Dean Potter Free Solos The Eiger North Face [Confirmed]

Dean Potter Free Solos The Eiger North Face [Confirmed]

Originally posted the afternoon of 8/7/2008

I have received a reliable tip that Dean Potter has free soloed the famous Eiger in Europe. No word on the route taken up, but apparently he BASE jumped from the top. Video was no doubt taken of his exploits.  More details as they become available…

Unsurprisingly there is already a flamewar underway at SuperTopo

Update 8/8/08: Sender Films was there to catch all the action for their upcoming movie.  Here is what they had to say on their blog:

This week, Dean successfully free soloed the route Deep Blue Sea on the north face of The Eiger. It’s 600 feet of gently overhanging limestone with a 5.12+ crux, which posed a huge risk of falling. To overcome the risk element, Potter employed his old safety: super-light B.A.S.E. rig, which, if he fell, and stuck the right position, would save him from death.

Climbing.com has a bit more detail as well including this photo:

Photo:  Beat Kammerlander

Related Posts

Posted In: Climbing News
Tags:
Climbers:
Twitter Stumbleupon Facebook Email
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS Feed to get all the latest updates delivered to your Feed Reader or E-Mail Inbox.

16 Responses to “Dean Potter Free Solos The Eiger North Face [Confirmed]”

  1. Cool! Bet his trip down was wicked.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  2. he is one crazy dude.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  3. check out fox, msnbc, and abc tomorrow for news coverage….

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  4. clearly someone didn’t read 8a’s list of statements/news/editorial blunders: solos don’t count dean. 0 points.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  5. Actually Dean was trying to be as brave and humble as possible by taking 0 points. 9a feels that Dean most likely decided not to use any protection because of 9a’s new regulations. 9a feels that the future of the scoring system may be to have the lowest score possible. However, 9a does not feel that Potter’s send was as revolutionary as the 9a airpad, nor the BMI regulation innovated by said website.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  6. actually, dean was just trying to reconnect with the natural world

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  7. what does the sit start go at?

    i heard it was a mistake and he intended to warm up on ‘the ladder’ at evans, but couldn’t decipher anything from the new guide.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  8. This sit start sounds like something straight out of crumblewood!

    UA:A [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  9. Excited to see the movie of it, but no surprise to me Dean just up to his old tricks again.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  10. WOW! Ok, Dean is and will always be my favorite climber.

    On a side note, what’s this about a scorecard? Climbing doesn’t have a scorecard.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  11. 8a.nu
    Points, the best thing since sliced bread.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
  12. This is the kind of exploit that manages to both thrill me and scare me witless at the same time. Dean may wear a light rig, but the chute is useless for the earlier part of the climb. If he’d fallen from the later stages he would still have had to get himself in a perfect position for the chute to be of any real use.

    Awesome, absolutely awesome.

    UN:F [1.8.5_1061]
    Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Sender Films: The Sharp End Trailer | Climbing Narcissist - 08. Aug, 2008

    [...] Alex Honnold, Chris McNamara, Dean Potter, Renan Ozturk and others climbing in the French Alps, the Eiger, the Utah Desert, the Diamond on Long’s Peak, the Indian Kashmir, Yosemite Granite and sandstone [...]

  2. Breaking: Dean Potter Free Solos Eiger’s North Face - The Adventurist - Mt. Everest to The Poles: Exploring Adventure One Trip At a Time - 09. Aug, 2008

    [...] ClimbingNarc is breaking some news that Dean Potter has successfully free soloed the North Face of The Eiger!  That is one huge climb and to do it with no ropes is quite insane.. [...]

  3. A Few News & Notes Items | Climbing Narcissist - 28. Aug, 2008

    [...] his calling out of a certain famous female free solo BASE jumper who may or may not be married to a famous BASE [...]

  4. Dean Potter’s Eiger FreeBASE On NBC’s Jeep World Of Adventure Sports This Weekend | Climbing Narcissist - 07. Oct, 2008

    [...] segment on Dean Potter’s freeBASE of the North Face of the Eieger will be airing this weekend.  It will be featured on the Saturday, October 11th edition [...]

Leave a Reply