various ascents in Yosemite, the Emigrant, and other climbing areas on the west coast. Growing up in Modesto, my father was friends with Royal Robbins and I found myself surrounded by rock climbers from an early age (Royal also taught my sons to climb). You see that rock in my avatar? I've been to the top seven times, and only went up the tourist-filled rope ladder once.

I first met Dean Potter nearly two decades ago in Yosemite while my sister and I were preparing to ascend Steck-Salathe up Sentinel Rock for the first time. Dean had just come off a climb on the rock, and I was able to corral him for around 30 minutes to pick his brain and talk about the rock conditions. He had better places to be, but was such a great guy that he had no problem sitting down to discuss the climb with a newbie to that particular route. He was the kind of guy that simply couldn't walk away from someone who needed help or had a question about climbing. Safety was everything to him, and he understood that the most important safety tool any climber has is knowledge. While some climbers hate betas and think they ruin climbs, Dean wanted us to come back off the rock alive.

While I climbed many more rocks and peaks in Yosemite, I didn't have the opportunity to run into Dean again until just a couple of years ago, as I was helping my son stage for one of his first big climbs in Yosemite. Dean Potter was in a group of climbers at Camp 4 alongside us, and I was shocked when he recognized me. When he asked where my sister was (brother/sister rock climbing teams are fairly uncommon, which is why he remembered me), I explained that we both gave up climbing years ago because rock climbing is a "sport for the young and muscular". That was a mistake. Dean Potter is two years older than me, and he absolutely had no interest in hearing about how middle aged people can't keep up with the 20-somethings on the faces. Within an hour, he and I had worked out an entire regimen to get me back into climbing shape so that I could be out climbing my son by the following summer. And then he made me promise to drag my sister back onto the rocks too. That's the kind of guy he was...when he saw a problem, he didn't just shake his head and walk away, he tackled it until he'd solved it. He was a genuinely friendly, happy person who was constantly energizing those around him. To my chagrin, I never followed through on the plan we put together, and still haven't made it back onto the rocks. Since learning of his death yesterday, I've decided to give it a go. He was only given so many hours in this life, and he spent one of them trying to help me climb again. The least I can do is honor that hour by giving it the best effort I can.

Dean was a great, inspirational guy. He'll be deeply missed by everyone his life touched.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

74. National Geographic channel just had special --

a few months ago on the history of climbing in Yosemite. Dean, of course, was featured prominently. He even demonstrated a safety chute he had developed for free climbers. As with most extreme athletes, he seems to have an almost otherworldly quality about him -- you could see this was a man who was only 100% alive when he was on a rock or hurling himself off one.

I was very sad to hear this news this morning. But, if one has to go, flying through the Yosemite Valley is the way to do it.

[Xithras]

80. I'd missed it.

I don't have cable and didn't see it, but I think that a lot of their stuff ends up on Hulu. I'll have to look it up tonight to see if it's on there. My son, who held Dean up as one of his icons and who still likes to talk about the hour he got to spend with his dad talking to Dean Potter, was crushed when he found out about Potter's death yesterday. It'd be nice to sit down and watch it with him. Thanks for reminding me about it.

If Potter were able to choose the place of his death, I'm 100% sure he'd have selected Yosemite over some random hospital bed. He died in a place he loved, doing something he loved to do. Most of us can only hope to be so lucky.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

84. Discovery channel, not NatGeo --

Sorry, I was wrong about that. The documentary is called "Valley Uprising" and it is phenomenal -- I have no doubt you will watch it and immediately want to head to your nearest climbing area. Oh to have been there during the wild and wooly 60s and early 70s!!

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/valleyuprising

[Devil Child]

77. Thank you

Thank you for sharing. I am saddened by all the snide and callous remarks. I hope everyone reads this and takes a moment to reflect.

[countryjake]

82. Nicely done tribute to an amazing person.

I had to cry yesterday when I heard the sad news of his passing. Your own memories of him have done me in, again.

Peace to Dean Potter & also to Graham Hunt.

[The2ndWheel]

72. There's obviously something missing in modern life for at least some people

Something to get the adrenaline going. As more and more of life gets processed and codified, and just rule after rule after rule, there will be at least a certain percentage of people that will go looking for something to break from that.

I'm sure the guy would rather have made another jump than die this time, but we're all going to go eventually.

[Devil Child]

76. R.I.P. Dean

Dean Potter was an amazing dude. He will be missed.

[Blue_Tires]

78. well, I don't know the guy, but I assume he fully understood the risks...

And I presume he died doing something he loved.

[Trajan]

81. Ya gotta laugh at all the Democrats rushing to outlaw base jumping

Once in a while, try to slow down on the way to the law house and think things through for a while ...

Do you really want to ban 'everything'?

[Devil Child]

86. I'd laugh if it were a joke

But the ban happy are very serious. There are calls to have BASE jumpers put in prison for 5 years in this thread! No wonder we have a thriving prison industry in this country.

They damn well wish to ban and legislate anything they don't agree with.

[wordpix]

85. can't people just enjoy nature without the added stunts/craziness?

When I was young I loved to hike, kayak, raft, backpack and just see the wondrous sights of national parks. Still do. This kind of thing is just nuts.

[Devil Child]

87. What is the proper way to enjoy nature or live?

Why do you care how someone lives and experiences life? How does Dean Potter's life choices affect you at the end of the day? I'm curious because I think it's great that you enjoy nature and live in a way you deem appropriate for yourself and wouldn't want you to change a thing if your happy. Dean knew very well the risks of what he chose to do and probably DGAF about people's thoughts towards his actions.

[FLPanhandle]

88. Some people consider what you did as "nuts" now.

All involve an increase chance of injury or death.

Personally, I wouldn't leap off a cliff but I won't judge those that enjoy it. I've had too many folks accuse me of being nuts in some of the things I've done and enjoyed.