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A benefit to help injured climbing legend John Bachar and establish a fund in the name of Steve Karafa will be hosted on Sept. 15 by Mammoth Mountaineering, according to the store's owner, David Talsky.
Climber Peter Croft will present a slide show, Talsky said, and there also will be a silent auction.
"We are expecting many of John's friends to come out and help raise money," Talsky said in a press release.
Bachar, 49, was seriously injured in an automobile accident on August 13, near Ely, Nev. His friend and business associate, Steve Karafa, president of Acopa (the climbing shoes manufacturer) and a resident of El Sobrante, Calif., died in the accident. Another passenger, Bachar's partner Anastasia Elleni Frangos of Santa Paula, Calif., also was seriously injured.
Bachar´s primary injuries were to his neck and spine, of which four vertebrae were fractured. He had catrastrophic health insurance, Talsky said.
Bachar is most well known for his soloing history, having once offered $10,000 to anybody who could follow him for a day (no one tried), and his bold leads such as the Bachar-Yerian route in Yosemite.
"For many, including myself," Talsky said, "John and his climbing accomplishments have been an inspiration. Many of us started climbing because of John. Not only is he our local legend but also he is a part of climbing history. He needs our help now."
According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Bachar made a name for himself in Yosemite with his unroped ascents of New Dimensions (5.11a) and Butterballs (5.11c).
Climbing without a rope on routes of such length and difficulty was, to climbers of the time, unthinkable.
Bachar's superb physical fitness gave him an edge; his campsite at Camp 4 was filled with exercise equipment, including the hanging ladders that became known as Bachar ladders. At his peak Bachar was able to perform a one arm pull up with 12 lbs of weight attached.
Confident of his free soloing ability, Bachar posted a note in 1981 promising a "$10,000 reward for anyone who can follow me for one full day." No one took the challenge. That same year he put up Bachar-Yerian (5.11c) in Tuolumne Meadows with Dave Yerian. One of the boldest first ascents ever, the 500 foot face climb is protected by a mere 9 bolts, each one placed while tenuously hanging from a hook.
Bachar was a vocal critic of climbing tactics such as bolting on rappel which came into vogue during the 1980s.
In 1986 Bachar and Croft made an link up of El Capitan and Half Dome, climbing a vertical mile in under 14 hours. In the 1990s Bachar free soloed Enterprise (5.12b) in the Owens River Gorge and The Gift (5.12c) at Red Rocks for the Masters of Stone video series.
He was featured in the documentary "Bachar: One Man, One Myth, One Legend" (2005) by Michael Reardon.
According to the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Bachar, of Mammoth, was driving southbound on U.S. Hwy. 93. He allowed his Toyota Four-Runner to drift off the west edge of the road.
His truck struck a mile-marker post. Bachar overcorrected to the left, causing the Toyota to rotate counterclockwise and travel across both lanes to the east side of the road. The vehicle began to roll over towards its right side at this point, and the passenger, Karafa, was ejected.
Karafa was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
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