Jim Bridwell
Encyclopedia
Jim Bridwell is a noted American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock climber and mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...

, active since 1965 especially in Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...

, but also in Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

 and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. He is noted for pushing the standards of both free-climbing and big-wall climbing, and later alpine climbing. He has written numerous articles on climbing for leading sport publications.

Bridwell is credited with over 100 First Ascents in Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...

, in addition to conducting the first one-day ascent of The Nose of El Capitan
El Capitan
El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.The formation was...

 on May 26, 1975 with John Long
John Long (climber)
John Long is an acclaimed American rock climber and author whose stories, ranging from adventure yarns to literary fiction, have been translated into many languages. He has more than forty titles and two million books in print...

 and Billy Westbay. He founded Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...

's Search and Rescue Team (YOSAR), and spearheaded many famous rescues that became textbook for Search and Rescue operations. He was a leading force in the changing techniques of climbing and an innovator/inventor of widely used and copied climbing gear, including copperheads and bird beaks.

Jim currently resides in Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...

, USA.

First ascents and notable ascents

  • 1965 Entrance Exam (II 5.9), Arch Rock, Yosemite, CA, USA with Chuck Pratt
    Chuck Pratt
    Charles Marshall Pratt was an American rock climber from California, best known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley...

    , Chris Fredericks and Larry Marshik
  • 1966 Braille Book (III 5.8), Higher Cathedral Rock, Yosemite, CA, USA with Chris Fredericks, Joe Faint and Brian Berry.
  • 1967 East Face (VI 5.9 A4), Higher Cathedral Rock, Yosemite, CA, USA with Chris Fredericks
  • 1967 South Central (V 5.10a A2), Washington Column, Yosemite, CA, USA with Joe Faint
  • 1969 Triple Direct (VI 5.9 A2), El Capitan
    El Capitan
    El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.The formation was...

    , Yosemite, CA, USA with Kim Schmitz
  • 1971 Aquarian Wall (VI 5.9 A4), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Kim Schmitz
  • 1971 New Dimensions (5.11 A1), Arch Rock, Yosemite, CA, USA with Mark Klemens
  • 1971 Nabisco Wall, The Cookie, Yosemite, CA, USA
  • 1970 Vain Hope (V 5.7 A3), Ribbon Falls, Yosemite, CA, USA with Royal Robbins
    Royal Robbins
    Royal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...

     and Kim Schmitz
  • 1973 Central Pillar of Frenzy, Middle Cathedral Rock, Yosemite, CA, USA with Roger Breedlove and Ed Barry
  • 1974 Freestone, Geek Towers, Yosemite Falls, Yosemite, CA, USA
  • 1975 Wailing Wall, Tuolumne Meadows
    Tuolumne Meadows
    Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded sub-alpine meadowy section of the Tuolumne River, in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. Its approximate location is . Its approximate elevation is 8619 feet .-Natural History:...

    , CA, USA with Dale Bard and Rick Accomozo
  • 1975 Pacific Ocean Wall (VI 5.9 A4), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Bill Westbay, Jay Fiske and Fred East
  • 1976 Gold Ribbon (VI 5.10 A3), Ribbon Falls, Yosemite, CA, USA with Mike Graham
  • 1977 Bushido (VI 5.10 A4), Half Dome
    Half Dome
    Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor....

    , Yosemite, CA, USA with Dale Bard
  • 1978 Sea of Dreams (VI 5.9 A5), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Dale Bard and Dave Diegelman
  • 1978 Zenith (VI 5.9 A4), Half Dome
    Half Dome
    Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor....

    , Yosemite, CA, USA with Kim Schmitz
  • 1979 Southeast Ridge of Cerro Torre
    Cerro Torre
    Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and Chile, west of Cerro Chalten . The peak is the highest in a four mountain chain: the other peaks are Torre Egger , Punta Herron, and Cerro...

    , Patagonia
    Patagonia
    Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

    , Argentina with Steven Brewer (first alpine-style ascent of the peak)
  • 1979 Northwest Face, Kichatna Spire, Alaska Range, USA with Andy Embick
  • 1981 Zenyatta Mondatta (VI 5.7 A5), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Peter Mayfield and Charlie Row
  • 1981 Dance of the Woo Li Masters, East Face of The Moose's Tooth
    The Moose's Tooth
    The Moose's Tooth is a rock peak on the east side of the Ruth Gorge in the Central Alaska Range, 15 miles southeast of Mount McKinley. Despite its relatively low elevation, it is a difficult climb...

    , Ruth Gorge, Alaska, USA (VI 5.9 WI4+ A4, 1520m) with Mugs Stump
    Mugs Stump
    Mugs Stump was a noted American rock climber and mountaineer, active in establishing difficult first ascents in the Alaska Range and the Canadian Rockies...

  • 1982 South Face, Pumori
    Pumori
    Pumori is a mountain on the Nepal-Tibet border in the Mahalangur section of the Himalaya. Pumori lies just eight kilometres west of Mount Everest. Pumori, which means "Unmarried Daughter" in the Sherpa language, was named by George Mallory...

    , Nepal
    Nepal
    Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

     with Jan Reynolds and Ned Gilette
  • 1987 The Big Chill, Half Dome
    Half Dome
    Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor....

    , Yosemite, CA, USA with Peter Mayfield, Sean Plunkett and Steve Bosque
  • 1989 Shadows (VI 5.10 A5), Half Dome
    Half Dome
    Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor....

    , Yosemite, CA, USA with Charles Row, Cito Kirkpatrick, William Westbay
  • 1997 Wyoming Sheep Ranch (VI 5.8 A5), (repeat) El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Giovanni Groaz
  • 1998 Heavy Metal and Tinker Toys (VI 5.9 A5), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Boulos Ayad and Tyson Hausoeffer
  • 1998 Plastic Surgery Disaster (VI 5.8 A5), (repeat) El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Mark Bowling and Giovanni Groaz
  • 1999 The Useless Emotion (VII 5.9 WI4 A4), The Bear's Tooth, Ruth Glacier
    Ruth Glacier
    Ruth Glacier is a glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its upper reaches are almost three vertical miles below the summit of Mount McKinley. The glacier's "Great Gorge" is one mile wide, and drops almost over ten miles , with crevasses along the surface...

    , Alaska, USA with Terry Christensen, Glenn Dunmire, Brian Jonas and Brian McCray May 3–21, 1999
  • 1999 Odyssey, Grand Capucin
    Grand Capucin
    The Grand Capucin is a rock pinnacle in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France....

    (VI 5.8 A4), Mont Blanc (French Alps), with Giovanni Groaz
  • 1999 Dark Star (VI 5.10 A5), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Giovanni Groaz
  • 2001 The Beast Pillar, The Moose's Tooth
    The Moose's Tooth
    The Moose's Tooth is a rock peak on the east side of the Ruth Gorge in the Central Alaska Range, 15 miles southeast of Mount McKinley. Despite its relatively low elevation, it is a difficult climb...

    , Ruth Gorge, Alaska, USA with Spencer Pfinsten
  • 2001 Welcome to Afghanistan (VI 5.9 A4), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Giovanni Groaz
  • 2002 Pointless Connection (VI 5.9 A4+), Yosemite Pointless, Yosemite, CA, USA with Giovanni Groaz
  • 2004 Old Guides Variation (VI 5.8 A3), El Capitan, Yosemite, CA, USA with Jackson Marsten and Giovanni Groaz

External links

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