John Bachar

John M. Bachar ( born March 23, 1957 in Los Angeles, † July 5, 2009 in Mammoth Lakes ) was an American rock climber. He was known for his spectacular free- solo climbs. He is considered one of the fathers of modern sports climbing and was first to climb many difficult climbing routes anywhere in the world.

John Bachar was born in 1957 and grew up as the son of a professor of mathematics at Los Angeles in California. He began in California in Stoney Point in Chatsworth Park North with the climbing. His former climbing partner John Long encouraged him to climb routes free solo. Back in the early 1970s, he succeeded in the free solo ascent of the Double Cross Difficulty 5.7 ( American scale) in Joshua Tree National Park and Boulder severe as Planet X (V6 Boulder scale) and So High (V5 ). In Yosemite National Park he scored the rope free ascent of routes such as New Dimensions ( 5.11a ) and The Nabisco Wall as well as the three- pitch route ( Waverly Wafer ( 5.10c ), Butter Balls ( 5.11c ) and Butterfingers ( 5.11a ) ). John Bachar, who then lived almost exclusively in Camping Camp 4 in Yosemite National Park, systematically trained there and could thus further increase its climbing ability. So he set up a fitness course and practiced one-armed pull-ups with additional weight.

He opened with Dave Yerian in 1981 in Tuolumne Meadows in the east of Yosemite National Park, the 166 meter long route Bachar - Yerian ( 5.11c ). There is a ledge climbing, which is secured with 13 bolts set in lead climbing.

In 1986, with Peter Croft, he managed to climb out of El Capitan and Half Dome in less than 14 hours. In 1990, he climbed the routes Enterprise ( 5.12b ) and The Gift ( 5:12 c ) free solo.

In August 2006, John Bachar broke in a car accident the spine and could not climb a long time.

In Germany John Bachar was known by participating in the Konsteiner climbing meeting in 1981. It was through this visit of the meeting, by the repetition of the hardest routes at that time and the first ascent of Chasin 'the trane (difficulty 9 ( UIAA ) ) in Krottenseer forest of sport climbing movement in Germany stronger stimulus. Bachar lived in Twin Lakes near Mammoth Lakes and was a designer at Acopa International LLC, a manufacturer of climbing shoes. He was married and had a son. On 5 July 2009, he rushed for a free solo ascent of the Dike Wall near his residence from fatal.