Climbers

John Bachar was a leading figure in American rock climbing during the late 1970s and 1980s. A member of 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/

[9] https://ukbouldering.com/threads/john-bachar-1957-2009.12063/

[10] Obituary by Michael Brick, 2009 https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/sports/09bachar.html

[11] https://archive.org/details/johnBachar

References

[1] Interview with Dave MacLeod, August 2006 https://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.com/2006/08/lucy-creamer-interview.html

[2] Interview with Del Goodey, 1997 On The Edge Issue 73 page 60

References

[1] Full Ring - A new area in Chironico, April 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy6HzNXm94Y

Jimmy Jewel was part of the 1980s climbing scene in Llanberis. He was well known for his solo climbing.

He died while down-climbing at Tremadog.

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVmLaXiMXm0

References

[1] Interview on The Nugget Climbing Podcast

[2] https://www.facebook.com/climbing.in.the.80s/photos/a.270388289694020/925282624204580

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPRC_DydfSk

Royal Robbins was an extremely influential climber from the USA in the late 1950s and 1960s. He was part of a generation of climbers who established Yosemite as a world class climbing destination and made first ascents and repeats of many now-famous routes there.

Robbins was also very influential in terms of the climbing style and ethics he espoused. Many of the values he championed, such as minimising reliance on fixed ropes, minimising the use of bolts and climbing from the ground up remain core to what is considered good style in modern big wall climbing. After visiting the UK and using nuts and chockstones for protection Robbins, together with Yvon Chouinard, became an early proponent of 'clean climbing': the use of chocks over pitons as a means of minimising damage to the rock.

In later life Robbins struggled with arthritis in his hands which made climbing difficult. Because of this Robbins focused his energy on his business ventures and, later, on white water kayaking. He made first descents of several rivers in the US and further abroad.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CU4qXc5J8i7/

[2] https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6849687261751921&set=a.126453404075374

[3] Smart, D. (2023). Royal Robbins: The American Climber. United States: Mountaineers Books.

[4] Ament, P. (1998). Royal Robbins: Spirit of the Age. United States: Stackpole Books.

[5] Robbins, R. (2010). To Be Brave: My Life. United Kingdom: Pink Moment Productions.

[6] Robbins, R. (2010). Fail Falling. United States: Pink Moment Press.

[7] https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ce65n5RTjNYnXYEBJAH1A

[8] https://archive.org/details/royalrobbins

[9] Interview with John Meek https://archive.org/details/RoyalRobbinsJohnMeekInterview_52

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZMyRxkvpY0

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqGsK9e7ppI

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFwmIi4Z9HA

Boulderer and alpinist.

Another champion of Bleau and beyond in the 1980s: Alain Ghersen. His personal obsession was to statically climb every move that others tackled dynamically. No more dynos — a technique commonly used in Bleau on boulders where bad falls are unlikely. Unlike Jérôme Jean-Charles, Alain Ghersen — now a mountain guide and instructor at ENSA — is a world-class alpinist. His solo ascents in the Mont Blanc massif, especially his link-ups in the late 1980s, left a lasting mark on the history of alpinism.

In an unpublished profile of Pierre Allain ('Pierre Allain, or the Prevalence of Pleasure, April 2015'), Alain Ghersen recounts a baroque link-up from the summer of 1987: a Paris–Bleau–Saussois–Chamonix journey starting from one of the most renowned routes in the forest, Le Carnage at Bas-Cuvier. Alain Ghersen: “In just over 40 hours, I linked together ascents of Carnage (7B) in Bleau, Bidule (8a+) in Saussois, and the full Peuterey Ridge on Mont Blanc — all solo.”

In the summer of 1990, Alain Ghersen once again demonstrated the extraordinary technique and endurance he had developed in Bleau on its most extreme circuits. Solo, without any self-belaying, and in a single continuous push, Ghersen climbed the Directe Américaine on the Drus, the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses, and the full Peuterey Ridge. Three historic, major alpine routes — it’s hard to top that. [1]

In 1987, Ghersen succeeded in climbing all problems in Fontainebleau graded 7A or above. [2]

References

[1] Modica, Godoffe, 'Fontainebleau: 100 ans d'escalade', p.232, Les Editions Mont Blanc, 2017

[2] OTE Guide, 1997

[3] https://www.instagram.com/p/DLzw88ZNrZ2/

The bouldering half of the strongest twins in the UK.

https://vimeo.com/user2388380