For many years being a subscriber to The Economist newspaper has been a weekly pleasure.  Strangely, it might be thought, one of the most appreciated sections of this newspaper is the weekly obituary.  Frequently giving an insight into a well-known person but, not uncommonly, a beautifully written piece about a person not in the public arena.

Just so in the publication dated July 18th, 2009 (my copy always takes a couple of weeks to arrive).

It is about a climber, John Bachar, who loves climbing without any aids whatsoever.  Apparently known as free-solo climbing, not free-climbing, as described in The Economist.

Unless you are a print or online subscriber you will not be able to appreciate the wonderful prose used to describe John’s life.  If you are a subscriber the article is here.

For those that want some more background and do not have access to The Economist there is an obituary in the LA Times including a breath-taking picture.

What I can do (hopefully without treading on any copyright toes) is to quote just one of the comments that was attached to the online version of the article.

I was so enthralled reading this beautifully written piece that I suddenly felt living through one of John Bachar’s many climbs.  This is a lively description of an intrepid life lived in full harmony with and in respect of rocky mountains to the very end. Understanding the risks this man single-mindedly stuck to his values on rock-climbing, dangling with death but not with his body whilst working his way up until one rock-face decided to claim the better of him to remain unconquered this one time.
An obituary that pays due homage to a specialist nature lover in the art of blending with the rock graciously.

Integrity appears in many forms.

By Paul Handover

• Musings