Ladies We Love: BASE Jumper Steph Davis

April 2nd, 2013 • BY

Climber and BASE jumper Steph Davis can’t get enough of high places. So, she spends the majority of her waking hours diving off cliffs in a wingsuit, jumping out of planes, and hanging off rock faces. While the Moab, Utah-based vegan athlete has accomplished superhuman feats, she’s almost just as human as the rest of us.

In her new book, “Learning to Fly,” which hit bookstores this week, Davis chronicles the personal lows in love that drove her to even greater heights—and a career in skydiving. After Davis’ former husband (and well-known climber/extreme highliner) Dean Potter made a controversial climb on Arches National Park’s Delicate Arch, the couple lost their climbing sponsorships—and their focus.

“Learning to Fly” follows Davis’ search for a new passion (which would become skydiving and BASE jumping) and a new career. Along the way, she also discovered a different kind of love. Here, we sit down with this high-flying lady to learn more about her life, her fears, her book, and what makes her tick.

WomensMovement: Why write a book?
Steph: This is my second book. The first, “High Infatuation,” was more of a collection of short stories and essays in a somewhat chronological form. With “Learning to Fly,” I wanted to write a straight narrative from start to finish, which was a lot more challenging. I’m a writer, and writing is a thing I do, so it’s natural for me to want to share my experiences through words. 

WM: Why THIS book?
Steph: I was very inspired by learning how to jump, and also intrigued to discover that it’s such a complex and complete world, from technical aspects, to places, to characters. My first thought in wanting to write “Learning to Fly” was to share that world with others. As it progressed, there was a lot more to my story that came along with telling it.

WM: What was the low point that inspired you to rise again and fly?
Steph: We all have had a time in life (or will) when things don’t go the way we expected—whether a little hiccup or a major crisis. For me, it was the loss of many important relationships at the same time, and I lost a lot of confidence and ability to trust. I’m a climber, so it was natural for me to use climbing as a way to get through sadness and anxiety. I’m also a person who learns through direct experience, so it was also natural for me to physically learn how to fly when I was looking for a way to break free of fear.

WM: Where are you at, mentally, in life today?
Steph: The time period I write about in “LTF” was a very transformative phase for me—a real lesson that things that seem bad when they happen often lead to great happiness. I’m so thankful for all of the experiences I had, even the scary and sad ones, because my life is great. Of course a part of me will always want to have Fletch back….but I have the greatest husband in the world and a wonderful little res dog named Cajun, and of course little Mao the cat, and I get to do what I love all the time. So I’m really appreciative.

WM: What drives you to do the things that most of us are afraid to do?
Steph: Mainly I really enjoy living a natural, free life, and I like being up in high places.

WM: In your life, what is your:

• Scariest BASE jump or climb?
When I went back to jump at the Roan Plateau after getting hurt there, I was really terrified. It’s hard to go back and get over an experience like that. But now it’s one of my favorite places to jump again.

• Most-used fear-coping technique?
Preparation is the biggest thing for me—both physically training and mentally visualizing.

• Favorite vegetarian cookbook?
“From a Traditional Greek Kitchen” by Aphrodite Polemis

• Favorite yoga pose?
Pigeon pose

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Erinn Morgan

About

After a 10-year career as an award-winning New York City-based editor launching and redesigning urban, style-driven magazines, Erinn Morgan left her downtown Manhattan digs after September 11th, 2001, in search of a less encumbered, freelance lifestyle. A life-changing, two-year-long trek around the country in a motorhome eventually landed her in Durango, Colo., which she now calls home. Her writing has appeared in numerous— More about this author →