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Bachar Cracker
V4 YDS 6B Font
Avg: 3.9 from 193
votes
Routes in Bachar Cracker Boulder
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Bachar Cracker V4 6B |
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Jimmy Hendrix Experience, The V0 4 |
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Largo Lunge V0 4 |
| Type: | Boulder |
| FA: | John Bachar |
| Page Views: | 24,876 total · 157/month |
| Shared By: | Jacob Shull on Apr 7, 2011 · Updates |
| Admins: | Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes |
Access Issue: Latest updates on closures, permits, and regulations.
Details
Yosemite National Park has yearly closures for Peregrine Falcon Protection March 1- July 15. Always check the NPS website at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/… for the most current details and park alerts, and to learn more about the peregrine falcon, and how closures help it survive. This page also shares closures and warnings due to current fires, smoke, etc.
Description
Bachar Cracker is California's most iconic crack boulder problem, likely put up without much difficulty sometime in the 1970s by none other than John Bachar. Blending technical jamming and a powerful crux, this problem, like Bachar, was ahead of its time.
Begin this singular, aesthetic, and uncontrived line matched on the jug horn at the core of the cave. Climb through a variety of jams, spanning fists to tips, until the crack thins out. Pull the final crux to gain a flat edge, press out the mantle at the lip, and the problem is yours.
Bachar Cracker's difficulty is a continuous source of debate. Most would agree that figuring out how to do the boulder for the first time is far harder than repeating it, underscoring the impressiveness of a flash ascent. Graded 5.12c (V5/V6) in the 1986 documentary "Yosemite climbing", it was downgraded in 1994 to B1 (V4/V5) by John Sherman in Stone Crusade, and stands now at stout V4, raising the question: was it overgraded originally, or is it a sandbag now? Crack technique goes a long way on Bachar Cracker; those who spend the time getting to know each jam intimately will eventually find the path of least resistance. This toll of technique can be paid with pure power, but comes at a steep price. Bachar Cracker, in the words of Sherman, "has a reputation of slapping down hordes of V-double-digit-boulderers who never learned the fine art of jamming."
The name "Bachar Cracker" has a dual meaning. A handful of boulders lay strewn in the landing zone, making it harder to properly pad, and adding some spice to the crux moves. Of historical interest, climbers in the 1970s padded it with stolen mattresses from the employee dorms, in one of the first documented uses of padding in Yosemite bouldering. Two pads are nice to have, while three can make the landing feel completely safe. However, more pads increase one's chances of dabbing in the middle of the crux, in certain cases calling the purity of one's ascent into question.
Climbers looking for an extra challenge can experiment with eliminating specific jams, climbing with reversed hand-sequences, climbing in flip-flops / barefoot, climbing blindfolded, downclimbing, climbing without pads, etc. To climb Bachar Cracker only once is to forego many of the lessons it can teach.
As a final note, dirt has been filling in the base of the cave since the 1970s, and over time the starting holds/jams have slowly crept upwards. The original jug start was restored in 2023, but continuous effort is needed to keep the cave from filling back in. The crack continues below the jug start, widening as it disappears under the hard soil. Good odds suggest that a harder extension to Bachar Cracker exists, lying in wait for a sufficiently-motivated crew of climbers-turned-excavators...
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