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patrick compton
Trad climber
van
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May 19, 2015 - 08:11am PT
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Fallen soldiers. Respect.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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May 19, 2015 - 09:01am PT
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I was in Colorado and didn't hear until yesterday; no surprise but that makes it no less tragic.
Dean was an exceptional human being, and we are all poorer with his loss. We may never again see such an inspirational adventurer.
RIP
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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May 19, 2015 - 09:08am PT
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most folks are content just
looking at glossy pictures
of god in the nude.
though the modern day martyr
jumps into her lap
and authors a new
level of intimacy.
entropy knows no reigns
and occasionally
impregnates one's soul.
dean was jesting disorder.
i strive to harbor
within me the mystery.
i'm chick that way.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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May 19, 2015 - 09:20am PT
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suitors of the light there are many.
kings of darkness? i can't find any.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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May 19, 2015 - 09:21am PT
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I never met Dean, saw him around the Valley and Meadows a couple of times.
It's odd. As many of you know I very suddenly came as close to the edge of death as possible three months ago yet thanks to a quick acting comrade I came back and am very nearly whole again. Perhaps this is why right now I really don't have any words for Dean, his family, friends and all my climbing friends who knew him.
Well perhaps a few inchoate thoughts:
We all take The Risk when we climb or fly. Of being maimed or worse. Or perhaps being maimed is the worst for us. Don't make me waste away with ruined body and mind. Let me go.
Dean and Graham, like myself, saw their end suddenly, unexpectedly. Perhaps, like me, they didn't even know it was death taking them. We will never know what went through their heads at that last instant except I'm very certain it was not regret for the way they had lived.
I don't believe one can at the last instant regret dying doing what they love, doing what is an ineffable part of their being.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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May 19, 2015 - 09:42am PT
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I am flattened by this news. I hate to say that I am sad, self pity it seems. But I am. Dean, a wonderful man and friend, and really so much more than just the adventurer that most know him by.
Here was a man who loved Yosemite as much as any you can name. He made it his home, and he worked hard on plans to make it his life-long home. The shine in his eye when he spoke his plans, it made us all enthusiastic to see what he would unfold with his partners. For them I feel truly saddened, may his tall shadow guide them through this next phase.
Thanks Andy, your piece touched me deeply.
For Graham too--
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The WAMP
Big Wall climber
CA
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May 19, 2015 - 12:57pm PT
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His interview in our documentary meant so much to us! We will be forever grateful to him for his wisdom and insight. #wamplersascent Dean Potter
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Larsa
climber
Stockholm, Sweden
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May 19, 2015 - 01:01pm PT
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Dean, I have nothing more than my tears to explain how much I will miss you. For being a person whom only but once had the privilege to shake your big hand. I cry for your beloved. They will miss you so much. Forewer.
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Russ
Trad climber
Ventura, CA
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May 19, 2015 - 01:01pm PT
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Rest in Peace, Dean. You soared with the eagles and left us too soon.
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larryhorton
Trad climber
NM
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May 19, 2015 - 01:26pm PT
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Birth and death are the two biggest spiritual experiences in life for most individuals. Those who seek to transcend the norm will have many more. Nonetheless, the two dominate for many lifetimes.
“Life *is* a dream.” Until we begin to seek the real.
Celebrate Dean and Graham’s level of transcendence! They’ll be back—to experience a higher level yet. There’s still a long road ahead.
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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May 19, 2015 - 01:30pm PT
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If this is what we need to train our brains to glorify, that's cool. For me, I've got other stuff that needs my attention and glory in this lifetime. We'll miss those guys.
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Mary Moser
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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May 19, 2015 - 02:05pm PT
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Dean lived his life in a way I wish I had the courage to do. Although his life was cut short, he died doing what he loved. I admire him on so many levels. RIP Dean and Graham.
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stevekirk
Trad climber
North Little Rock
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May 19, 2015 - 02:40pm PT
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With 30 years of climbing and many skydives myself, I understand,
he always followed his dreams and pushed the limit.
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SammO
Social climber
Ohio
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May 19, 2015 - 03:23pm PT
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I always felt there was a desperate sadness to Potter's endless quest for something genuine and meaningful, which he never quite found. I do not share the opinion that his pursuits were akin to my own in the climbing world, because his choices clearly put him into a realm that deserves the label of "barnstormer" or "daredevil." The entire path for more than 40 years for me was about balancing risk with pushing personal standards. When you decide to join the small club of flyers whose challenge essentially boils down to shaving gaps ever closer, I think you're really a gambler at heart, convincing yourself with survival tales, but really rolling the dice compared to most climbers who actually contain risks, unless you free solo or visit Everest annually. Crude and unsophisticated wingsuits do not allow for the margins Potter and friends played with regularly, and when the best of your kind suffer the greatest attrition rate, i.e. your skill rises along with your likelihood of dying, you may need to pause and reconsider exactly what really drives you, and whether there is truly any distinction from it and other fatal addictions.
This could not possibly have taken anyone by surprise.
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TYeary
Social climber
State of decay
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May 19, 2015 - 03:49pm PT
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Love goes where it wants to go. It is intoxicating and addicting . There will always be those who chase it to the limits and beyond, while testing their own boundaries. It is part and parcel of the Human condition. Some of us just love a little harder, stronger and longer. When your passion is your art, then it's a Soul sacrifice. While no one wants to die, I believe it is our personal inherent right to define where our living begins and how far we take it. I pass no judgement. I am not naïve, therefore I choose to celebrate the life as much as I mourn the passing. Fly free and high, Dean
TY
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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May 19, 2015 - 04:09pm PT
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Nicely put Sammo from Ohio : )
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yeahman
Mountain climber
Montana
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May 19, 2015 - 05:39pm PT
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I knew Dean before he was famous, when he first came west and came through Montana, 19 years old...he crashed on my floor for a few months in Missoula. He worked at a golf bag factory to make some coin, he sent all our hardest routes on sight (that 6'5" reach!), and did hundreds of pull ups on my hangboard every night while everybody else sat around drinking beer. Little did we know the path he was on, but you could see the determination already in his eyes.
Before he left he gave me a chalk bag that he'd sewn when he worked at Wild Things in North Conway. When he became famous I always took pleasure in telling people that Dean Potter made my chalk bag.
Over the years I would see him at the Outdoor Retailer show, and he always assured me that what he was doing was very calculated and safe, but of course we both knew it wasn't like that. The guy was very humble for somebody who was such an undisputed badass.
In the world of corporate-sponsored athletes, he was refreshingly outside the box, pursuing his vision regardless of what sponsors or the general public thought. He did not care. The level of athleticism and mental toughness he possessed is impossible for somebody like me to comprehend. I sometimes thought maybe he would be the exception and would not die because he was so incredibly talented. But one thing of which I'm certain is that Dean would tell you the life he lived was worth an early death.
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