“The attractive thing about rock climbing: There are no rules.” — Dean Potter

pod isn’t nearly as intimidating as i had imagined. 3 miles (12:26). this should be cake. i was pondering heart rate and heat and insanity and pushing too hard during today’s run. and then i saw the news about dean potter. i read a profile story about him in Outside once. insane free climber (no ropes up sheer walls) and cliff jumper. he was doing stuff so crazy that clif bar and patagonia both yanked their sponsorships because they didn’t feel good about endorsing what they saw as irresponsible behavior. mo and i talked about it a long time. where do you draw the line?  in the end i shrugged, thinking what the hell. do what you love. we all make our choices. then i read today that he died saturday in a BASE jump in yosemite. 43 years old. his partner, graham hunt, who also died, was 29. where’s the line? is your sport really worth dying for? and if it’s not, is it really worth living for? i guess we’ll find out after the 880 repeats. in the end, there are no rules, only choices. life is funny.

whisper wasn’t with him on the last jump.