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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, ron...
i learned of john here, by reading his posts and the stories about him, posted by others...
*i enjoyed the one where folks were wondering IF it was really HIM that showed up here, when he first came in... i learned right-up that he was "somebody" in the "main stream" of climbing flow...
not only was i very sad about his sudden death, but it hurt deeper that he was on the quest of getting his shoulder?situation solved, so he could enjoy more years of climbing and it seemed he was on the verge of solving that matter, but suddenly never to taste that victory... :(
and, also, being gone from the love of his family and friends, at such a stage in life, when the years are settled-in and new things could grow, through older age, things never dreamed of, in a sense... :(
too sad... :(
sorry i just couldn't seem to brighten it up any here, ron...
hope that was okay...
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fosburg
climber
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R.I.P. Stonemaster.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 5, 2011 - 10:56pm PT
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Lizzy.... you did WONDERS for the Bachar family with your project. I know I could hardly pass it on after I received it, it was such a great help in the healing process, which is still going on! John's family and Paola will cherish your gift for the rest of their lives, you DID brighten up the situation....you just had to be reminded! Maybe you should tell the story here!
Peace
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, ron.... say, thanks.... i think i needed that (pick-up for the thoughts)...
i get too emotionally caught-in, when i see families with loved-ones that hurt or die... think it's 'cause i been a mommy so much, near all my life (due to babysitting, when young, etc)...
as to tell the story:
say, nawwwww, we'll keep the story, as our little "supertopo mystery"
;)) every forum needs a "mystery spot" in between-the-lines,
say, thanks for being a good friend, ron...
:)
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rhyang
climber
SJC
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I broke my neck in a car wreck about a year after John's accident. He sent me a gripmaster to exercise my partially paralyzed left hand. Later he sent me some training advice.
I was still in the hospital when I received his gift, and it really brought my spirits up.
John Bachar Lives !
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Trad climber
Will know soon
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No Words......But up here in the Meadows......no need for them. Peace Dude and Thank you so very much for helping so graciously in sending me on my way to Lynne's life, Part Two. Cheers, :D
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Russ Walling
Gym climber
Poofter's Froth, Wyoming
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John had a lot of talents.... Art for one. Some of his work can be seen in this thread:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1498290&tn=100
Drawing that stuff was so F'n funny! He would sit there doing the "topos" and just cracking up. Nobody could see until he was done, and then he would present his "piece". Passing time, drawing topos, being 14 in a mans body, those were good times.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 6, 2011 - 12:17am PT
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Hey Lynnie, back home and sorry we didn't connect this time up. I'll be up in a couple weeks with Yerian....got to spend some good time with Tyrus and that's why I didn't call. Figured you'd get it. Peace to you and all we've shared in yer second life. Had some tears today, glad I have Kelly to help me. She had a blast in the Meadows...go hike up Pothole to the river cascades...it's blasting hard right now. Bachar is all around, I felt his spirit on Sunday, felt real GUD. Yo have a blast this summer and I'll be seeing ya!
Peace
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TYeary
Social climber
State of decay
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John was changing over the last few years. A certain anger was evaporating and a kindness was becoming eveident that had not been present in years past. True , he was a compilcated human, but really, who among us is not? In his gift, he was the best of us. Personally, he was always kind to me, especially after my own fusion surgery. Within the context of climbing, he was someone I idolized. Someone I attempted to Emulate. He set the standard, broke new ground in the realm of possibility, and most importantly, gave me the inspiration to push my own boundries. I have often thought about an afternoon, years ago, spent in the Meadows with John, bouldering. It was like me attempting to play ball with Kobie Bryant. But John made it simple and easy to be mortal in his presence. I think of him often. He made me a better person and a better climber and encouraged me to pursue my dreams in the high mountains. It was, in the end, a most important gift. The gift of a life time. Thanks Bro. You live on in our hearts and deeds.
TY
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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Miss ya bro....
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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The last July 5th, some of John's family and friends hiked up to where he fell and did a little ceremony/communion and then met some more family back at the lodge to gather and eat.
On the hike up, we shared some dreams and visions that suggested that John was beyond resting in peace, but rather living large the next life.
I'll share one of those that I was close to. My girlfriend at the time had had repeated dreams of a memorial service for somebody at a stone cabin tucked in the mountains. A place with no glass in the windows nor door in the doorway. In this dream, John was always there and took her to a room and showed her a poster on the ceiling that had something like a starry sky on it. He kept telling her "people think death is like this, but it's really like this..." and he'd peel back the poster revealing an infinite sky of divine light.
She had had this dream at least a half-dozen times by the time Em Knott asked me to conduct a memorial service for Brutus of Wyde at the Stone House on Tuttle Creek. When she saw the photos of the place, she exclaimed "That's the place in my dreams!"
Knowing that put some extra magic in the memorial we had there, keeping both Brutus and John in mind and heart for me.
Much Love John!
karl
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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RIP great one, you are missed.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Thanks for blowing my mind, Karl.
Awesome!!!
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Jobee
Social climber
El Portal Ca.
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Once upon a time in a far away land a young girl pulls her VW bug in the dirt turn out at the Knobs parking area in Tuolumne Meadows Ca.. The back bumper sticker of her vehicle reads "I break for Unicorns." The year is 1979, she is 19, and she is about to cross paths with a legendary climber.
Armed with the necessary tools for boulder climbing she carries an oversized pair of E.B. climbing boots, one pair of wool socks (for a squishy forced fit), she wears a very large chalk bag which is slung over her right shoulder; the day is perfect.
As she approach's the bouldering she sees him, her pace slows, thoughts race about in her mind. Should she hide, come back later, climb, introduce her self, or attempt to blend in?
He is shirtless, incredibly built. His quite small athletic shorts are popular for the time especially with runners, white long socks adorn his calves coming up just below his knees with little stripes topping them.
The small black top hat he wore upon his head is strangely out of place amidst the sparkling granite boulders, as she watch's him climb she marvels the fact that it has remained intact throughout the boulder sequence he has selected though it is exceedingly steep, precarious, and strenuous!
So it went, two strangers climbed simultaneously, he the steepest of the steep the overhangs with invisible possibility. She the lower angled rock, and the vertical with positive holds; both enjoyed their moments. Two people, one space in time.
Her session ends, and small conversation ensues.
What's with the hat she asks? His answer, What's with the boots?
I'm Jo say's she.
I'm John say's he.
Nothing more, nothing less.
In the years that followed they were to become friends, more moments in space, and time.
I miss you John Bachar.
I miss you very much.
Love,
Jo
Another perfect moment with John, and Rick Cashners dad.
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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My last communication with John was fixing him up with my old pair of blue suede Robbins boots. He was going to take pictures of himself doing stuff in "historic" gear. I think about him a lot, we shared some health problems that we were comparing notes on.
I hope he wasn't wearing my boots when he took the plunge. I don't know why but it would bother me if I knew he was.
Godspeed my friend.
Michael Smith
edit...No one will miss me in death. The only connections I care about are in the here and now.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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When I first made it to Yosemite in 76 John, Ron, Dale, Yabo and the gang were the center of the known climbing universe. I was pretty much speechless in their presence and the distance from my climbing ability to theirs might as well have been to the moon. It was easy to perceive John as arrogant and elitist, hell, he was in league of his own and had a right to be.
I think he cut us some slack because we were frostback, beer drinking protege's of Steve and Hugh and had no illusions about hard free climbing and were focused on nailing our way up the Big Stone.
It might have been the next fall when Scott and I were gearing up for Mescalito and my first El Cap route when John drifted by our site and said, "Hey man, I'll come by and play for you guys". Sure enough a couple days later while dangling in our hammocks somewhere near the Molar, the sound of John's sax wafted up from the meadow.
John was the leader of my tribe from that first acquaintance till his passing and I'm grateful to have known him and be inspired by his example.
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Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
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John was my friend. He had a sixth sense for finding me
whenever I arrived in the Valley. I always wanted to warm
up on some moderate stuff, but he never let that happen.
In 1975, for example, he chased me down when I pulled in
and he informed me we were going to do New Dimensions, and we did.
I'm glad I played a role in his life. I won't forget nursing
his wounds, one by one, on the couch of my cabin in Eldorado
in 1978 or so, when he crawled through my front door after
he fell off Greg Lowe's "Clever Lever"
and after dropping to the ground rolled about 90 feet down a
slab. There were bruises and scratches all over his body. Anyone
else probably would have been killed. But then no one else
would have been trying to solo a 5.12 overhang...
I took him to many of the Colorado bouldering areas Gill and I
played at, such as Split Rocks, and he always performed so well.
He wasn't Gill, but he had a tenacity unlike anyone I've known.
He and I had connections in several areas. I was, believe it or not,
a kind of mentor to him, at chess, and saxophone (I played in a
jazz band when I was younger and showed John a lot of things). I
worked with him at chain walking, and he always expressed his
appreciation to me for being a kind of link to Gill. Through my
boulder routes he could sense a little of that bouldering world
in Colorado headed by the master. John went from being a blonde
surfer kind of kid to a wise seer of Yosemite climbing. Kauk too
has progressed from an eager youth to a philosopher of sort, sensitive
to the depths of nature. Absorbing so much of Yosemite, both became
the Valley and knew its rock.
It was extremely meaningful to me to stand on that stage with John,
when at Jeff Lowe's festival they gave John, Lynn, and me those
lifetime achievement awards. That was the last I saw of John. I knew
something wasn't quite right, even then. He seemed troubled by
something, probably his neck not quite healing, or some other related
injury, his hand or shoulder... He seemed distracted, though still
humorous. He seemed in pain yet still able to perform at some
ridiculously high level. He had taken up smoking, probably to
soothe his nerves. I loved the guy. We were mentors to each other.
We were friends, and that's what climbing is all about.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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John deserves more than a few good words, and I know I'm inadequate to add much of value.
I met him 20 odd years ago when he was in his peak, he struck me as some one that was a bit aloof, but in the sense that he was driven and focussed. No one achieves true greatness unless they have a singular focus, and I'm sure those that knew him well attest to that.
But I didn't get to know him until I got involved in the taco several years back, and mentioned I had a copy of an old video of him soloing. Anyhow, I got to know him a bit and we were bantering back and forth and I was trying to help him setup one of his slide shows up here, we talked about climbing together or skiing/boarding together.
What really struck me about John is that he was at peace. He was always excited about Tyrus and you could tell he was the focus of his life. I also noted how he was just a positive person stoked for everyone. You could tell him about a project or area you wanted to check out, and he would have the same positive spirit no matter who you were, or how difficult the line. He's one of the few people I can think of that would listen to you, hear you, and encourage you for being you. That's a mark of a truely great human, and someone who had moved beyond being focused on themselves.
I've been thinking about John lately and was suprised to come across this thread. I'd had a great trip two years ago, and when I came back found out we'd lost John. This 4th our family took the same trip, which made me reflect on him.
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Grammy
Trad climber
North Conway, New Hampshire
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Jul 20, 2011 - 10:52am PT
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Lots of great things here and so I won't repeat what has already been said, but the thing that most impressed me about John was his ability to help and teach. He was not one of the ones that tucked certain techniques up his sleeve like an ace, instead it really brought him joy to impart any and all knowledge that he had. I still can't believe he is no longer with us, but he will certainly live on in the hearts and minds of those he touched and influenced in this lifetime.
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