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Dean Potter,
in his own words.
Subscribe to Alpinist and immediately unlock six digital issues tracing Dean Potter’s writing, climbing and legacy.
1-year print subscription + digital access to Issues 9, 18, 21, 27, 51 & 94
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Your print subscription includes immediate digital access to six complete issues documenting Dean Potter across more than two decades of Alpinist.
1-year Alpinist print subscription.
DIGITAL
Six complete digital issues, accessible immediately.
The Dark Wizard Collection
Six issues. One arc.
Three stories in Dean’s own words. Two iconic covers. One reflection on his death. And a contemporary reckoning with his legacy.
Issue 9 · Winter 2004–2005
Falling
By Dean Potter
To fly with the swallows, you first have to fall. America’s boldest climber takes the plunge in Mexico—and finds that gravity works just fine south of the border, too.
Issue 18 · Winter 2006–2007
On the Cover
Photo by Dean Fidelman
Dean Potter on the first solo of Heaven (5.12d), Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California, July 15, 2006. The route was the culmination of a soloing spree that began with the controversial Delicate Arch and included Separate Reality (5.11d) and Dog Roof (5.12a).
Issue 21 · Autumn 2007
The Space Between
By Dean Potter
Partway through his first road trip, one climber stumbled upon a subculture within his own: slacklining. As he became more immersed in the practice, he began to discover that the space between the vertical was equally compelling.
Issue 27 · Summer 2009
Embracing Insanity
By Dean Potter
Haunted by a childhood dream, a climber searches for a way to fly free. He begins to realize that the solution to the “landing problem” may lie along the border between reality and impossibility, creativity and madness.
“I want to be a part of what turns this world more soulful.”
Dean Potter, 2008
Issue 51 · Autumn 2015
Going Home
By Chris Van Leuven
Dean Potter, Graham Hunt and Sean Leary were climbers and BASE jumpers who shared a passion for the freedom of the air. After their deaths, Chris Van Leuven returns to Yosemite to remember them with the community they loved.
Issue 94 · Summer 2026
Peering into the Void
By Derek Franz
Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Derek Franz considers the culture that produced Dean Potter.
The record, not the retrospective.
Most contemporary retrospectives on Dean Potter draw from other people’s memories, filtered through the shifting sands of passing time. These issues reflect him, in his voice, in his time—drawn from Potter’s own essays, his covers, a reflection on his loss, and the reckoning with his cultural impact that continues today.
The full record lives in these six issues.
Alpinist Subscription + Dean Potter Collection
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the archive.
Get an Alpinist print subscription plus immediate digital access to Issues 9, 18, 21, 27, 51 and 94.
Print Subscription + Digital Collection
The Dean Potter Collection
- Alpinist 1-year print subscription
- Six complete digital issues
- Three stories in Dean’s own words
- Two iconic covers
- One reflection on his death
- One contemporary reckoning with his legacy
- Immediate digital access after checkout
Subscription Price
$75
Total Value
$147
$75 print subscription + six digital issues valued at $12 each.
Your print subscription will start with Alpinist 95 | Autumn 2026, shipping in early October. A link to download your six digital issues will be delivered via email after checkout.
Six issues.
One extraordinary life in climbing.
Subscribe to Alpinist and unlock the Dean Potter collection today.