Graham Hunt: Climber Lived Full Life Before Yosemite BASE Jumping Accident
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Graham Hunt's friend says the 29-year-old lived a full life despite his young age before his death over the weekend in a Yosemite BASE jumping accident.
Hunt shot video of his own wingsuit BASE jumps, and talked about dying as he was perched high atop the very mountains where he would ultimately jump to his death.
"I mean I have to believe that we don't have to die doing this," Hunt said in a video. "I honestly feel like I could be a 75-year-old man and still go for a hike and fly."
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Hunt, from El Dorado County, chose to live a different kind of life, his friend Shawn Reeder said. Reeder shot photos of Hunt doing what he loved. He says weeks ago, he talked to Hunt about the risks of wingsuit BASE jumping.
"I left the conversation thinking wow you might die, and I love you but I don't feel you're being a crazy daredevil either," he said.
Hunt was with his mentor, Dean Potter, considered a living legend in climbing and jumping, when something went wrong.
Reeder wants his friend's legacy to not be focused on reckless risks, but instead about loving life.
"Some people just have a natural talent and a natural passion to pursue whatever it is they're interested in, fully," he said. Without any compromises. And that was Graham."