Climbers

Prolific Bleausard boulderer and alpinist, breaking new ground in both disciplines.

In bouldering he established the first 7C+ in the forest with Le Surplomb de la Mée (Pre-Break) in 1983, and had a claim to the first 8A+ with L'Aplat Du Gain (now 8A) in 1988. In 1987, he succeeded in climbing all problems in Fontainebleau graded 7A or above. [2]

However, his alpine achievements are even more astounding:

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In an unpublished profile of Pierre Allain ('Pierre Allain, or the Prevalence of Pleasure, April 2015'), Alain Ghersen recounts a baroque link-up from the summer of 1987: a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]

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/

Frank Cannings is a British climber. He was active in the south west of England and climbed extensively with Pat Littlejohn during the 1970s, adding many high quality additions on Lundy and other crags in Devon and Cornwall.

During one unfortunate trip to Lundy in August 1971 Frank took a very bad fall, landing 80ft below at the base of the cliff and sustaining head injuries and a broken pelvis. A helicopter was summoned from the nearby RAF Chivenor in Devon, but when the helicopter arrived the winch cable was too short and so the helicopter had to wait idly by why other climbers on the island strapped him to a stretcher and hauled him to the top of the cliff.

Relief upon boarding the helicopter was short lived. Just five minutes after taking off the helicopter developed engine trouble and the pilot had to cut the engine and ditch the aircraft in to the sea! The pilot and co-pilot managed to escape through the cockpit windows, but Frank, the winchman and Patricia (Frank's then wife) were trapped in the rear of the aircraft, with Frank still strapped to a stretcher.

As the helicopter started to sink beneath the waves the winchman, Flight Sgt Geoff Parker, was able to force a way out and Pat was able to get free from the aircraft. Bravely, Parker returned to the sinking aircraft to try and free Frank. After struggling underwater with the stretcher, which had become jammed, Parker was unable to free it and had to return to the surface. Much to his surprise, when he reached the surface he found Frank there already!

Frank:

I got called Houdini at the time because I was still tied up in the climbing ropes and had been securely strapped to the stretcher. The winchman swore he hadn't released me - and I certainly couldn't have done it myself. It seems that I somehow slid out of the straps, leaving the stretcher still jammed across the exit, trapping Geoff until he could remove it.

From here their luck improved, and Parker was able to inflate a one man dinghy and get Frank and Pat aboard. After another 30 minutes a second helicopter arrived, winched them aboard and was able to take them to hospital.

References

[1] https://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+CHEATED+DEATH+TWICE+IN+ONE+DAY%3B+BBC+researchers+have+trawled+the...-a060631784

[2] Mountain issue 19, page 14

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