BASE jumping with a dog … it sounds like a completely crazy idea. But that’s just what one of our longtime adventurers has done—and the experience was not what he expected.

Dean Potter‘s evolution over the past two decades from innovative rock climbing and linewalking to free-solo climbing to his hybrid free-BASE climbing and BASE-line walking have made him one of the most iconic and pioneering adventurers of his generation. The boundary-pushing American adventurer, 42, who lives in Yosemite, was featured in ”The Superclimbers of Yosemite” in National Geographic magazine and on “The Man Who Can Fly” on the National Geographic Channel. He was named one of our Adventurers of the Year for his record-setting wing-suit flight off the Eiger. You may have seen the instant classic video “Moonwalk,” which went viral, portraying Potter walking a high line on California’s Cathedral Peak in front of a luminescent full moon.

Anyone who knows Potter knows that his beloved best friend, Whisper, is always at his side. The four-year-old, 22-pound mini Australian cattle dog dances with excitement before hiking, climbing, and even surfing with her human family, which also includes Potter’s girlfriend, Jen. In his latest film project and directorial debut, Potter explores his fantasy of wing-suit flying with Whisper, the rigorous steps he took to make it happen safely, and the dilemma it stirred in his conscience. Here watch a preview of his 22-minute independent film When Dogs Fly, which had a world premiere last weekend at Mountainfilm in Telluride.

Below, Potter answered some of our questions about this project and how the experience changed him.

You can read the full Q&A at the National Geo website here.