Rock climbing, Slacklining, B.A.S.E. Jumping, B.A.S.E. Climbing, B.A.S.E.lining, and Dean Motherfucking Potter

Alright, I’m about to assault you with a barrage of videos that effectively summarizes some of my recent obsessions / shit-I-want-to-get-into (excluded is mountain climbing, cycling, travelling, and volunteering).

First is rock climbing. Here’s a Canadian bouldering competition for 2009/2010:

Tour de Bloc 2009/2010 Finals from omar duragos on Vimeo.

I competed this year for the first time, at the gym (Gravity Rock Climbing Gym) in my city (Hamilton, Ontario) in the Men’s Experienced category (there are three categories I could have signed up for: Recreational, Experienced, and Open). I placed 6th, which I’m happy with.

Next is slacklining. For those of you who have no idea what that is: le wikipedia. Here’s a video from a recent gibbons competition (I’d only watch the first half; I don’t know if I’ll ever compete in one of these…):

Next is something I have no experience in but have always wanted to try: B.A.S.E. jumping. I’ve done a tandem skydive, which was amazing, but the money and steps required to get to the point where you can solo jump off of a building, antennae, span (bridge) or earth (cliff) is at this moment out of my league.

Now, then, the entire purpose of writing this is because I watched some videos of Dean Potter, a world renowned rock climber, who has successfully combined all of these sports. I hate him, and yet idolize him all at once.

Here’s a quick National Geographic video on Dean:

and a longer documentary:

One day…