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yuiruprup
Jul 9, 2009, 2:41 PM
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I agree with all of you that this is terrible news and very sad indeed but is it really a surprise? It seems like all the great soloists die too young one way or another.
I apologize if this offends any of you because I agree that it is a great loss.
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rtwilli4
Jul 9, 2009, 5:00 PM
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yuiruprup wrote: I agree with all of you that this is terrible news and very sad indeed but is it really a surprise? It seems like all the great soloists die too young one way or another. I apologize if this offends any of you because I agree that it is a great loss.
I think it really is a surprise to a lot of us. It is always a surprise, but JB was the last guy I expected to read about. I don't know why, but even to a 25 year old who is still a n00b in many ways, he just seemed immortal. The guy was a hero to so many people... it just didn't seem possible that he would fall.
R.I.P. John Bachar
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sandstonesamurai
Jul 9, 2009, 9:14 PM
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John Bachar is nothing short of a legend. His appearance here in the Red Rock Canyon area in the early eighties along with original J Tree stonemaster Richard Harrison made a huge impact on a small group of Vegas locals. His commitment and vision influenced the direction of route development in the canyons that continues to this day.
John Bachar is the original American Badass rock climber
(This post was edited by sandstonesamurai on Jul 14, 2009, 8:14 PM)
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itakealot
Jul 9, 2009, 9:37 PM
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This is truly sad. I never met him but someone pointed him out once in mammoth and I should have gone and shaken his hand after hearing all of those crazy campfire stories about the 1 finger pull up competition where he popped his tendon in his finger, and all of the others. He was a true He-man and made all of our cahones look smaller in comparison. I am so bummed since I was on the east side on Sunday and should have stopped in mammoth.
Bachar, was an inspiration and such a part of the california climbing community and will be missed.
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crimperman311
Jul 9, 2009, 11:57 PM
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Hell of a climber and just an all around great guy. We'll miss ya JB
Brian
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tongueinbarbie
Jul 10, 2009, 3:51 PM
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I worked with him in Yosemite in 1981(National Park Service). He was soloing then and we all assumed he would die any day. I worked in maintenance in Toulumne Meadows. Cannot remember now what he was doing, what department he was in. Did ask to climb with him but never got the oppurtunity.
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lena_chita
Moderator
Jul 10, 2009, 5:23 PM
Post #61 of 80
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My first reaction was-- no, not possible, it must be a mistake...
RIP, John Bachar.
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roninthorne
Jul 10, 2009, 6:48 PM
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We will all miss a warrior who so closely walked the Path he talked.
Fare well, sensei, where ever you fare.
mg
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WordsVerbatim
Jul 11, 2009, 2:16 AM
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I hadn't heard of John before now. However, from what I've read, he seems to have lived a very, very fulfilling life. This is such sad news.
RIP, John.
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curt
Jul 11, 2009, 5:01 AM
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WordsVerbatim wrote: I hadn't heard of John before now...
For a couple of decades John was definitely "The Man," where rock climbing climbing was concerned. I first climbed with him at Reed's Pinnacle in Yosemite in 1983. Mark Jacobs and I were doing a route called "Old 5.10" at the same time JB was soloing "Lunatic Fringe" just to our right. After John came down he asked us if we would give him a TR on Old 5.10 before we pulled our rope down, because he had never done the route before.
Naturally, he floated the thing like it was "Old 5.6" and we then spent a few minutes discussing these new gray shoes he was wearing with a red dot on the side. After he informed us that these new Spanish-made "Fire" climbing shoes made everything else seem like climbing in roller skates, I ordered two pair of them. Those were the good old days.
RIP, John.
Curt
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BRIAN0450
Jul 11, 2009, 6:33 PM
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 I AM NEW TO THIS WORLD OF CLIMBING AND HAVE READ A NUMBER OF ARTICLES AND SEEN A TON OF PICTURES ABOUT THIS "LEGEND." HE HAS INFLUENCED ME TO KEEP TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD TO BECOMMING A BETTER CLIMBER; A BETTER PERSON. HE WAS NOT A LEGEND, HE WAS EVEN ABOVE THAT STATUS AS WELL. I AM SADDENED BY THIS AS HE WAS JUST ANOTHER EVERY-DAY AVERAGE MAN WITH SEEMINGLY FEARLESS, RELENTLESS, AND DEMIGOD-LIKE QUALITIES IN THE CLIMBING WORLD. RIP JOHN, YOU ARE STILL A HERO, AND WAY ABOVE A LEGEND TO ME. MY HEART AND SOUL GO OUT TO YOUR FAMILY, AND MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO YOU...
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Rustie
Jul 13, 2009, 8:12 PM
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John was an elitist climber but he took time to chat to us ordinary mortals - and to give us some tips that have kept us alive.
He definitely enjoyed being a bit outrageous and that helped make our climbing world a bit less politically correct - and less, well, boring?
I expect that when we choose a super-sport, we choose a super-death.
RIP John and condolences to his family.
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oldandintheway
Jul 14, 2009, 3:54 AM
Post #67 of 80
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R.I.P. JB
If St. Pete doesn't open the gates, just climb over.
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Adk
Jul 15, 2009, 12:44 AM
Post #68 of 80
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I frick'in hate it when awesome climbers die.
A legend is dead. We are all at a great loss.
Thanks Coach for the heads up on this
Dave
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camhead
Jul 17, 2009, 11:26 AM
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Looks like he just got an obit in the Economist. Nice.
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dumbsocrates
Jul 17, 2009, 1:25 PM
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Bummer... I just found out! I've just been reading about him loving his CU belay glasses in the August issue of Climbing Magazine RIP.
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BobfartsII
Jul 18, 2009, 4:21 AM
Post #71 of 80
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Bump...
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=904291
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karlbaba
Jul 20, 2009, 4:20 AM
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Sorry I didn't see this thread so I posted here
http://tinyurl.com/n3tgpp
See that thread for a link to the fund to Benefit John's son Tyrus
peace
karl
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Mt_Fireu8e
Jul 20, 2009, 9:10 PM
Post #73 of 80
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WOW! very sad news! My condolences to his family and friends.
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petsfed
Jul 20, 2009, 9:42 PM
Post #74 of 80
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Rustie wrote: ...an elitist climber...
I think the word you're looking for is "elite", since, while he defended his approach to climbing with zeal, he never really supported a sort of elitism that any one of us couldn't subscribe to.
John, like Mike Reardon and Derek Hershey (and I guess Peter Croft, although he's still with us), always seemed like the sort of person who was the statistical counterbalance to the accident prone. That he died soloing is sobering to the point that its taken me a while to really believe it.
I never met him, but by all accounts, John had the kind of personality to emulate: friendly and gregarious, passionate and outspoken.
RIP John
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