Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 08:57pm PT
|
Alex Honnold apparently on Anderson 360 (CNN) tonight talking about this.
Saw Anderson Cooper's report. He had Ken Yager, Shawn Reeder and Alex Honnold give their thoughts. Alex was on the longest, being interviewed from Sacramento. He said he spent the day yesterday just riding his bike around trying to put what happened into some sort of perspective. He also said that anybody who engages in such dangerous behavior is constantly evaluating whether what they are doing is worth the risk.
|
|
Studly
Trad climber
WA
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 09:31pm PT
|
|
|
two-shoes
Trad climber
Auberry, CA
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 09:41pm PT
|
Back in the late 90's before Dean was 5.10 sponsored he was sponsored by Boreal, and he climbed in old-school red Aces. Boreal didn't have the best rubber for granite, so most Boreal sponsored athletes would get their Boreals equipped with C-4 right out of the box.
The first time he called up, my wife, Leni, answered the phone and he said, "Hi, my name is Dean, can I talk to Barry?"
I think she is kind of psychic sometimes because she asked, "Is this Dean Potter?"
He says, "Yeah."
Leni goes, "Barry, Barry! It's Dean Potter on the phone!" -She gets excited rather easily.
Dean says, "Hey Barry, I just stayed 2 weeks back home during Thankgiving. All I did was eat and I'm now tipping the scales close to 200 lbs. I heard that you had some special way to finish the shoes edges that could help big guys climb better.
I asked him, "What kind of shoes do you have?"
"Boreal Aces."
"Yeah, that Fusion rubber isn't very good for the slick granite."
"No, we call it confusion rubber, -like why won't it stick!" He cracks up.
"Well, I think I could help you out a bit"
He said, "I certainly hope so, cause I need all the help I can get!"
Dean was very unassuming, and just the regular guy in more ways than one. As he developed his spiritual self I was happy to see that side of his personality because I could very much relate to this, as I'm sure a lot of people could.
I did Dean's shoes 2-3 times, 2- 3 pairs at a time. The shoes arrived with very nice personal notes. I can't remember his exact size, but I remember thinking how does a guy 6'5" tall cram his feet into a pair of shoes this size. They may have been only about a size 10 US if I'm not mistaken.
We, too, are very sad to hear of Dean's untimely death.
|
|
RasVegas
Trad climber
Goodyear
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 09:51pm PT
|
I'm speechless and sad beyond belief! Damn!
RIP brother.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 10:38pm PT
|
hey there say, crankster... thank you for the link...
i can't stop thinking about this... but this helped somewhat...
thank you...
also, a few more things that i got to learn about dean, helped, as well...
|
|
nah000
climber
no/w/here
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 11:13pm PT
|
though i don't know them, because he/they lived some of their life/lives in the public eye, it grieves me to think of all of the family and extended clan that he left behind too soon...
i hope someday they are able to take some solace in how he inspired individuals in not one, but a few different tribes to pursue potentials that initially seem insane to even dream, let alone attempt to manifest.
rip to a man i feel cheated to have never personally known and fortunate to have been inspired by.
|
|
ryankelly
Trad climber
Bhumi
|
|
|
May 18, 2015 - 11:57pm PT
|
We love you guys. Thinking of you.
|
|
Cancer Boy
Trad climber
Freedonia
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 12:53am PT
|
My utmost respect and admiration for a life lived courageously. Most everyone is afraid of death and it limits them - for better or worse. Some people overcome that fear, and live life to the fullest. Dean was one of these rare individuals. His passing is not untimely or tragic. Nor should it be sad, really. This was going to happen sooner or later, in all likelyhood. People who live life at the edge - who overcome the fear of dying - know what they are risking, with few exceptions. This is the case with extreme soloists, terrain flyers, hardcore alpinists... Yes, these activities are selfish (to parents, friends, SAR, especially). Forgive me if I am mistaken, but going out by wingsuit would be painless, and absent time for the imminence of death to reach full consciousness, so I don't pity Dean, myself. But there is also, in my view, an unselfish and ultimately more important element to those activities in the gift they provide the rest of us: demonstrating the beauty of life's possibilities when you face inevitable death square on. For this, my gratitude, and my congratulations. Bravo.
|
|
steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 03:44am PT
|
"Better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep"
Tipu Sahib
|
|
Daniel Eubank
Sport climber
Woodbridge, VA
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 04:13am PT
|
Blue Skies, black death...
RIP
|
|
Captain...or Skully
climber
Boise, ID
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 04:21am PT
|
Oh, Dean. I'll miss you, just like the others. The list of dead friends grows ever longer, and the heartache always hits hard. I'm glad we got to hang in Jan, if only for a little while. Love you, bro.
I did not know Graham. ...to his people I give my regards & this small note....I grieve with you, too.
|
|
ECF
Big Wall climber
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 04:30am PT
|
Yet another name to carve in my memorial plaque of dead friends...
The first time I met Dean, he asked me to take him to the Yabo boulder. As we walked he talked about what inspired him, and about Yo history.
I had a strong feeling I would be standing in the meadow one day, part of a sad gathering in his honor. That was over 15 years ago, and since then I've seen him do amazing things that pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible. How anyone could say they never thought he would die early just indicates magical thinking.
We didn't want it to happen, but to deny the inevitable outcome of that intensity was fallacy.
He didn't burn the candle at both ends, he threw the whole thing in the fire. Yes, it burned bright. Bright enough to illuminate the lives of people who never met him, to inspire, to reshape the frontier of dreams.
Many not connected to the man have said that was a life well lived, a grand answer to the riddle of Achilles.
That is either youthful idealism or the regret of a timid soul.
The marks we leave on this earth and in the memory of man, are meaningless in the larger scope.
Extreme sports are an utimately selfish endeavor, denying responsibility and community. We can fool ourselves into thinking they are managed risks, but when the risk is taken too often, we loose perspective.
Somehow, it's not enough to jump off a cliff, we have to skim the face, shoot the notch, delay the deployment...
We loose perspective.
A non climbing friend asked me if his insurance would pay out since he died committing a crime. I hadn't even thought down that line, because I too had lost perspective.
|
|
Dingus McGee
Social climber
Where Safety trumps Leaving No Trace
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 04:32am PT
|
Cosmic -- we only get one opportunity.
|
|
If
Trad climber
UK
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 05:09am PT
|
Respect and RIP
|
|
Bushman
Social climber
Elk Grove, California
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 05:09am PT
|
'The Kites Song'
Oh Icarus now
I will caution you son
As your focus is set
On the stars and the sun
Fly with just the right speed
Not too high or too low
And come back to earth
To impart what you know
For what lies in the heart
Of words there are few
When soaring the heights
For a birds eye view
In the moment of flight
Is the spirit set free
So exquisite a thing
As there ever will be
Taking wing to the sky
On the wind to alight
With the falcon and hawk
And the eagle and kite
-bushman
05/19/2015
|
|
L
climber
California dreamin' on the farside of the world..
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 06:39am PT
|
If I must be wrung through the paradox
broken into wholeness
wring me around the moon
pelt me with particles from the dark side.
Fling me into space
hide me in a black hole.
Let me dance with devils on dead stars.
Let my scars leave brilliant traces
for my highborn soul seeks its hell
in high places.
by Avah Pevlor Johnson
Vaya con dios, Dean and Graham.
|
|
Jones in LA
Mountain climber
Tarzana, California
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 06:53am PT
|
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 07:26am PT
|
In the mid 90's Keith Royster, Buggs Seizys and I went to the Needles for two weeks of climbing.
There was only one other car out there.
The first night, things were getting pretty "electric" around the old campfire, and this young guy comes strolling into our firelight.
It was my one and only meeting with Dean Potter. Keith and Buggs knew who he was, I didn't. He was friendly, mild mannered and open hearted it seemed. he hung out with us for a long time and the climbing talk flowed freely. He seemed genuinely impressed that Keith and I were old El Cap partners and that Buggs and I were old military buddies. He left a very good impression. I have always thought of that night whenever I read about him or saw him on video.
My sincerest feelings go out to the friends and families of both these men. Brave souls, out there stretching, reaching for the gold ring.
"Midnight on a carousel ride, reaching for the gold ring, down inside. Never could reach it, just slipped away. But I tried."
Crazy Fingers
Hunter/Garcia
|
|
steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
|
|
|
May 19, 2015 - 07:26am PT
|
ECF:
Thought provoking comment by you, and honestly written.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!