John Bachar died on Sunday as the result of a fall from Dike Wall cliff near his Mammoth Lakes, Calif., home. Born in 1957, he began his climbing career in his teen years. John became famous for his climbs in Yosemite National Park, where he performed unroped ascents of New Dimensions (5.11a) and The Nabisco Wall, a three-pitch affair (Waverly Wafer (5.10c), either Wheat Thin (5.10b) or Butterballs (5.11c), and Butterfingers (5.11a) as the final pitch)

John was famed for his free-soloist climbing, the most dangerous form of the sport. As a free-soloist, John would climb without the aid of equipment or ropes. He was featured in the documentary Bachar: One Man, One Myth, One Legend (2005) by Michael Reardon. He was injured in a car accident in 2006. He fractured five vertebrae in the accident, but later returned to climbing.

John  was also director of design for Acopa International L.L.C., a Las Vegas company that makes rock-climbing shoes.