THENEWYORKT1MES OBITUARII John Bachar, Rock Climber, Dies at 51; D Daredevil With Uncompromising Style C null By MICHAEL BRICK "d John Bachar, a rock climber dis( who inspired awe as a daredevil, 197( condescension as an anachro­ line nism and eventually respect as a '00< legend, fell to his death Sunday oan from a rock formation near his wo< home in Calirornia. He was 51. h After years of climbing without "P protection, sustaining his only clm major injuries in a car wreck, ,,, Bachar was confirmed dead by bl~ the sheriff of Mono County, Calif., where he lived in the town of ""fats Mammoth Lakes. otll' fats ~He was an artist," said Dean Fidelmnn. a contemporary who diet rea has climbed with him for dec­ mill ades. ~ He transcended the sport." H" Bachar left his mark across the effc Yosemite Valley, -the worldwide an focal point of elite climbing in the ten 19705, by making terrifying as­ 1 cents of spectacular rock forma­ uco tions like El Capitan. ten To critics, Bachar cut a stub­ cho born, self-righteous figure, un­ fut~ CQmpromising on matters of dar­ nut ing style and minimal gear_ To ad­ cha mirers, he represented the van­ rno ishing purity of a simpler age. a abl: time when rocks and mountains rec were to be ascended only from lisll the ground up, without advance rigging_ For about hnlf a decade ''"in 1 at his prime, Bachar enjoyed a , reputation comparable only lO that of Royal Robbins in the '"'B. 195Os. filii "Since Bachar, I don't think John Bachar free-climbing in the Yosemite VDlIey in 1984_ chtl there wns nnybody you could say WO! was the greatest, most influential SUI' climber in the world in his time, H simply because he represented said Pete Mortimer, a Yosemite 'He was an artist, ' something so different than the stalwart known among climbers. a contemporary changing mainstream." said Jobn In the early 1970s, Bachar ar­ Middendorf, a climber based in rived in the Yosemite Valley with says. 'He transcended Australia ~H e was really quite a pair of boots, an alto saxophone Zen in this regard." and a stunning physique, joining the sport.' Bachar's vision of purity found a group of brash young climbers renewed interest in the 19905, as known as the Stonemasters. The a new generation of climbers big-wall climbing styles of Ihe one who could keep up with him took issue with bolting and other 19605 were making way for a for a day. He found no t..'l.kers. practices they perceived as un­ style known as free Climbing, His exploits soon gained notice natural, irresponsible or even whose practitioners sought to in the Ame rican Alpine Journal, cheating. He found work design­ minimize their gear, usillg ropes where one diarist wrote that ~his ing cli mbing shoes, establishing Ollly for protection. Bachar took extraordinary free-climbing tal­ himself as a mentor. that kind of self-reliance 10 levels ent, coupled with an awesome In 2006, while driving through that could appear dangerous. physique, polished by the mental Nevada at night. Bachar flipped ~If ever a Stonemasler carried discipline of years of experience, his car; his business partner, the name on his sleeve (and he place him at a level few allain." Steve KarMa. died in the wreck. scribbled it on his boots as well), As the sport splintered into "He definitely felt, after that, it was John Bachar, Grand Tem­ ever narrower specializations in that Steve's death was on him," plar of the entire movement," the 1980s, Bachar fell from grace said Nathan Smith, a friend and wrote John Long. a founder of the among some climbers. Some climbing photographer. ~He was group, in an online history. adapted his unharnessed phys­ the one driving. I think he felt re­ Bachar once spent an entire sea­ ical techniques to the safe con­ sponsible for it.'" son climbing without using a fines of boulder climbing. while Bachar returned to climbing rope. He offered 510,000 to any- othcrs sought to scale more diffi­ while still recovering from his cult pitches with bolts and other own injuries in a neck brace. gear that could sometimes per­ Around noon Sunday, he fell ONLINE: NOTABLE DEATHS manently mark the rock forma­ frolll a formation callcd Dike .... A slide show highlighting tions . Wall. not far from his home. He is J'{ the lives oj some oj those who "John never really pushed his survived by a son, Tyrus. He also died fhis year. ethos on anyone, but because he leaves climbing routes bearing nyttmef_com/obltuartn was so good and made no bones his name across the Yosemite about it, he was often Dttacked - Valley. .