海角大神

Dean Potter鈥檚 death this past weekend, in a wingsuit BASE jump in Yosemite National Park that went wrong, sent shock waves through the climbing community, where he was considered one of the most talented, visionary, and polarizing figures.

There are few people who have pushed the limits of what humans are capable of to the extent that Mr. Potter did, and his exploits were legendary in the small but growing world of extreme sports.

The deaths of Potter and his friend Graham Hunt are particularly poignant tragedies in a sport that has claimed dozens of lives in recent years and is considered by many to be the most dangerous sport there is.

鈥淚n the adventure world, I鈥檝e lost a lot of friends to climbing and BASE jumping,鈥� Corey Rich, a photographer who had photographed Potter鈥檚 jumps and knew him for years,聽. 鈥淥n one level, you lose a friend. But it鈥檚 also difficult to be surprised because BASE jumping is the most dangerous thing you can do. The odds are not in your favor, and sadly, Dean pulled the unlucky card.鈥�

Potter was a top athlete who always pushed limits and seemed to many to be invincible. But extreme sports are growing in popularity and visibility, thanks in part to聽the rise of social media and the availability of portable GoPro cameras, which extreme athletes can affix to their helmets or other gear to document their thrills聽鈥� one factor that has聽brought daredevil acts to a wider audience in living color.

鈥淐ertainly many of these [extreme] experiences seem and are more accessible than they used to be 鈥� media coverage and Internet communities have something to do with that,鈥� says Emma Barrett, co-author of 鈥淓xtreme: Why Some People Thrive at the Limits,鈥� in an e-mail.

She says that while media may encourage some of the increase, the desire to try risky sports may also be reflective of a societal trend in which some people are turning away from material possessions toward 鈥渆xperiences鈥� as a source of happiness. And the social-media bragging rights could play a role too, she adds, explaining a theory that 鈥渆ngaging in activities and then bragging about it on Facebook is the 21st-century equivalent of 鈥榢eeping up with the Joneses.鈥� 鈥�

But Ms. Barrett also notes that the forces that drive top extreme athletes, like Potter, to take the risks they do are often very different than people imagine 鈥� and the popular notion of people being 鈥渁drenaline junkies鈥� is pretty off-base.

Reasons vary from person to person, she says, but quite a few are driven by the desire for mastery and to overcome physical and psychological challenges. And for many of the most extreme athletes, their motivation is linked to the concept of 鈥渇low鈥� 鈥� an intense mental engagement when someone is fully immersed in an activity that challenges them at the limit of their abilities.

鈥淔low is rewarding, so it鈥檚 something that people keep seeking out. Because it depends on being at the limits of your skill, some people keep stretching with ever more challenging situations to feel rewarded. It鈥檚 addictive,鈥� says Barrett.

For many climbers, Potter was a hero who was constantly innovating and pushing boundaries, truly loved his sports, and was a charismatic and deeply spiritual figure.聽But for some people, the extremes to which Potter and some others are willing to go crosses a line into what they consider recklessness, and has raised questions about the ethics of such extreme sports,聽or, at least, of companies sponsoring and encouraging them.

Last year, Clif Bar made news when it decided to drop five athletes 鈥� including Potter 鈥� from its roster of sponsorships, due to what it said was discomfort with the idea of promoting and encouraging so much risk. The activities it singled out were BASE jumping (which stands for 鈥渂uilding, antenna, span, and earth鈥� and refers to jumping from a fixed object), free-solo climbing (without ropes), and high-lining (walking a slack line set high above the ground). Potter was a leader in all three sports.

鈥淲e concluded that these forms of the sport are pushing boundaries and taking the element of risk to a place where we as a company are no longer willing to go,鈥� Clif Bar said in a statement at the time. 鈥淲e understand that some climbers feel these forms of climbing are pushing the sport to new frontiers. But we no longer feel good about benefiting from the amount of risk certain athletes are taking in areas of the sport where there is no margin for error; where there is no safety net.鈥�

BASE jumping, in particular, is considered one of the riskiest sports there is. Even with careful planning, risk-mitigation, and a lot of experience, a tiny error can result in death.聽聽which analyzed jumps in 2002 estimated the risk of death to be about one fatality per 60 participants. Wingsuit BASE jumping, which Potter did, is even more dangerous. Participants are essentially 鈥渇lying鈥� 鈥� gliding as a flying squirrel does 鈥� and maneuvering their body at high speeds before they deploy a parachute.

Clif Bar鈥檚 decision was a controversial one that came under heavy critique by the climbing community, who noted that Potter and the other dropped athletes were some of the most incredible and innovative athletes on the planet, the people who take sports to new places and offer a glimpse into what is possible. Others expressed support for the idea that a company shouldn鈥檛 be promoting activities 鈥� especially in an age of YouTube and viral videos, where young people might seek to emulate and copy the stunts they see their heroes doing 鈥� and which have such a high risk of death.

Other companies, like Red Bull and GoPro, which makes the cameras that document many of the extreme feats, have latched onto the growth in extreme sports and used them heavily for marketing. And the documentation of the most extreme feats 鈥� by film crews or GoPro, for advertising or for a documentary 鈥� is precisely what makes some people uncomfortable, wondering if extreme athletes would be pushed to do quite such daring stunts if they weren鈥檛 to be captured on camera, and questioning the role of video in encouraging ever more extreme risk-taking 鈥� whether by talented athletes pushing the height of their abilities or by amateurs hoping for the next viral YouTube video or a cool post on Facebook.

The feat that Potter came under greatest criticism for wasn't one of his most daring exploits 鈥� his record long BASE jump from the Eiger north face in Switzerland or his free-solo climbs of portions of El Capitan in Yosemite 鈥� but his free-solo climb of Utah's Delicate Arch, which critics saw as a publicity stunt for Potter (it was filmed for a movie about him) that risked the arch.

Potter himself had no illusions about the risks he was taking and frequently spoke about his thrill-seeking as a desire for transcendent experience rather than a death wish. He spoke about having nightmares before his jumps and took careful precautions.

"I'm addicted to the heightened awareness I get when there's a death consequence,"聽聽in 2008. "My vision is sharper, and I'm more sensitive to sounds, my sense of balance and the beauty all around me. A lot of my creativity comes from this nearly insane obsession. Something sparkles in my mind, and then nothing else in life matters."

Potter was known recently for taking his miniature Australian cattle dog, Whisper, with him on his BASE jumps, in a specially outfitted backpack. He made a film about their adventures, 鈥淲hen Dogs Fly,鈥� that debuted last fall.

Thinking about the possible risks for Whisper (who was not with Potter on his fatal jump) made him even more aware of the consequences of the risks he took. "It wasn't until I started having to think through the likelihood of something happening to Whisper that I finally got it," he told the in April. "This is really serious stuff that we do."

But Potter was also determined to keep pushing the limits of possibility, and once wrote about a recurring dream of having 鈥渇eathers sprouting on my arm.鈥�

鈥淚 know it鈥檚 insane to think that I could fly,鈥� Potter told ESPN. 鈥淏ut to make it possible, you truly have to believe in it 鈥� to go to a place that鈥檚 not accepted.鈥�