--- title: Climber Alex Honnold: What Risk Means After Dean Potter description: Dean Potter was a hero, who represented everything badass about the climbing world canonical: https://time.com/3898371/alex-honnold-dean-potter-climbing/ author: Alex Honnold article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-28T21:03:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:08:11.677Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Climber Alex Honnold: What Risk Means After Dean Potter og:description: Dean Potter knew the risks in his life, and he still pursued his dreams og:url: https://time.com/3898371/alex-honnold-dean-potter-climbing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb2c9f304f2be3c7/6988511435ba6fe6cfc0d636/dean-potter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: dean-potter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Climber Alex Honnold: What Risk Means After Dean Potter twitter:description: Dean Potter knew the risks in his life, and he still pursued his dreams twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb2c9f304f2be3c7/6988511435ba6fe6cfc0d636/dean-potter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Climber Alex Honnold: What Risk Means After Dean Potter > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=798d8b60-7593-4325-8c2b-e5d4e736ae31&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Legendary BASE Jumper Dean Potter Dies [Watch (HLS stream): Legendary BASE Jumper Dean Potter Dies](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BRPKxiTg.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2015-05-18. Dean Potter's body was found alongside Graham Hunt after the pair attempted to jump from Taft Point in Yosemite National Park on May 16._ by [Alex Honnold](https://time.com/author/alex-honnold/) ## Alex Honnold May 28, 2015 9:03 PM UTC by [Alex Honnold](https://time.com/author/alex-honnold/) ## Alex Honnold May 28, 2015 9:03 PM UTC On May 16, Dean Potter and his partner and friend, Graham Hunt, were killed in a wingsuit BASE-jumping accident in Yosemite National Park. I heard the news almost immediately from a mutual friend in the park and spent the next day in shock and disbelief. Dean, who was 43, had been one of the most well-known and creative rock climbers in the U.S. for almost 20 years, and his death was widely covered by both mainstream and social media. Almost everyone in the climbing community posted some kind of tribute to Dean, since we had all been touched by him in some way. He was a hero of mine growing up, representing everything badass about the climbing world. I first saw Dean in _Masters of Stone V_, an old-school climbing film that showed off his new style of speed-soloing big walls. Here was a wild-looking man charging up the biggest walls in Yosemite with only minimal gear. As a young gym climber, I thought what he was doing was impossible—and amazing. I came to know him over the years through climbing events, and though we rarely got to climb together, I would consistently see him around. The news of the accident came as a blow since I’d recently had dinner with him in Yosemite. There have been wildly divided responses to his death, ranging from deep respect for a man who greatly influenced his sport to unchecked contempt for someone who threw his life away, squandering what’s most precious in search of the next cheap thrill. Many people questioned the value, or even sanity, in such risk-taking. They assumed that Dean must have been a selfish monster to hurt his family and friends in such a way. The most common kind of criticism was some version of “he owes it to others to stay alive.” These types of comments really rankled me because they belittle how much thought and effort Dean invested in his arts. No one spends 20 years at the cutting edge of their sport by being an adrenaline junkie all the time. Most people had only seen his climbing and flying through short YouTube videos and never got a glimpse of the years of training behind them. Dean actually had a thoughtful and conservative approach, building up to things slowly over time as he became physically and psychologically prepared. Some argued that it was immoral to risk his life, yet many Americans risk their health every day through largely avoidable diet and lifestyle choices. I was 19 when my father died from a heart attack. He was a 55-year-old college professor and had led what was by all appearances a risk-free life. But he was overweight, and heart disease runs in our family. No matter the risks we take, we always consider the end to be too soon, even though in life more than anything else quality should be more important than quantity. Dean’s pursuits were quixotic. They were impractical and unrealistic, and yet he was romantically devoted to them. And that dedication is what allowed him to help shape his sports for almost 20 years. His death has reminded me to reflect carefully on my own decisions about risk. There’s a constant tension in climbing, and really all exploration, between pushing yourself into the unknown but trying not to push too far. The best any of us can do is to tread that line carefully. Dean was making his choices clear-eyed. He knew the risks in his life, and he was still willing to pursue his dreams. How many of the rest of us live with that kind of intention? _Read next:_ [_Cedar Wright: Remembering Climbing Legend Dean Potter_](http://time.com/3891093/dean-potter-cedar-wright-climbing/) ## Transcript Extreme sports legend, 43 year old Dean Potter, died in Yosemite National Park. Potter was one of two base jumpers found dead in Yosemite on May 16th. He and the other jumper, 29 year old Graham Hunt Attempted a wing suit flight from Taft point, a 7500 foot cliff. Base jumping, which involves parachuting from a cliff or another fixed structure is illegal in Yosemite. Potter's been a fixture of the base jumping scene for decades. Outside magazine reports, the pair spotter hear noises and tried to contact them by radio. Then she tried going to the spot where they agreed to meet but they weren't there. Sunday morning a state police helicopter spotted the bodies. The jumpers' parachutes had not been deployed. Potter is survived by his girlfriend and his dog Whisper, the star Potter's 2014 film When Dogs Fly: World's First Wingsuit BASE Jumping Dog. Potter regularly line walked without a parachute or harness DeadSpin described him as famous for his disregard for basic safety features. Most people use the safety leash. I want to be out there just as detached as possible. Potter had quite achievements under his belt. The New York Times says he broke the speed record for nose route of El Capitan and was the first to free climb, no ropes except to catch falls Both El Capitan and Half Dome in 24 hours. Everybody kind of fantasizes about it, flying. 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