Extreme athlete Dean Potter killed in Yosemite BASE jumping accident


On Saturday evening, extreme athlete Dean Potter died in a BASE jumping accident in Yosemite National Park. He was 43.
A park spokesman said that Potter and a fellow jumper, Graham Hunt, died after attempting a wingsuit flight from Taft Point, a 7,500-foot promontory that overlooks El Capitan. After their spotter lost contact with the pair, search and rescue teams were dispatched to try to locate them, and their bodies were found on Sunday in Yosemite Valley, NBC News reports. Their parachutes had not been deployed.
BASE jumping involves parachuting from a fixed structure or cliff, and is illegal in Yosemite. Potter became active in the climbing and BASE jumping community in Yosemite during the 1990s, Outside reports, and was famous for tightrope walking on a piece of webbing in Yosemite and Arches National Park.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
The New York Times plays defense after publishing leaked Mamdani college application details
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The decision to publish details of Zohran Mamdani's Columbia University application has reignited simmering questions about sourcing and editorial guidelines
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia