Once again one coming from the other planet. That is what always comes on my mind after reading an article about the breathtaking climbing achievements. What about the articles about Dean Potter: a great guy who wants to fly with only a wingsuit, fighting gravity high above the ground on the slack line and soloing hard routes with a parachute on his back.

And then I meet Dean Potter in the Local Bar in Prague - a man of flesh and bones. He does not drink coffee or beer, he said that he had drank too much therefore he decided to quit. He acts modestly and truly. The same way he enjoys the life - truly and deeply. Patiently and carefully he opens one unknown door after another and seeks what is behind. 

In the eyes of the climbing public your  rock adventures like free soloing, onsight free soloing, base soloing, highlining untouched,  belong to extremes which are slightly crazy. How does it sound to you?
In some way I recognize that I am different than others and that is kind of why the name of the show I am doing right now- "Embracing Insanity".  I think a lot of  truth come from the place where the edge of the reality is, where we enjoy the unknown and for some people the unknown is crazy, but for me unknown is the place where new things happen. For sure, I definitely like to enter into the unknown and find out for myself what is crazy or possible or a little of each. With the risk there is adventure, and adventure comes from the unknown and I think that is why people enjoy not knowing and it is part of their fun.



Dean Potter v Praze
foto by Karel Šváb

For sure your performance on rock is admirable and one must find out about himself many things as well as be set free from many things. Is it precisely the freedom the main reason why you chose these disciplines?
There are many reasons. I do climb to be free. I live my life to be free. The main reason is the mental states that we enter in doing what we do. I think you also have some awareness when you are sending.  Your thoughts are clear, you are precise, you remember all details, you are connected  with your body and with the earth - that is freedom.

There is no doubt that Yosemite is one of your favorite places. Just to remind a few of your ascents: the first free ascent of the Regular route + Free Rider in one day, a speed ascent of The Nose in 3 hours 24 minutes, Astroman free solo, Southern Belle  5.12d, Dogs roof free solo, Separate reality free solo... Which of them do you consider the best?
My best climb is not in Yosemite, but in Patagonia- the first free solo ascent of the route California Roulette on Fitz Roy. It was the most magical adventure for me and then the climb on Eiger- Deep Blue Sea- first free base. That was my most magical experience and something very new- unknown which just to changed my reality of solo climbing.


Have you ever been on Fitz Roy before?
I have been in Patagonia many times and I climbed Fitz Roy twice.  Before I free soloed California Roulette  I  had climbed free solo Super Couloirs VI 5.10 WI3+ on Fitz Roy and I had soloed Compressor Route VI on  Cerro Torre. I kept thinking about California Roulette. People were trying it for decades.  I camp down the wall and the weather went good again. In the first pitch there was an ice form, which is not always, so I got into a wall. I always wanted to do it and I waited for years so I could do it.

Back to Yosemite. What do you like the most about Yosemite?
I like the nature there and the connection between how I feel and the power of the place. There is something like a power center. Somehow I feel more energy in the valley and the beauty and it push me to do things which I thought are not possible. Also I like peaceful and that you are alone on the beautiful places.

Do you remember your first climb in Yosemite?
When I first came to Yosemite I met all these old time climbers there. They brought me to some of easy climbs- easy stuff - just for fun and movements. I still do a many easy climbs as before- like hiking, just five pitches and that is my favorite- that’s my normal day.

I searched in various articles on the Internet and I found nowhere, how did you start climbing?
I was always a little climber- climbed on the house and stuff like that. But my first real climb was at a military base, which was close to our house, where there was a 60 meter wall. My parents told me not to go there…I was 15 years old. So I went there with my friend John Sorou and then an army guy chased us and we were hiding behind boulders and the army guy got sick from looking for us. We both soloed up and our style was that helped each other: we pushed and pulled each other. We climbed like that for two years. We soloed pretty hard routes, about 5.9 then. Then we read some books from Royal Robbins so we learned the style of the sixties. Then some climber saw us- first climber we ever met and told us: hey, you’re gonna die like this if you don’t get some harnesses and buy some shoes….so than we really learned how to climb. But mostly we climbed solo anyway.


And you climb solo all along? Why?
It feels good. It is the easiest things to do. If there is a friend I go climb with the friend, but sometime I wake up in the morning and nobody is around so I go climbing.

While soloing you must climb under your limits?
Yes, of course, I do.

But in Utah, you did the first ascent and at the time free solo ascent of the route The Crippler 5.13 +.  I still can understand when a climber does a free solo of a route which he knows well, but OS - free solo? It sounds like a big trouble already?
I could hit the ground, brake my legs, but this was a special day. The next day I am a different person. We can not expect to be on highest level all the time. As well as in California Roulette in Patagonia. It was because I had this special day. I did not think I will be on that level for ever. It is little bit off out control, I don’t know when it will happen again. I just feel it. I don’t know where the motivation comes from. I have my brain, my feelings and my emotions. I hold myself back for some years to do something. I know that its gonna be very dangerous, but I want it very badly, think about it all the time, but eventually I can stop myself and then I practice. People probably don’t recognize that I practice everything. I think about all details.


Has it happen to you sometime that before you free solo or step on highline, you get doubts and get back?
It happens to me. I feel sick and I think I have a flu, I am very sleepy. So sometimes my consciousness tells me not to do it and I say I better not do it today. My body stops me. It is like my safety mechanism to prevent the death.

Do you know this type of dreams: climbing, climbing and than falling, and then I wake up sweating?
I do have nightmares, where things going bad. Often during my climbs I flashed these nightmares.

Do you have any others plans on El Capitan?
Yes, I have lots of plans on El Capitan. Now I have a small cabin 10 kilometers from Yosemite, so for me El Capitan is like a local crag. I like to do things in new ways more than to do a new routes- different ideas in different way of climbing. When I look to El Capitan I imagine a new routes to climb which fascinating me.

You spoke about a new ways of climbing- you mean climbing with a parachute, but it is not allowed on El Capitan?
It is not allowed to base jump there, but you can climb with parachute. If you don’t fall, you don’t use it.  Using a parachute on El Capitan is illegal, but not as bad like dying. I use a parachute in many routes in Yosemite and there were no troubles, but I didn’t fall. If I fall I don’t care, I am alive. I look more what are nature’s rules that what are men’s rules. I don’t want to go to jail, but I want to be free. In my country is mostly forbidden to fly. To be free and fly I must go to any others States than US. I don’t really care about stupid laws.



And here we are in Arches National Park in Utah where you climbed Delicate Arch and for that you lost the sponsorship with Patagonia. Would you do it again?

Yes that was a weird thing. I want to solo it a lot. I didn't brake a law, I didn’t get anything from government, but Patagonia and Black Diamond fired me to be safe. That’s fine with me, but I found weird that some people are so disconnected with nature; they don’t believe that we are part of nature. I believe that we are part of nature; we can touch nature as long as we don’t hurt it.  About people that were upset with me for climbing the Arch free solo, I think that they probably hurt nature much more than me. I climbed very carefully up the sandstone.

So you are not a friend of rules?
We are nature, we are part of environment and in my slide show you will see me climb Delicate Arch and than look for yourself: Did I hurt nature? No! The government and their restrictions don’t let us fly, don’t let us find unknown. All restrictions don’t let human being grow, we should instead celebrate. In my hometown I am criminal.


Dean Potter v Praze
foto by Karel Šváb


According to your speed ascent, I would say that you like to be quickly back on the ground. What was then the longest time you've spent in the wall?
I do, it just not for what I know. I spent two weeks on El Capitan. I climbed with friends, we spent days on the ledges, not even climbing, just to hanging on the wall. What I know for is a speed climbing, but I don’t do it anymore.

Is speed climbing still climbing?
If you want to be a good speed climber, you must free everything. If you want to go the free passes you basically free climb the wall. You pull on the gear occasionally. Part of this I like. it is climbing up how ever you want. Like I sad, grab the hands, push, do what ever you feel like….
Climbing El Capitan in couple of hours is beautiful. What I didn’t like is chasing people.

So you don’t want to beat the speed record of Hirayama and Florin of The Nose - 2 hours, 37 minutes?
No, I happy for them. I just don’t to race with other human beings. I am not a weight lifter or somehow who looks for numbers. I move to other places.

Bigwalls are often practiced headpointing. Are you a fan of this?
I do that style a lot. I think every style is ok and I wish the rest of the climbing world to know that. I think it is wasting time to think that one way is better than the other. People often say: Oh that style is not that good as mine, but I think we should all be congratulating each other and just saying: great, good job. You don’t hurt rock or other people, go and just have fun as long as you are human being .

For long routes you need a good physical and mental serenity.  How do you prepare yourself?
I do running. During winter I was running hours and hours. Because I travel a lot I have several exercises that I practice and I do Yoga. My mother is a yoga teacher so she taught me a lot.

Do you play games like RP, PP and OS?
I think is all good. It is game. I like sport climbing, big wall climbing, I respect rules of areas. I try to do as little to the rock as possible, but for sure I have placed bolts, I have placed too many pitons in my life, but I try to do it not very often. Nobody is perfect. We all drive cars, buy oil….everybody does something that hurts nature.  Just do your best.

So you climb sport routes as well?
Yes! I am trying right now a new sport route in Yosemite. I don’t grade, it is not important to me.  On all my first ascents I never put a number on it. Climbing is for me about beauty and number is so far what is important to me. If is not beautiful I cannot climb even 7a. If it is beautiful I can climb hard.


Did you prepare yourself for basejumping with skydiving?
Yes first I learned skydiving. I have been doing it for seven years. I learned in Longmont in Colorado from three guys. My first base jump was in Idaho off the bridge.

Why do you like basejumping?
I like base jumping, because the community is a little bit different and there is no competition. In climbing the people try to proof they’re the best. In base jumping people want to just live. You jump and hoping everything goes good. You just want to enjoy a beautiful flying and human body. For me whenever there is competition I go the other direction.

Did you have any bad call while you were base jumping? 
Yes. The closest accident I ever had in anything: climbing, base jumping, slacklining was in Mexico in Swallow Cave. I jumped in the 400 meters deep cave and my parachute didn’t open quite right.  I was about to die, then I felt a cameraman rope, so reached out and grab the 10 mm rope. The parachute came over my head and I just held the rope with my bare hands for about 100 meters. I couldn’t stop myself than I realized I’m gonna die. I tried to do everything to get up myself. I can feel the deck, and I tried to do everything to hold myself.  I was about 2 meters near the ground where I stop. My fried was there and I could hear him yelling all the time. He ran to me, I could’t see him, because the parachute was on my head and he yelled: drop out, let go. My hands were destroyed, big rope burns, my muscles were all ripped. After this I went into depression  for almost two years. I tried to do base jumping and climbing again, but something was weird in my emotion. I just didn't have any energy. My friends and my family supported me and helped me lift up. I started to do a thing I never have. I came out stronger. In these low places we are very creative.

Last year you did the highest and the longest basejump ever in Switzerland- (nearly six kilometers and almost three minutes). Did you  find some specific starting point.
At the end of August I found on the western ridge Eiger new jumping spot. Year ago, I searched the ridge, but I found nothing. This time I got back with positive energy, and believed  and I found it. The jumping spot is about 600 vertical feet higher than the standard position on the "sponge".

Recently you combine free solo with basejump. Does base jump parachute gives you more confidence while climbing?
Absolutely. It is not free solo. I made the lightest parachute in the world, it weights 3 kilos, so it is light, but instead falling to your death you fly. It is the most beautiful thing to change dying into flying.  While free soling I always must reach the summit, but now summit is a half point, I get to a summit and fly away.

In 2008 you  base soloed  Deep Blue Sea "(300m, 7b +) in the northern wall of the Eiger in Switzerland. Was it your first climb in this style?
Yes, it was the first time I used that style. I tried once before I fell and I had to down climb it, and than I did it clean. On the Eiger I traversed from the west ridge and it was unbelievable from me to do the first base jump from the Eiger. I was looking forward to it for years. Never find a place and I never thought about Eiger. I thought that the Eiger had very bad rock, but Deep Blue Sea is the best rock I have ever climbed.


Why did you choose this route?
One thing was the name of the route, because when I fly I feel like I turn into liquid and I feel like I am in ocean. But mostly because is very steep rock, long, beautiful and there is one blue streak and you look up there and say - this is a line.

So for you now are overhanging climbs and hard climbs in them the safest. Could you then control fall?
When I am in Switzerland I jump there a lot, like five times a day, I am used to flying there. I feel relax.  I have about 1000 jumps. But I never practiced jumping from the Eiger. I went right on it. But I scared myself pretty badly, but I wanted more, so I started practicing.  I repelled in and my friend pulled up the rope. I climbed as long as I could and than I jumped off.

Could you control the fall at all?
Yes, I could, I have reflex to turn away, I practiced a many times.


Do you do  basejump for simpler and faster descent also?
I do. In California Roulette when I was rappelling I was hit by rockfall that hurts, so then I started thinking about a safer way to get out of the mountain. And like this- it is complete safe.

Tell us about what you search for in your ascents and while you are basejumping?
I am searching for many things. Sometimes to be stronger, sometimes to open my mind, sometimes just to be with friends. Climbing is not one thing for me. All the ways are beautiful.

And what do your parents say about your flying and climbing  passion?
My dad died two years ago of a heart attack. He was very supportive. This is in my slide show too. Two days after my dad died I received a letter from him, he wrote to me, talking about wind suit climbing and than last worlds in the letter sad I believe that the landing problem can be solved.  My mom is very supportive too. She sees how happy I am.

Highline is another thing that you do , more precisely highline without belay. When it happened that you started to fall, is there any chance that you catch the slackline? How do you maintain not to fall into the valley?
Walking the line is incredibly scary when you up there, but compare to a hard free solo I know there is the biggest line under my feet. I am able to grab the line. I have done it for years. I don’t grab it with my hands, but I grab it with the back of my leg and then my hands. 

What is the longest distance which you walked unattached on highline?
I don’t measure exactly, but something about 60 meters.



Dean Potter v Praze
foto by Karel Šváb

What are your plans with or without rope or with base  in near future?
I am working right now on sport routes in Yosemite. I am not known for sport climbing, but I like it too. Then I am trying get stronger for overhanging stuff, I’ve never been strong for routes like that. I am trying train more regularly. Then also flyš on wing suit. One reason I fly a higher level now is, because I am little stronger from climbing. With climbing muscles I can hold wings. I always had a strong mind and I want to bring my body to a highest level too.

... And then land only with wingsuit and realize your childhood dream to fly. Thank you for the interview.