Dan Osman's Free-Solo Dyno

Dan Osman, born in 1963, in Orange County, California, was a rock climber and extreme sports practitioner. He pioneered free-soloing, climbing without ropes or safety gear, and rope jumping, falling hundreds of feet before a rope caught him. His record rope jump exceeded 1,000 feet.

Osman lived in Lake Tahoe, California, working as a part-time carpenter. He developed the Cave Rock climbing area and other routes in the Carson City region. His free-solo climbs, like Fire in the Hole (5.12b) at Cave Rock and Bear’s Reach (5.7) at Lover’s Leap, completed in 4 minutes 25 seconds, gained fame through Eric Perlman’s Masters of Stone videos. 

Watch Osman's free-solo of Bear's Reach below where he does a full all points off dyno, it's radical!

Osman’s rope jumping evolved from climbing falls at Cave Rock, where he designed systems to extend fall distances safely. 

On Nov. 23, 1998, at age 35, he died in Yosemite National Park when his rope failed during a jump from Leaning Tower due to a knot entanglement. He left behind a daughter, Emma. Osman’s contributions popularized free-soloing and pushed climbing boundaries, inspiring climbers like Alex Honnold, who later broke his Bear’s Reach speed record.

Free-Solo Dyno

Photos of Osman by Eric Perlman