Dan Osman: Unbelievable Freestyle Rock Climbing

Dan Osman (February 11, 1963 – November 23, 1998) was an Asian American extreme sport practitioner, known for the dangerous sports of "free-soloing" (rock climbing without ropes or other safety gear); and "rope jumping" (falling several hundred feet from a cliff then being caught by a safety rope), for which his record was over 1000 feet / 304.8 meters.


He was known for living a bohemian lifestyle, rarely working, and living in a tree house for months at a time. He was the star of several rock climbing videos, which brought free-soloing to a wider audience. Dan had one daughter.


Dan Osman died November 23, 1998 at the age of 35 after his rope failed while performing a "controlled free-fall" jump from the Leaning Tower rock formation in Yosemite National Park. Osman had come back to Yosemite to dismantle the jump tower but apparently decided to make several jumps (over a few days) before doing so.


According to wikipedia, The failure was investigated by the National Park Service with assistance from Chris Harmston, Quality Assurance Manager at Black Diamond Equipment. Harmston concluded that a change in jump site angle probably caused the ropes to cross and entangle, leading to the rope cutting by melting.


Miles Daisher, who was with Osman when he made the jump, stated that the ropes used in his fatal jump had been exposed to inclement weather — including rain and snow — for more than a month before the fatal jump, but that the same ropes were used for several shorter jumps on the previous and same day.