Climbers

John Bachar was a leading figure in American rock climbing during the late 1970s and 1980s and a member of the The Stonemasters. He was renowned for his solo climbing, frequently putting in long days where he would solo thousands of feet in areas such as Joshua Tree and Yosemite. In 1981, Bachar famously posted a note in Joshua Tree stating "$10,000 reward for anyone who can follow me for one full day." A challenge which no one took him up on!

Bachar was also famous for his ethical stance on climbing, where he strongly advocated an adventurous ground up ethic at a time when sport climbing was starting to become popular in the US.

Bachar was also an early proponent of specific training for climbing. He invented the eponymous Bachar ladder.

John Bachar died on 5th July 2009 while soloing at Dike Wall near Mammoth Lakes, California.

References

[1] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/3396050157127802

[2] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/866918260041017

[3] A Tribute to John Bachar by Lynn Hill https://lynnhillclimbing.com/media/essays/a-tribute-to-john-bachar/

[4] John Bachar timeline on supertopo forum http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/898272/john-bachar-timeline

[5] Portrait by Dean Fidelman 1974 https://www.instagram.com/p/B7-bDk3jRbn/

[6] Obituary by Ed Douglas, 2009 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/10/john-bacher-rock-climber

[7] Memorial thread on supertopo http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=896012

[8] https://gripped.com/profiles/yosemite-climbing-legends-john-bachar/

The route climbing half of Britain's strongest twins.

References

[1] https://lafabriqueverticale.com/en/josune-bereziartu-a-peaceful-transition/

John Long:

I have been all over the world and have had the fortune of doing things with many special people, some famous, some anonymous. But the biggest little hero I’ve ever known is Lynn Hill. The rest of us are just holding her rope. [2]

Hill has experienced only one major accident in her climbing career. On May 9, 1989, she fell during a climb in Buoux, after forgetting to tie in, she fell 85 ft (25 m) into a tree, and was knocked unconscious, dislocated her left elbow and broke a bone in her foot. She had been training hard for the World Cup and had to stop competing for a few months to recover; she was devastated to miss the first World Cup in the sport. However, only six weeks after her fall, she was back climbing.

References

[1] Half Dome, 1977

[2] https://www.climbandmore.com/climbers/lynn-hill/

[3] Portrait by Dean Fidelman, 1997 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr3uphIJ2Gy/

[4] Interview with Natalie Berry for UKClimbing.com March 2017 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/lynn_hill_-_climbing_free-9151

[5] Interview with Hannah Morris, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE9_oAPRTsE

[6] https://open.spotify.com/episode/3pPhmAHHd46EAjdQkfb09Z?

[7] https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xtdsDPQpUgz0nVde4a7Fs?

References

[1] Profile on EpicTV, December 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIouznrgUrg

[2] Interview with 8a.nu, December 2022 https://www.8a.nu/news/martina-demmel-interview-c9k4i

Features in The Power of the Jam.