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Mick Ryan
Trad climber
Kendal, English Lake District
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Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 18, 2008 - 04:55am PT
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In August, the American climber Dean Potter made a "BASE solo" (or FreeBASE) of Deep Blue Sea (7b+, 300m, Rathmaier-Ruhstaller, 2001) on the west side of the north face of The Eiger, Switzerland, (UKC News Report: Aug 10).
The question asked by many climbers was when would somebody make a BASE solo of a big wall, particularly in Yosemite, perhaps of The Nose or the Salathé Wall?
Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/older.html?month=11&year=2008#n45452
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dogtown
climber
Where I once was,I think?
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Nov 18, 2008 - 06:02am PT
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Soloing of the Alien is impressive shoot or no shoot.
Way to go Dean!
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Nov 18, 2008 - 08:16am PT
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It would probably work fine on the Rostrum overhang. Not that I know much...
This is a weird legal area. He wears the rig, but doesn't want to use it. Doesn't even intend to. It is like a seat belt. Just for safety.
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Nov 18, 2008 - 09:19am PT
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Good job, Dean. Way to go indeed!
As if you're listening, I know... but I'm curious about aspects of FreeBASE. Saw the footage of the Eiger solo. Cool indeed. But... and here's the main question: it didn't look that steep. Nice and smooth, but merely vert, more or less. So in one shot you jumped. Not fell, but turned and pushed away from the wall and everything worked fine. The next time, climbed right through it and jumped later, from above the climb.
So my question is, actually falling. You'd have to orient yourself in the air as you gain flying speed. Once you're pointed away from the rock and up to speed, no problem. But getting there? I mean, you watch a cat turn itself in free fall. It's prety athletic. Not much chance to practice.
I know you must think this stuff out. Some of us watching are curious. BASE104 and I were housemates awhile; rigs were packed in the living room ('morning dude, you're up early...). Some pieces of your puzzle are quite real to us.
While it raised the question of actually falling, that footage answered another older question from some of us who've been tracking you. We've heard that you could pop off a slack line and catch yourself on the line, and there it was, illustrated. Gotta say that seeing it makes me feel better by helping me to understand.
If you'd care to expound on it, some of us are mighty curious...
Chris Mac?
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Nov 18, 2008 - 10:07am PT
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Doug,
I've seen a few guys blow the exit and dump while on their back. Not the best of situations, certainly, but way better than nothing. It doesn't mean that you are toast for sure.
Over the years there have always been climbers that got into jumping, like yours truly. This might catch on here and there. Who knows? I don't think that what he is doing is a bad idea.
He knows what he is doing, so I don't second guess it.
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Nov 18, 2008 - 10:41am PT
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Yeah, he knows what he's doing all right. And I don't think it's a bad idea either. Just fascinating. And a bit...radical. So I get curious about how it works.
Curiosity, after all, is what gets the cat into the position of having to learn that spiral twist toward getting his landing gear down.
I liked watching you pack your rig, you know? Some of it comes down to technique.
Didn't know you could dump your canopy without facing the ground, so that helps.
Just a little info...
The sky's not the limit, the ground is.
You told me the story of a BASE jumper delivering the game ball from the roof of the Houston Astrodome. Two hundred feet and change, isn't it? Has anybody jumped from lower than that?
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dirhk
Trad climber
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Nov 18, 2008 - 11:01am PT
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Ha. He thinks thats the first solo...
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Nov 18, 2008 - 11:05am PT
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Un-fricken' believable!
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WBraun
climber
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Nov 18, 2008 - 12:11pm PT
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Pretty amazing tactics and pushing the envelope beyond the boundaries of the norm.
He has a powerful spirit ......
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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Nov 18, 2008 - 12:29pm PT
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So what do you guys think? Should I wear a BASE rig on my planned solo of 'Hall of Mirrors'? Or maybe just take one of those red plastic snow sleds?
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Doug Robinson
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Nov 18, 2008 - 12:32pm PT
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How about motorcycle racing leathers with the teflon knees and elbows?
And did you ever notice how Hollywood stunt fallers put cardboard boxes under their crash pads...
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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Nov 18, 2008 - 12:34pm PT
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maybe a plastic sled AND a chute....
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Nov 18, 2008 - 01:12pm PT
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sled, chute, AND a chain saw to cut down the trees at the bottom that you will run into.
terminal velocity sledding!! hahahaahha
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pedge
Trad climber
SW
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Nov 18, 2008 - 01:27pm PT
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Just curious: is this a manual operation or does he have a little rocket to fire out an initial shoot linked to an accelerometer?
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Nov 18, 2008 - 01:31pm PT
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My buddies used to think that I was so nuts that they invented a new sport for me: Atmospheric Surfing.
The idea was to toss me out of a capsule with one of those round plastic sled thingies, but with a full heat shield on it. Then I would go for re-entry.
I bet someone does it some day......
Oh, pedge, it is full manual, you just toss your pilot chute out.
And Karl below. After you learn how to pack a parachute, you will realize that it is easier than making a bed. I used to pay a 12 year old girl to pack for me when skydiving. She did a great job.
And Werner, I don't know Dean, but he seems to have a great imagination. It takes something to say, "What if," and "Why not?" He is really doing something visionary.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Nov 18, 2008 - 01:32pm PT
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I can't even fold my shirts neatly. No base jumping for me.
Dean has an amazing vision and Werner is right. a powerful spirit
peace
karl
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 18, 2008 - 01:37pm PT
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Gunkie, just wear a sumo suit...you can just roll to the base.
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James
climber
Leavenworthless
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Nov 26, 2008 - 07:29pm PT
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Why not the Excellent Adventure? A cooler and harder line.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Nov 26, 2008 - 08:05pm PT
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The Nose is the trick, everyone knows that.
Big slab underneath is the sketch part.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Nov 26, 2008 - 08:06pm PT
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yes, that was a glib comment.
Happy Turkey Day all,
M
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scooter
climber
fist clamp
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Nov 30, 2008 - 03:40pm PT
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DR-
I know, and saw a guy jump and make approx. 160ft. Seemed REAL close. He is all ultra-secretive with his jumps as I have found most BASE jumpers to be.
P
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ron ray
climber
seattle
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OK, so curiosity abounds. we're all waiting on those free solos of the nose or the salathe.
but what do you do in a chimney, or something like the texas flake, where you have to wedge -- with a chute on your back.
yea, potter won't fall on those but it'd be pretty ballsy to tow your chute.
or the crux pitches on the nose where you have to do the wild stemming and twisting lynn hill worked out. seems like it'd be impossible with a chute on.
(impossible for me by any means. but even for dean with a chute, it seems risky.)
maybe he can do it in winter. there was a skiier who tossed himself off a 300 foot cliff for a warren miller movie.
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Moof
Big Wall climber
A cube at my soul sucking job in Oregon
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I for one won't be the least bit surprised when Dean grease spots himself doing one of these stunts. Either that or a crowd will grease spot him for climbing something even more sacred than the delicate arch.
Just saying...
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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Yikes! That's a pretty dick thing to say, dude.
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couchmaster
climber
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No it isn't Nefarius, Dean f*ing rules.
I think the interesting conundrum part of Deans new system is actually this:
1st) It is OK to free solo in Yos.
2nd) It is illegal to base jump in Yos.
Therefore, (in a lawyer voice here) if he wears the rig to freesolo something AND falls: it will be illegal for Dean to live, but legal to die. Where the hell is Joseph Heller when you really need the term Catch 22 defined.
Just another f*#ked up park situation and the reason why so many hate them. You can go to Europe and freak freey, but not here. Here, mommy and daddy want the job security of being boss and to tell you what to do. It's bullsh#t.
Wishing Dean well BTW, the guy is a phenom for sure.
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Bullwinkle
Boulder climber
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Hey Doof
Soul sucking job? the only thing that sucks is you.
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tinker b
climber
your local park
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dean,
thanks for allowing all of us to beleive one more thing is possible. may all the good spirits of yosemite watch out for you...and all the other little monkeys who go after their dreams.
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Neal Harder
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Isn't it a bit premature to call this 'visionary'? When he takes an unexpected fall and doesn't die, then we can call it 'visionary'. There's no arguing that these are 2 impressive solos, but his "protection" system is totally unproven. I could solo the Nose with an umbrella for protection and you could call it 'visionary', but if I fell you'd just call it stupid.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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couch - Sorry, I still see it as a dick thing to say. To sarcastically say, "I won't be surprised when he dies" in a hopeful fashion or "gets killed by a mob of climbers..." is simply f*#ked up.
So many times you read/hear crap like this, mostly from people who've never met, nor know anything about Dean or the object of their anger. Sad. I didn't necessarily agree with the way the whole Delicate Arch thing was done either, but certainly don't hate Dean nor want to see him hurt, regardless. I know Dean and he's an awesome guy and I frequently think most people's sarcastic remarks have their roots in jealousy because guys like Dean get after it on a daily basis.
Just sayin...
Hey, DF. How are ya?
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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"but his "protection" system is totally unproven."
That's not necessarily true. He did take a fall on the Eiger while soloing with a base rig. Just as in anything we all do, it's a matter of him assessing risks and making a judgment on the amount of risk he is willing to accept. Same as for a roped leader, soloist, etc...
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tooth
Mountain climber
Guam
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I pack my own reserve chute. Pretty easy, but it isn't directional like the base rig.
Also, I have been flying with guys who jump from a paraglider just under 400', do two front flips, hook their foot in the wing as it opens and STILL land it nicely. When it comes down to the line the experienced guys get things sorted out pretty quick!
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rwedgee
Ice climber
canyon country,CA
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I was told that it was not even legal to POSSESS a rig (base or skydive) in the Park. This was told to me by the ranger who searched my vehicle because my "Skydive Taft" sticker gave him probable cause. Good thing I was on a climbing trip and not the other that time.
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rwedgee
Ice climber
canyon country,CA
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Jebos, spoken like the man himself.
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Domingo
Trad climber
El Portal, CA
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"Just another f*#ked up park situation and the reason why so many hate them. You can go to Europe and freak freey, but not here. Here, mommy and daddy want the job security of being boss and to tell you what to do. It's bullsh#t."
Hasn't Werner explained this several times? The climbers were the ones pissed off about the BASE jumpers. Turns out it's both dangerous and terrifying aiding a big wall and having someone shoot past you. Not saying NPS didn't have motivation: I seem to remember hearing employees talk about having to go do a body search every time a touron would call in a BASE jump...
Back to Dean... interesting stuff. Hopefully he never has to work the wrong side of the catch-22.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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rwedgee - I'm not aware of any law preventing you from having a rig in your car/possession while in the park. Maybe I'm wrong. Don't think so. The law that gets applied if you are caught jumping deals with air delivery, not base jumping or your rig, specifically. Technically, it's the same law that would be applied to you were you to be caught tossing your bag off the top of El Cap....
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handsome B
Gym climber
SL,UT
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"Hasn't Werner explained this several times? The climbers were the ones pissed off about the BASE jumpers. Turns out it's both dangerous and terrifying aiding a big wall and having someone shoot past you. "
This is the minority view.
It is not dangerous, and if it' the most terrifying thing you encounter on the wall, you aren't pushing yourself hard enough
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Pretty radical stuff. I'm sure he has given it a lot of thought. The guy has been pushing things for a long time and seems to be doing just fine.
I've had base jumpers fly by me on El Cap (well, on for me off for them), it scared the he11 out of me at first--nothing quite like seeing a body whiz by up there--but was cool when I realized what was happening.
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Moof
Big Wall climber
A cube at my soul sucking job in Oregon
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No hate here, just that these sorts of reckless stunts tend to have a high mortality rate. Sort of like when you see a kid playing on the highway, at night, wearing black, you just can't get worked up to see the stupid white cross spring up a few days later. After the delicate arches gig I just won't shed a tear when one of his stunts goes bad.
I just have a feeling that Dean is tempting Darwin on one hand, and potentially pulling down a whole lot of hate on the whole community with his theatrics with the other. Dead soloists really don't deserve anyone's sympathy, nor should it be expected.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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Interesting... I can see that they may hate the act, but am confused that they hate the man when they've never even met him...
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
somewhere without avatars.........
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I was addressing the theme, stzzo... Not necessarily your post. I can see how it seemed that way tho. Wasn't intentional.
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BASE666
Gym climber
Yosemite Park Ranger
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Bullwinkle
Boulder climber
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Yes I can see why people (using the word "people" loosely here) would hate DP for climbing a Rock, a scared Rock blessed by God, the NPS and the Great Sthate of Utah.
Indeed we know how important this Rock is, after all it's on the licence plate proving it's holyness and there's a jackhammered trail for the pilgrims to walk to it. And if you fart loud enough, it might just fall over cause it's so Delicate.
Angering "Land MisMangers"? yes as we all know middelage white males make the rules. And don't you just know it, they're always right, so don't make them mad, just do as you're told. and hate those that don't. Heck you haters can't even use your real name's, wow. . .DF
Hey Nef. . .
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Moof
Big Wall climber
A cube at my soul sucking job in Oregon
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Base666,
I have zero hate for base jumpers. I don't fully understand their risk/reward calculation, but whatever floats your boat.
I DO have hate for those that enshrine the dead base jumpers, or dead soloists as tragedies. It's sort of like being surprised that someone playing russian roullette eventually shot themselves in the head. In my own personal opinion the odds are bad enough in base and soloing that I blame the individual, and don't feel the need for sorrow.
car crash=tragic
dieing playing chicken in a car=good riddance
dieing playing russian roullette on delicate arch=where's a sniper when you need one
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Bullwinkle
Boulder climber
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no dude that doesn't climb or have a name, that is the point. . .DF
stevep, I respect your opinon and the fact that you got the sack to use your name here. . .
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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I don't hate Dean, but the Delicate Arch thing was a stupid move. It brought needless negative publicity on climbers and endangered access. If he was trying to make a point about stupid restrictions, that wasn't a good way to do it. If he was soloing for himself, what he did wasn't good for that either.
And while I respect your experience DF, as someone who lives and regularly climbs in UT and in the Moab area, I'd like to think I've got a better perspective than you do in CA.
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KP Ariza
climber
SCC
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#1 contributor to this thread goes to.........Bullwinkle! Doof, you're a schmuck. Of course, its only one mans opinion
DK
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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The REAL issue is NOT that Dean climbed Delicate arch;.....the REAL issue is that he climbed it with too much clothing;......c'mon;............(I guess he's just shy.....no reason to hate him.......).....Dean is awesome,.......and many of the laws set by our government to protect us from ourselves belong in the toilet......(This ALL started with the Kennedys....smoking pot in the White House, sleeping with movie stars, driving off of bridges and giving all our hard earned money to crack heads on welfare..............and now;...see;...we can't even climb a little sandstone arch in OUR OWN Park....you know;....National;....for the people, by the people?......and even if you are STILL pissed about that little arch episode...(get over yourself.....).......you HAVE to admit that soloing with a parachute is RAD..........)....I'm pissed off too;....pissed off I haven't climbed Delicate Arch myself...........yet.........I hope Obama can bring back some sanity to Utah....and make it legal to climb some of those awesome arches......(.....You KNOW Palin would say it was OK.........).........this is what we get for puttin' an Irish Catholic in the White House.....
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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I didn't know Obama was Irish or Catholic. Learn something new every day.
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Geez, Moof. Hatred? That is a pretty bad vibe. And stunts? These are not stunts. It is a sort of evolution.
I think that what he is doing is like a branch of a tree. There has always been a deep connection between jumpers and climbers, if you are on the down low. The idea that someone would marry the two was sort of inevitable. There have been a lot of climbers who got into jumping going way back to the early eighties when BASE got started.
And while I don't know Dean, I have friends who do, and he seems like a very good fellow. To question his motives is foolish. It is his business.
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Impaler
Trad climber
Munich
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Domingo wrote:
Hasn't Werner explained this several times? The climbers were the ones pissed off about the BASE jumpers. Turns out it's both dangerous and terrifying aiding a big wall and having someone shoot past you. Not saying NPS didn't have motivation: I seem to remember hearing employees talk about having to go do a body search every time a touron would call in a BASE jump...
Sorry, dude, but this is a bunch of BS right there. First off, some of the coolest moments in my climbing career were watching BASE jumpers jump past me. Yeah, was the most terrifying thing on some of the climbs (not all), but since it doesn't endanger the climber in any way it's just pure fun watching someone whooosh past you. Just another shot of adrenaline, what many of us climb for...
As for your second point, it all just a matter of park regulations. I did a route on Mt. Brento in Arco, Italy about a month ago and had about 20-30 BASEers jump past me (I lost the count after a while). I am pretty sure noone did a body search that day. It was all just fine. BTY, when we topped out we met another 15-20 BASErs who were hiking to the top to jump. Some italian dudes gave us their car to drive down! Totally made our day (and probably theirs)! Considering how many people jump from there every day I'm pretty sure the sport is not nearly as dangerous as people who don't do it make it seem.
Vlad
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GRJ
climber
Juneau AK
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Please, BASE will always piss people off and scare them. We live in a society that loves to tell everyone else how to live, especially those that like to live free. If anything Dean is doing all of us a favor by making these publicity stunts. It gives everyone something meaningless to complain about.
Notice no one has mention the hundreds of thousands of acres ol' GW just opened to oil exploration and drilling just miles from the "delicate arch." Pull your heads of out your asses and focus on a real issue instead of this crap. Let the guy do what he wants, he is climbing cleaner than most of us could ever dream of.
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Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
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I just got to say that Dean Potter and Chris Mac are both visionaries. It is incredible to see them both combine climbing and BASE jumping. I can only do both together in my dreams.
I probably won't BASE jump, although I have skydived (21 jumps then got into paragliding) although I truly admire it. I like having time on my side to work out any problems. BASE does not give you much time. It has to be perfect or close to perfect to work.
I will stick to climbing and paragliding. My wing is fully flying before I ever leave the ground. We don't ever jump! We fly. If anything goes wrong I can abort and I get a "do-over." You don't have that forgiveness in BASE jumping.
None-the-less I'm truly impressed by these human flying squirres. It is the future. Truly amazing and inspirational. Follow your dreams . . .
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Somebody writes: "The climbers were the ones pissed off about the BASE jumpers."
I'm always surprised when I hear people say this, because in my experience there was a kinship bond between BASE jumpers and climbers. It seems to have started when a rumor went around that a climber spilled the beans on BASE jump and bad consequences were the result. That may have been true, I've never fully heard all sides of the story, but it's hard for me to believe, because as I said, there was more of a kinship and mutual respect between BASE jumpers and climbers in my days in the Valley.
As far as climbers pissed about flying jumpers, that seems like total BS. Who?
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couchmaster
climber
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Aug 25, 2016 - 03:04pm PT
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Good folks. Bold. Nearby climb we are working on has folks frequently jumping off of it right past us with chutes and wingsuits. Literally, the middle of No f*#king whare. Or close to it anyway. Wanted to see if the jumpers had discussed an alternative access to the top online as the road had washed out, and a quick online search revealed that some guy augered into the rocky base the week after I was there.
Fella survived a 1000' drop the chute had to have been partially open. They helo'ed him out.
Best to all -
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Aug 25, 2016 - 05:38pm PT
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What have the last eight years taught us?
One from the vault to say the least.
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zBrown
Ice climber
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Aug 25, 2016 - 08:59pm PT
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