Flirting with Death - Dan Osman

The above pic shows Dan Osman lunging upward towards a hold you can see at the bottom of the pic.. He was in the air for a second when he did that...at 200ft asl. (Check 4:20 of the following video for more detailed action).

If this video isn't bad ass, what is? Maybe this one. You look at crazy, insane, wacko, fearless and larger-than-life men like Dan Osman and what do you say? You say nothing. You are in awe, filled with a real deep respect and you wish you could do a minute fraction of what he's done. We are not talking about rock climbing here, we are talking about free soloing - climbing rock cuts or faces without ropes and no other support whatsoever. To be able to do what Dan Osman's done requires transcendence, plain and simple. Even the slightest fear, which reflects a lack of confidence( and how does confidence come in such an extreme max sport?), would invite panic and panic, when you are hanging in space if not immediately brought down will ultimately bring you down...free fall to the ground and death.

P.S. Dan Osman died at the ripe young age of 35 in 1998, not while free soloing but during controlled free fall (similar to bungee-jumping but in a natural setting), when the rope attached to his body got cut. Dan lived life the way he wanted to and to that end I bow down before the man.
The song in the first video is from Metallica's first album (known as Metallica or The black album) called The Unforgiven II

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