Jim Bridwell dies aged 73
American big wall climbing pioneer Jim Bridwell has passed away aged 73 in Palm Springs, California, following a period of illness. In January Jim was diagnosed with kidney failure and Hepatitis C and a crowdfunding campaign was launched by his son, Layton, to assist with the medical expenses. A legend of the Golden Age of climbing in Yosemite and beyond, Jim's achievements included over 100 first ascents in the Valley, most notably Sea of Dreams on El Capitan and the first one-day ascent of the Nose in 1975 with Billy Westbay and John Long.
Comments
Hero.
Edit. Heroes.
A phenomenal interview. You can see him seeing the climb in his mind.... wonderful
That is so moving. The spirit of the guy, right to the end, 'Balls to the wall.'
Hard to watch, especially knowing what happened the following day. John Long did a good job of gently but firmly questioning him. I'd rather remember him in that classic photo of him Westbay and Long in the meadow after their one day ascent of The Nose. Or the brilliant B+W photo looking down on him guiding a stretcher down El Cap in a dramatic rescue. His account of Sea of Dreams is a great read too: https://rockandice.com/snowball/24307/
Yes that was shocking, he looked really bad. Met him in J Tree a few years ago, he was guiding and was friendly and healthy.