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Dean Potter Dies BASE Jumping

Well-known climber, Dean Potter, has died during a BASE jumping accident in Yosemite.

On May 16, Dean and a longtime flying partner, Graham Hunt, were making a jump off Taft Point and were trying to make an extreme maneuver: attempting to fly through a notch in a ridge.

Both Dean and Graham died sometime after jumping. Their spotter heard two sounds, but no knowing if they were an impact or chutes opening, followed protocol. After Dean and Graham didn’t arrive, a search ensued.

Dean Potter
Dean Potter Photo Christian Pfanzelt

The following morning, Sun. May 17, a helicopter spotted the men and a recovery was initiated. Neither Dean nor Graham had deployed parachutes.

“The men’s bodies were recovered by noon,” Tom Evans wrote on his El Cap Report this afternoon, “and many friends gathered throughout the morning and afternoon to seek comfort and share their grief.”

RIP Dean and Graham, you kept us on the edge of our seats with your amazing adventures and wild lifestyles.

Source: Outside Magazine

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